Part 2: Reduce food waste and save money - Smarter storage and sustainability

Extend grocery shelf-life in your fridge, freezer and pantry

If you’ve ever thrown away limp veggies or forgotten leftovers, you’re not alone. The average Australian household bins hundreds of dollars’ worth of fresh produce every year. But with the right food storage habits - and by making the most of your appliances - you can extend the life of your groceries, reduce food waste, and save money.

A woman's hands removing a punnet of berries from an open fridge

The technology in modern fridges helps keep temperatures consistent, and food fresher for longer

Your fridge, naturally, plays a key role in keeping food fresh. Many modern fridges include features that help keep produce fresher for longer and reduce avoidable food waste. With better temperature management systems than old fridges, they maintain more consistent fresh and frozen climates to better preserve the quality of fresh produce, meat and dairy. Many fridges have alerts, and even app notifications, if a door is left open or a fault occurs that could cause the temperature to rise too high.

Even if your fridge doesn’t have advanced cooling and smart features, regularly checking what’s in it - and moving older items to the front so they get used before they expire - can help reduce food losses.

Fridges: the first line of defence

How you use your fridge can affect its performance:

Keep it set to around 4°C to maintain food safety and slow spoilage
Store fresh produce in the crisper drawer, and use humidity controls if available
Store meat, seafood and dairy in the coldest sections (bottom shelf and back of fridge
Store eggs in their cardboard cartons
Avoid overfilling shelves so air can circulate properly
Use clear containers so you can clearly see what you have, and mystery leftovers don’t get lost at the back.

A chest freezer, upright freezer and fridge freezer

Whether you use a chest, upright or compartment in your fridge, a freezer is a valuable companion in the war on waste

Freezers: press pause on waste

Whether you have a standalone freezer or use the frozen food compartment of your fridge, a good freezer can help reduce food waste by preserving the quality of food for several months or longer.

Always use airtight or vacuum-sealed containers to prevent freezer burn, and label containers with contents and date - especially leftovers - to avoid mystery meals going unused.

Keep it set to –18°C: at this temperature, bacteria can’t grow, and food quality is maintained.
Leftovers can be frozen for eating at a later date - a gift to your future time-poor self
Vegetables can be blanched and frozen to preserve texture and flavour: blanch by briefly boiling them for 1-3 minutes, immediately cooling in ice water, drying, and freezing.
Excess ripe fruit can be chopped and frozen for use in smoothies or desserts
Bread freezes well, so you can just remove and toast individual slices as you need them
Use airtight or vacuum-sealed containers to prevent freezer burn and preserve texture
Avoid mystery meals that go unused by labelling leftovers with contents and date.

A selection of dried foods in labelled clear jars in a kitchen pantry

Clear, airtight containers with labels help keep pantry staples both fresh and easy to find

Pantry and benchtop storage

Beyond fresh and frozen food storage, there are a few simple strategies that can help keep all kinds of produce fresher for longer and reduce waste.

Using clear containers or glass jars allows you to see quantities at a glance, so you can plan meals and avoid unnecessary shopping, while regularly rotating groceries by moving older items to the front ensures nothing gets forgotten at the back of the pantry.

Different foods can benefit from specific storage practices:

Store flours, grains, and cereals in airtight containers to keep out moisture and pests.
Keep potatoes and onions separate: the ethylene gas emitted by onions can cause potatoes to sprout and spoil faster.
Store nuts and whole grains in the fridge or freezer if you don’t use them often to slow rancidity from natural oils.
Keep bananas, avocados, and tomatoes on the bench only until ripe, then refrigerate to slow spoilage.
Use a wire or mesh fruit bowl to allow air circulation and prevent trapped moisture that can accelerate spoilage.
Store dried herbs and spices away from heat and sunlight to preserve their flavour.

A FOGO kitchen caddy small bib for Food Organics Garden Organics waste

A FOGO kitchen caddy for collecting organic food scraps

Compost what you can’t save

No matter how organised you are, there will always be some food that doesn’t get used. Instead of throwing it in with your other general rubbish, use your council’s organic waste collection service if it has one, or consider composting spoiled fruit and veggies at home.

Compost returns nutrients to the soil, whereas putting it in general rubbish that ends up in landfill can result in it producing the greenhouse gas methane.

Oli Kitchingman

Oli is Appliances Online's editor and blogger, with almost two decades of lifestyle-related writing and editing to his name. With a mission to help you buy better and live smarter, his brand loyalty will forever belong to the appliance manufacturer that develops a self-emptying dishwasher.