Stop Throwing Away Money – Make Your Food Last Longer

According to a study by the US Department of Agriculture, the average family of four throws away about $1,500 in food every year! Here are a few ways to keep foods fresh a little longer.

• Keep onions in a paper bag in the fridge and they can last over 2 weeks!
• When grocery shopping, use an insulated bag for your dairy products or put them in the cart last. Even one hour of heat can greatly reduce the shelf life.
• Put your lettuce in a plastic bag and poke about 10 holes in it. It will last 4x longer!
• For hard cheese, take it out of the plastic and wrap it in a layer of parchment paper and a layer of tin foil. Also, don't throw away a whole block if one little part gets moldy! You can just cut away an inch around the moldy spot, and the rest is still good!
• Apples should stay in the coldest and most humid part of your fridge. The bottom drawer is your best bet.
• Potatoes can still be used when they start to grow sprouts, just make sure to break them off. They can actually be a little sweeter once sprouts start to grow.
• Don't put eggs in the refrigerator door, stick them in the back of the fridge where it's cooler.
• Don't buy grapes with brittle stems! That means they are going to spoil very quickly.
• Keep all your meats in the bottom drawer of your fridge. If they are near fruits, make sure to double wrap them.

I know that I throw away TONS of food. I've had to dump out half gallons of milk and toss away entire heads of lettuce, so this is incredibly helpful to me! Hopefully it can help you out a bit, too.

[Via Time]