12 Ways to Keep Your Food Fresh Longer

Are grocery costs bursting your budget? These solutions can help you reduce waste and save money

Nicole Pajer,

AARP

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Published January 26, 2026

a person puts a container of food into a refrigerator

All those compartments in your refrigerator have a purpose. Mastering them can extend the shelf life of your groceries.

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Rising grocery prices are squeezing Americans’ wallets, and this is particularly true for retirees living on fixed incomes. Food prices rose 2.6 percent from November 2024 to November 2025. That can make every spoiled apple or wilted head of lettuce feel like money down the drain.

It’s no wonder 53 percent of adults say grocery expenses are a major source of stress, according to a recent survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The good news is there are steps you can take to stretch the life of your produce and pantry staples — and save a lot of money as a result.

1. Master your refrigerator’s layout

Many people make the mistake of unloading their grocery haul and simply shoving food into the refrigerator without a plan. But all those compartments in your fridge have a purpose.

“Organize your fridge according to the different internal temperature zones,” says Ann Ziata, a chef at the Institute of Culinary Education’s New York City campus. Items on the door, she explains, are the most susceptible to temperature fluctuations, so don’t store anything highly perishable there. Use the door bins to store items with longer shelf lives, such as butter, pickles, pasteurized juices and condiments. Put eggs and milk toward the back of the fridge.

Food safety tip: “Meat should never be stored above fresh fruits and vegetables, because if they drip on the produce, then that could cause contamination,” warns Amanda Deering, associate professor of produce food safety at Purdue University’s department of food science.

And make sure you’re using those crisper drawers properly. “The low-humidity drawer is for most fruits and veggies that tend to rot, like peppers,” says Dana Gunders, president of ReFED, a nonprofit that works to reduce food waste. “The higher-humidity drawer is for things that wilt, like greens and carrots.”

2. Set your fridge and freezer to the right temperature

Keeping foods cool or frozen helps prolong their life and slow the growth of dangerous bacteria. But what temps should you set?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends keeping your fridge at 40 degrees or below and the freezer at zero degrees. For the most accurate reading, place a refrigerator thermometer on the middle shelf, says Melissa Vaccaro, senior food safety program specialist at the National Environmental Health Association, a nonprofit that supports environmental health professionals.

Many modern refrigerators with freezers are equipped with digital settings that let you adjust the temperature of each system.

3. Know what not to refrigerate

Some fresh produce, including berries, lettuce and cucumbers, should go right into the fridge when you bring it home. But there are some fruits and veggies you’ll want to leave on the counter to ripen, such as tropical fruits like avocados, bananas and mangoes. These brown more quickly in the fridge, says Ellen Shumaker, director of outreach for Safe Plates, a food safety program at North Carolina State University. After they ripen at room temperature, you can pop them in the fridge for a few days if you prefer to eat them cold.

You can find storage guidelines for a variety of produce and pantry items using the federal Department of Health and Human Service’s FoodKeeper App, which was developed with the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection service, Cornell University and the Food Marketing Institute.

4. Give your fridge some breathing room

There’s a reason to avoid jam-packing your fridge: It may not be able to keep up, says Joan Salge Blake, a dietitian and nutrition professor at Boston University and author of Nutrition & You.

“The cool air needs room in the refrigerator [to circulate] to keep all the foods chilled properly so they don’t spoil,” she says.

You also don’t want to run the risk of letting foods expire because they’re out of sight, like the broccoli hiding at the bottom of your crammed produce drawer.

5. Don’t wash produce before putting it in the fridge

Avoid washing fruits and vegetables before storing them in your refrigerator. “The water causes spoilage and microorganisms to grow,” Deering says.

For wet produce that’s been sprayed with water at the grocery store to stay fresh, pat it dry with a paper towel, says Katelyn Willbur, a clinical dietitian at the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts Medical Center. “When I buy something like squash or zucchini, I just immediately put it on a dish towel while I’m unloading the groceries,” she says.

