Who hasn’t felt the shame of a refrigerator purge? You’re sentenced to face the forgotten leftovers, fuzzy produce and years-old salad dressing that you swear must have come with the fridge. But it didn’t. You paid money for all these things, and now you have to throw them away.
Take heart. You’re far from the only person to waste food and money. And unlike more ambitious money fixes, reducing food waste is relatively simple and sure to pay off. In fact, a person could save about $370 annually on average by wasting less food, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. And a family of four could pocket an extra $1,500 or so on average in the new year.
As if saving money doesn’t feel good enough, reducing food waste also helps the planet. Most food we pitch winds up in landfills, which emit harmful methane gas. Less waste, less gas.
Reducing wasted food also conserves energy and resources, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
So make this the year you don’t have to come eye-to-potato-eye with another decaying legume. Here’s how to waste less food: