Do just one thing
KEEP MILK PRODUCTS COLD
Do you keep a carton of milk or coffee creamer conveniently placed in your refrigerator door? Sure, it may be easier to grab it from the door and use it to add a splash to your coffee or cereal in the morning, but that’s the last place you should be storing dairy. Real milk products need to be kept as cold as possible to stay fresh, and the door just isn’t cold enough. So where is the best place? Store dairy products in the back of the refrigerator, where the temperature is coldest.
KEEPING CELERY FRESH
Did you know you can keep a bunch of celery fresh and crisp for up to four weeks in your refrigerator? The secret is to find the right balance of moisture to keep it fresh and to block the ripening gas that deteriorates the celery. Cover the celery in a sheet of aluminum foil to create the ideal environment; it locks in just the right amount of moisture and keeps out the ripening ethylene gas. Wrap and store your celery in the crisper drawer to make your large bunch last longer!
WRAP PRODUCE IN NEWSPAPER
Fresh produce left on the counter ripens so quickly because of a natural ripening agent called ethylene gas. If you have produce that can’t be refrigerated, like onions, tomatoes, bananas, avocados and other fruits and vegetables, do one thing to help extend their freshness: Wrap them in small sheets of newspaper. Newspaper is designed to absorb ink, which makes it great at absorbing other things, including excess ethylene gas. And the newspaper also cushions produce, preventing bruising that can accelerate ripening, too.
KEEP THE STALKS
When you have a whole head of cauliflower or broccoli, don’t just eat the florets and then throw the stalk and leaves into the trash. The whole head of both vegetables is totally edible. While it’s a bit more tough, the stalk is nutritious, and if prepared properly, delicious! The stems can be chopped finely and added to a pesto or stew; they can be sliced thin and steamed or pan-fried or even grated to be used in salads or a coleslaw. And, of course, you can use cutup stalks and other vegetable trimmings to make homemade stock, too.
COOL DOWN AVOCADOS
If you have a surplus of avocados (perhaps from picking up a bunch at the store on sale), there is one simple thing you can do to help slow down their ripening process. First, choose avocados that are not fully ripe, which means green, firm and definitely not soft to the touch. Place them in the refrigerator, where the cool temperatures significantly slow down the ripening process and give the fruit a few extra days of shelf life. When you know you’re going to want an avocado, take it out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for a full day, then enjoy!
DILUTING HAND SOAP
It seems like an economical way to stretch a bottle of hand soap: Just add water and dilute it a little bit. While at first this doesn’t really change the chemical composition of the soap (it just makes it weaker), in the long run it can actually do more harm than good. Why? Soap is formulated to work from the first usage to the last, all to protect you, the user, when using the product. By adding water, you’re diluting natural or chemical preservatives, which can turn the inside of the bottle into a bacterial breeding ground. Just don’t do it!
RECYCLING YOGURT LIDS
Does your cup of creamy yogurt come with a foil lid on top? If so, the good news is that the lid is fully recyclable aluminum. It’s important to make sure there isn’t any yogurt residue left on the lid. And since a single clean lid tossed into the recycling bin can easily become strewn trash on the road, it’s best to combine several lids to make a more easily recyclable mass. So save your clean foil lids and mush them together, then recycle them when they’ve formed a good-sized ball.