Consider lining your refrigerator’s crisper drawers with a paper towel or cheesecloth to absorb any leftover moisture.

6. Transfer grains and flour to airtight containers

“Flour, sugar and baking soda will last longer and be safer from pests and unexpected moisture when removed from their original paper packaging and placed into sealable glass or plastic containers,” says Ziata. The same goes for chips, grains and legumes. Just remember to label and date everything so that you can see at a glance what each item is and when it expires.

Tupperware, glass, silicone — no matter which storage option you choose, make sure the container is airtight. “Air exposure leads to faster spoilage,” says Vaccaro. Air-sealed containers are especially helpful for storing foods that you buy in bulk, says Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic.

7. Freeze like a pro

To reduce waste, get creative with the foods you freeze before they go bad. Gunders recommends freezing everything from shredded cheese to cooked rice to that half jar of pasta sauce you didn’t use. Even eggs can go in the freezer — “crack and scramble, but don’t cook, and then you can defrost and cook scrambled,” she says.

Here are three freezing hacks from the pros:

Ziata slices bread before freezing to make it more convenient to grab individual slices when she needs them and for faster and more even thawing.
Vaccaro wraps meat tightly in freezer paper or double plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn.
Vaccaro flash-freezes berries and herbs on a tray, then transfers them to bags to avoid clumping.

8. Follow the “first in, first out” rule

Many restaurants use this approach to minimize waste, and it can work well in your kitchen, too. It’s simple: Eat the older foods (“first in”) before the newer ones (“first out”). “Move older foods to the front of your fridge and pantry to make sure you’re using the oldest food first while it is still fresh and ultimately avoid wasting it,” Shumaker suggests.

9. Do a monthly deep-clean of your refrigerator

“A clean fridge keeps food fresher and reduces bacteria and mold, which can spoil our food faster or even make us sick,” says Vaccaro. She recommends following this seven-step cleaning checklist once a month:

Empty the fridge and discard spoiled items.
Wash shelves and drawers with warm, soapy water or a baking soda solution (1 tablespoon per quart of water).
If there were any leaks or spoiled food, apply a mild bleach solution (1 tablespoon of unscented bleach per gallon of water) or food-safe sanitizing spray labeled for refrigerator use to the shelf or drawer where the food was stored. Then rinse with clean water.
Wipe down door seals and gaskets, where grime often collects.
Dry all surfaces with a clean microfiber cloth or paper towel before restocking.
Rinse with clean water and dry completely.
Place an open box of baking soda inside the fridge to absorb odors.

10. Think before you toss

Many of us are accustomed to discarding certain parts of fruits and veggies before we eat or cook them. But Gunders says some of these ingredients are perfectly fine to eat.

Strawberry leaves. They’re edible, and studies show they contain medicinal properties. You can skip the work of cutting them off and throw strawberries whole into the blender when making smoothies.
Banana peels. Gunders loves making “banana peel bacon,” seasoning the peels and frying them in a skillet. The recipe is “a huge hit with my kids,” she says.
Kiwi skin. You can eat kiwi whole, “just like an apple,” Gunders says. Plus, the skin is packed with fiber and rich in antioxidants.
Soft or bendy carrots. Soak them in an ice bath for 10 to 15 minutes and they’ll crisp up, she says.

11. Give produce a spritz of citrus

Ever been told to squeeze lemon or lime juice on top of guacamole to help it stay fresh longer? It really works.

When produce is exposed to air, enzymes react with oxygen and cause browning. The citric acid in citrus juice slows the discoloration process. One study found that adjusting the acidity with citric acid reduced the browning enzyme’s activity by about 84 percent.

12. Take inventory

How often do you find expired foods in the back of your fridge, hidden in your pantry or buried in your freezer that you didn’t know you had? Don’t let it happen anymore.

“Do a weekly check of your inventory in the fridge or cupboard, and plan meals around using up items that are going to spoil,” says Zumpano. This can help you avoid buying ingredients you already have, trimming your grocery bill.

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