Who knows more about organizing a kitchen than a professional organizer? A professional organizer who’s married to a chef! My guest today is Kimberly Purcell, who explains how kitchen organizing can help save you money.

Are you looking for ways to save money? A few simple tips about your very own kitchen can help!

First up, the fridge. Don’t overbuy. Be sure to keep like items together and try to keep things in the same place all the time so that you can see what you have and what you don’t have. Store produce properly to keep it fresh. All food should be in containers or wrapped in plastic or foil to avoid the absorption of odors. My favorites are clear glass containers. You can see what you have and you can reheat in the microwave without fear of unhealthy chemicals leaching into the food.

Don’t forget to use what’s in the fridge once you buy it. I like to keep a small dry erase board on the front of my fridge (even though I’m not a fan of fridge decorations!) and I can jot down what leftovers I put in the fridge so I don’t forget to eat them.

Next, your cabinets. Make use of cabinet organizers such as lazy susans and risers. Double stacked lazy susans are great for canned goods. Risers placed in the back of deep cabinets will help avoid losing stuff to the depths.

For dry goods such as rice, beans, oats, sugar, flour, etc, I recommend investing in a set of clear containers of varying sizes. Square or rectangular-shaped will fit more efficiently into most spaces. The OXO pop containers are favorites of many professional organizers for their shape, quality of product and air-tight lids. Not only will you be able to see what you have but it will stay fresh longer.

Keep your dried herbs and spices in a spice rack, drawer or shelf all together so you know what you have. This way you can eliminate duplicate purchases, use what you see, and keep things fresh. Don’t buy large quantities unless you will use them within a year. Protect your investments; keep them out of sunlight and away from heat and humidity.

Keep a freezer inventory, especially if you have a large separate freezer in your garage or basement. Since my husband is an executive chef, we cook a lot and in large quantities. Before we started keeping an inventory, we’d end up throwing away a lot of food since it would get lost in the freezer and we wouldn’t find it until it was no longer edible. On my inventory, I note the item, the quantity in the package and the number of packages. I use a simple excel based spreadsheet to keep my inventory but there are plenty of high-tech app solutions as well.

Without a doubt, my number one money-saving tool in my kitchen is my vacuum sealer. There are many different brands out there and honestly, I couldn’t tell you which one I have. I got it on a clearance sale many, many years ago and it’s still working great. I order the bags for it online. If you do any sort of bulk buying or quantity cooking, there is a huge difference in the quality of frozen food that is vacuum sealed versus just stored in a zipper-seal bag or plastic wrap. Your food will last much longer and taste much better. You can also vacuum seal items like chocolate or nuts which you may not be freezing but that are very sensitive to air.

As you can see, a few easy things can really make a difference and kitchen organizing will help save you money!

About today’s guest blogger:

Learn more about Kimberly Purcell.


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