The kitchen is a great place to start saving costs because of the sheer amount of time and money we spend on and in it. Harnessing some easy-to-learn kitchen skills can prevent us from wasting money unnecessarily.

Organizing Your Refrigerator and Pantry

You can adopt the ‘first in first out’ rule used by grocery stores and supermarkets. Place newer food behind older food to ensure you use the older food first. This will prevent you from tossing food out simply because you have forgotten they were there. Fruits and vegetables should go into the crisper drawer because it is cooler than the rest of the refrigerator and is protected from the warm air that comes when you open it.

Avoid keeping easily perishable items by the doors of the fridge as the temperature there is the most inconsistent. Check out this resource for the optimum places to keep your specific groceries in the fridge to learn the ropes. Although rearranging your food storage spaces may be time-consuming, it will keep you more accountable towards your grocery bills and save on monthly spending.

Maintaining Your Knives

Knives are built to last a lifetime. Knowing how to maintain your knives properly will keep them sharp for a longer period of time, hence preventing you from having to fork out cash to replace them constantly. Besides knowing which knives to use when, it is also important to know how to care for your knives to prevent them from becoming dull prematurely.

Never wash knives in dishwashers and always use a solid wooden or silicone cutting board to keep the edges sharp. Knives can last long enough to be passed down to the next generation (an average of 40 years) if they’re kept properly.

Reusing Food Scraps

Food scraps such as vegetable peels, roots, stalks, leaves and poultry bones can be recreated into delicious stocks and soups, stretching your buck further. As you learn to utilize what’s already in your kitchen, you will inevitably waste less on grocery spending by preventing over-buying or buying what you don’t need (e.g. store-bought vegetable stock).

Knowing these kitchen skills will take you further in your endeavours to remain frugal whilst preparing your meals. As with all skills, you get better the more you practice them. For more on how to save money on food, check our article on the four most important things to know to save money on food. Do you have your own tips on how to save money in the kitchen? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section down below!

 

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