5 Simple Habits for a Less Wasteful Kitchen


Beyond individual ingredients, these small practices make a big difference across the whole kitchen:

  • Plan meals around what needs using first: Before you add anything to your shopping list, do a quick scan of your fridge and pantry. The Search feature is great for this—build the week’s meals around what’s already there.


  • Keep a "use it up" container: Dedicate a shelf or container in your fridge for ingredients that need to be used in the next day or two. Out of sight really does mean out of mind.


  • Label and date your freezer items: A frozen mystery container is a wasted container. A quick label takes five seconds and saves real money.


  • Save vegetable scraps for broth: Onion skins, carrot peels, celery ends, herb stems—keep a bag in the freezer and simmer into a rich homemade stock whenever it fills up.


  • Buy in smaller quantities more often: Buying a huge bunch of something you’ll only use half of isn’t a deal if the rest goes in the bin.

More on this subject:

What to Do With Leftover Pasta & Grains

How to Use Up Fresh Ingredients Before They Go Bad

Still need help? Get in touch with the Meal Planner support team Get in touch with the Meal Planner support team