1. Instead of buying salad in a bag, make your own! I buy a package of romaine hearts and a bag of spinach and chop it all up. You could also shave in some carrots or add some purple cabbage if you prefer. You get more for your money and it seems to last longer.
2. Keep your knives sharp! Also, invest in some good ones! This will make cooking a lot easier!
3. When buying produce, wash it all right away, so when your family wants to eat some of it, it's all readily available. With strawberries, I rinse them in the handy plastic container, remove them and dry them, and then line that same plastic container with a couple of paper towels. I then transfer them right back into their original package. Saving me a dish and some room in the fridge!
4. Storage containers! I bought the ones you see here at the Dollar Tree for a dollar each! I made simple labels on the computer and taped them on there. I use them for Rice, Potato flakes, Pancake mix, sugar, flour, brown sugar, powdered sugar, etc. They're wonderful and easily stored.
5. Freeze your bread! If you can get a deal on bread but you know your family won't eat it all before it goes moldy, freeze it! Make sure it sits correctly in your freezer so the bread doesn't freeze incorrectly and get squashed. Also, I've found that the more expensive brands un-freeze the best.
6. Buy in bulk! But only when it makes sense for YOUR family! I buy all my ground beef and chicken breasts in bulk and separate it into freezer bags. I press down on the bags to keep all the air I can out of them, eliminating freezer burn. I also buy some condiments in bulk. We go through Frank's Red Hot sauce like water so buying it in the large container and transferring it to the smaller one we have is a lot cheaper, letting you get more for your money. Here, I paid $14 for 6lbs of good ground beef. I was able to separate it into 3 1 1/2 lb pkgs, making 3 meals plus leftovers. So I ended up paying approx. $4.66 per meal. Not bad for a family of 4! Again, though....it only makes sense to buy in bulk the items that will work for your family. If you don't use it, it's not worth paying the money for it.
7. To keep your garbage disposal smelling fresh and to keep it sharp, I use lemons or oranges. The acid in both keep it clean (lemons are best!) and it makes it smell like citrus!
These are just a few of the tips that work for me. They're all pretty obvious, but they can end up saving time and money. Hope some can work for you!
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