We have many things in our kitchen that hardly get used, even though they seemed like such a good idea at the time. Getting cookies just right without burning seemed like a great reason to buy a cookie sheet stone, but I think we have used it maybe twice! The second crock pot was great for making parve soups, but how often do we use it?
There are two things we do use nonstop in our kitchen. They save us time, money, and space. They also help reduce our food waste!
The first is our salad spinner bags.
Our favorite is the Argee “Spin ‘n Stor” Reusable Salad Spinner Bags. We first found them at Whole Foods, but now we buy them online. However, they last a while, so we very rarely need to buy new ones. These bags work just like a salad spinner, but without having one more gadget to store in your cabinet or refrigerator. You wash the lettuce and then place it in the bag. Then you close the top with your hands and spin it around. The water gathers on the bottom in a little reservoir. Then you pour it out the side of the bag. We love it. The boys think it is funny to see my husband swing the bag around!
After we wash a bunch of lettuce, we then store the washed lettuce in our second favorite kitchen product – produce bags.
We love the Debbie Meyer Green Bags. These hold your washed produce and keep them fresh. They work great and help us also distinguish between what has been washed and not washed in the refrigerator. Our fruits and vegetables last much longer stored in these.
I have not priced these out to see who has them cheapest, but Amazon offers them both from various retailers. You can also try Pricegrabber (see my post “Savings Tool Review: Pricegrabber”) to compare prices at several retailers at once. I have seen the Debbie Meyer bags in stores as well.
For more ideas on saving money in the kitchen, see my posts:
- “Bulk discounts”
- “Switch over your disposables”
- “Shelf life of your food”
- “Substitute this”
- “Waste not those leftovers”
- “SodaStream soda makers!”
- “Are “dollar stores” really a good deal?”
Do you have any kitchen products you can’t live without? Please share in the comments section!
Surviving on a tight budget 
You have no idea how much this helped me. This has really been on my mind this summer….i’m trying to serve more salad but i hate drying washed lettuce. And then the other issue is that (maybe it’s been due to the heat) but my produce has been going bad so quickly lately.
I am glad it was helpful! Thanks for reading! I hope you will subscribe, too! See you soon!
Great tips. I really like what you’ve been passing along to your readers. My sister first introduced me to the green bags a couple of years ago and I’ve never heard of the salad spinning bags. Cool. I already have a salad spinner but love to pass this along to others.
Thanks so much for your comment! It means so much to get feedback from people. Otherwise it feels like I am writing in a vacuum! Have a great weekend!