Don't store produce in your produce drawers

When food goes bad before anyone eats it, that’s a waste of money and energy. So it makes sense that most refrigerators have drawers for produce that help keep these perishables fresh.

The problem is that many of us have brains that work in “out of sight, out of mind” mode. We dutifully put fruits and veggies in the crisper and then totally forget they exist.

Given that most of us could stand to eat more produce, ideally, our philosophy shouldn’t be making fruits and veggies last as long as possible. We should aim to eat them quickly so they never get a chance to go bad!

To that end, today’s Vanderhack is to consider not storing your produce in your produce drawers. You can put other things in there — whatever you know you won’t forget, or things you don’t necessarily use all that often.

Put the fruits and vegetables you want to eat at eye level on the fridge shelves.

Ideally, you can go a step further and even prepare the fruits and veggies to the extent that makes sense. Wash your blueberries. If you like pepper slices in hummus, cut up the peppers and put them in little Tupperware containers for easy storage.

But don’t hide things you want to eat more of in places you won’t see. The fruit might last a few days longer, but if you don’t remember to eat the produce in those extra days, that’s not a win at all.

*******

Vanderhacks is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber .