When it comes to saving money, we often think about cutting back on lattes, vacations, shoes or other luxury items. However, much smaller aspects of our daily lives can cost is more money than we are really aware of. Making several small changes can add up financially while being pretty easy to adapt to.
10 tips for saving money in the kitchen.
1. Consider price and quality for the best overall value. I buy Hefty Ultra Strong trash bags because the price is reasonable (in fact, the price was recently lowered!) and the quality is great. They are made with tear resistant technology so they resistant to being punctured. They are made with Arm & Hammer order neutralizers. I find the scent to be pleasant but not overwhelming which is ideal for me. Right now you can use the ibotta app to earn $1.00 cash back on your purchase of Hefty Ultra Strong trash bags!
2. Portion out food for cooking to avoid waste. I know a lot of families cook extra food and then toss it out, or put it in the fridge only to throw it out later. I try to only cook what we will eat in a single meal, unless I know it’s a meal that we enjoy reheating. To make this happen, I freeze food in the portions we’ll cook it in. Instead of freezing an entire pound of hamburger, I form four patties, place two in each freezer bag and then freeze them that way. When it’s burger night I take two burgers out and cook them up instead of having to thaw an entire pound and having half a pound left over that would likely get wasted. Plus, if the family packs are a better price per pound I can save even more. I stocked up recently during a $1.99 a pound ground beef sale for memorial day so we have lots of burgers in the freezer right now!
3. Freeze fruit and veggies before they go bad. When bananas start to get a little too speckled, I throw them in a freezer bag so I can later use them in a smoothie. If onions get close to sprouting, I chop them up and freeze them for use in soups or casseroles.
4. Cut back on paper towels. I buy paper towels but I only use them for really nasty clean up jobs like dog vomit. For food or beverage spills, cleaning the counter, etc I always use a hand towel or wash cloth. This saves me money because we only go through about 1 roll of paper towel a month plus it’s less wasteful.
5. Avoid paper plates. The only time I buy or use paper plates is for birthday parties or other events where I have too many guests to give everyone a real plate. Many people who use paper plates regularly think it cuts back on how often they have to wash dishes, but if you stop buying them for a week I bet you would be surprised at how little time it takes to wash 10 plates or so per day. It’s less than 5 minutes for me and I wash dishes by hand.
6. Use a dishcloth or scrub brush instead of a sponge or scratch pad. I just realized this one recently. I thought the only way to get food off of pots, pans, etc was with those sponges that have a scratch pad on the backside. However, I found that buying dish cloths (the ones with the netting on one side, not a regular wash cloth) works just as well and has the bonus of being reusable. Plus, I feel like dish cloths are more hygienic than a sponge because I just use it once before sending it back through the washer and dryer.
7. Eat leftovers. Eat leftover food from dinner for lunch the next day. If your household habitually wastes food this is likely inflating your grocery bill quite a bit.
8. Ditch paper cupcake liners. Silicone muffin tins and silicone cupcake liners can be used in place of single-use cupcake liners to cut back on waste and they can be used for years making them a smart investment in the long run.
9. Use cloth napkins instead of disposable ones. This saves money and is more ecofriendly!
10. Be selective when purchasing small appliances. It’s easy to see a snow cone maker or pizza maker and get swept up in how fun it looks. However, many people who purchase these single use appliances don’t end up using the gadget very regularly. I personally have chosen to stick with just a microwave, toaster and blender as those are items that we use regularly.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
Thanks for sharing your tips. Like you, I’ve cut way back on my paper towel usage just by keeping small cloths on hand. I think the cloths actually do a better job when I’m wiping the countertops or stove. You’ve got me thinking about the dish cloth, though; I didn’t realize the netting would make such a difference.
These are all awesome tips! We have also cut down on paper towel use. To wipe/dry countertops, I use a “re-purposed” old cotton shirt. You can’t believe how absorbent they are!
These are all great kitchen money saving tips for sure. I love Hefty Trash Bags for the fact that they are cheaper and they work great. The paper plates tip is one I really didn’t think about but it is so true because you will spend more. Thanks for sharing the tips.
This is a great list. I do most of them now. I will try some of the others. I do cook the variety of dry beans my family will eat. I cook ahead and freeze the Black Beans and Pinto Beans in 2 cup portions. That is what is equal to a can of beans. That is so much cheaper.
Those are great tips. I need to try cutting fruits and vegetables and freezing them before they go bad. That’s about the only thing on your list I don’t do.
I love these tips, one thing I need to curb is my use of paper towels. I do buy them in bulk but would love to use just one roll a month. I will take your advice and use just for those bad jobs.
If I make a large quantity of something and we don’t eat it up in two days I pull out the plastic containers and put enough in a container for the family and freeze it. Sometimes I have more than one container left. I just pull one out of the freezer in a week or two. Especially if we have a busy night that works out great plus it saves money because I’m not wasting it by throwing it away.
Great tips. I am the leftover queen. I would also add as a tip that one day a week (or however long it takes) when you have leftovers, call it smorgasboard night, and set out anything and everything! Another thing I do is compost… if it does go bad as sometimes things will, and they are appropriate compost.
We try not to waste food at home. We always eating leftovers but my husband is such a fusspot. When he is around when not traveling, we spend double on groceries.
These are all great tips for saving money in the kitchen! I have been using a “green” sponge for years now, you are able to run it through the dishwasher to sanitize it between uses. I also use a wash cloth for clean ups, it saves a ton on paper towels! 🙂
Great tips. Some I already use in my own kitchen but I always seem to have bananas that go too bad to use. I’ll have to make a mental note to toss them in the freezer before that happens again.
I use the juicer if I find I’m not going to be able to eat all my veggies and fruit. That way the pulp can be dehydrated into little crackers. Same with bread which can be dried in the oven. I never throw out food but it’s a challenge, especially in this heat where things goes bad quicker.
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These are all excellent tips. I always buy meat when it goes on a super sale and freeze it. Meat is expensive!