Cleaning the refrigerator can save money? How can something as easy as cleaning the refrigerator save money? Easy. Cleaning the refrigerator in essence allows you to be less wasteful and more purposeful in your menu planning.
I’ve made no bones about how much we spend on groceries (and I’m pretty unapologetic about it too). Our weekly budget is $250 for food and household items in an area that is pretty low-cost for food.
Our grocery bill is high and I have no time or patience for a lot of coupon cutting or running to multiple stores so I need to ensure that I’m maximizing what I buy if I want to keep my grocery budget from exploding.
A while ago I shared 3 Ways to Save Money on Groceries, this post kind of feeds right into that. I’m using the same premise, just taking it a step further.
Our fridge before cleaning
Unfortunately I chose to write this point at a time when our fridge was REALLY bare so this before picture really doesn’t do my pre-cleaning fridge justice. Trust me, it usually looks worse than this! Like many of you, by the time we get around to grocery shopping we have a mish mash of odds and ends. A few strawberry stragglers, tomatoes that weren’t all eaten. Salad dressing from last night’s dinner. You get the picture.
As I’m sitting down to menu plan and make my shopping list I like to take inventory of what I have. Part of taking inventory is going through the refrigerator, throwing out anything that has gone bad, organizing what we have and then start making my list based on what’s in there. Leftover sweet peppers and limes with some frozen pork in the freezer – looks like we’re going to have Pad See Ew this week. An unopened bag of string cheese shoved way back? Guess Belle doesn’t need the string cheese she asked for. Hmmm, the eggs had an expiration date of a few days before. Guess I better make frittatas.
The cleaned refrigerator prior to grocery shopping
As I’m going through the fridge, I clean and take inventory. I like to throw away packaging that is no longer needed, put food back in its proper place and do a general tidying up. In addition to helping me plan my meals and shopping list, a clean fridge allows me to quickly put groceries away. A task I really hate!
What do to after cleaning the refrigerator
- Make a plan to use or freeze anything that is going bad. According to NPR.org, Americans throw about 33 million tons of food a year. 33 million tons! That is a lot of money going into landfills. Instead of throwing the food away, if possible freeze what you can’t use up. Strawberries looking a little sad? Cut them up and freeze them for smoothies. Eggs close to or slightly past their expiration date? Crack them open, mix them with a little salt and freeze them. Herbs may by frozen by cutting them up and mixing them with a bit of olive oil. You’d be surprised at the amount of food that can be frozen before going bad instead of throwing it out.
- Have a left-overs dinner. At the end of the week it’s not unusual to find one piece of chicken, a brat or two and maybe a bit of salad or fruit left over. Sometimes we get lucky and find Chinese! The point is, instead of worrying about serving a cohesive meal, warm up all the leftovers and serve those for dinner.
- Plan your meals around what you have. The easiest way to lower your grocery bill is to not buy food you don’t need. Those weeks that I don’t do a good job cleaning or taking inventory are the weeks that may grocery bill gets out of hand.
Full disclosure – The week I took this I was getting a Plated.com box which hadn’t arrive yet so the fridge is unusually empty
I hope I’ve given you some “food for thought” when it comes to saving money. What are your tricks for menu planning?
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