Reducing food waste has been a priority at my house. I am not sure that zero waste is doable but it is the goal.
In 2020 when it was time to replace the refrigerator I bought a smaller one. It was a challenge at first, especially with the pandemic and all but the truth is if I fill up the smaller fridge some of the food in it will spoil before we can eat it.
There are not many foods that require refrigeration that stay fresh for very long.
The smaller refrigerator helped us reduce food waste. We have plenty to eat yet the refrigerator is rarely very full and there isn’t much waste.
Fresh produce keeps for about a week. Most dairy products will keep for ten days or so. Eggs keep for a long time and so does butter. Condiments keep for weeks or months.
There were foods that I was putting in the refrigerator that didn’t belong there at all. Sometimes the fridge becomes convenient storage.
The freezer is another matter but frozen foods do not keep indefinitely either. Food tends to get buried or lost in the freezer. Frost kills the flavor and some of it gets dried out.
People who are interested in reducing their food waste should take a closer look at their kitchen and how they are using it. Maybe a smaller refrigerator and freezer will help reduce food waste. It definitely helped us and as a bonus, it uses less energy.
Sometimes it seems as though we do our best to fill up every cupboard and refrigerator shelf. Food prices have gone way up. Cooking takes time but it also saves money and the ingredients seem to take up less space than ready-to-eat foods.
Do you know what is in your refrigerator?
