Live sustainably everyday and save money!

15 life hacks from IKEA staff!

1. If you put your bananas in the fruit bowl with other fruit, they will make the rest of the fruit ripen too quickly.
2. Plan your meals and buy what you need. This will save money and cut down on waste.
3. When making mashed potato always bake your potatoes rather than boil then scoop out the potato. You then get the bonus of nicer mash and crispy potato skins for a starter. Zero waste!!
4. Supermarkets reduce their fresh food from about 4pm, shop later in the day for great bargains.
5. Cook once, eat twice.  Make double amounts of things like pasta sauce then freeze for up to a month or chill for a couple of days. Like a ready meal you make yourself.
6. When shopping for breads etc always take from the back of the shelf as they’ll have longer use by dates, so your loaf will last longer! The same goes for milk as well.
7. I keep a ‘first aid kit’ at home with basic items like plasters, paracetamol, sore throat remedies etc, so if I get ill or hurt myself I don’t have to go to the pharmacy, but I already have some basics.
8. In small households it’s hard to go through a loaf of bread, so we just freeze it as soon as we buy it and then defrost the portion we need to avoid food waste.
9. Buy frozen bags of fruit and veg! It works out cheaper as you can just take what you need whenever for cooking and it doesn’t go off. Also, frozen fruit and veg is frozen almost as soon as it is picked so it holds more vitamins than fresh fruit and veg.
10. Don’t throw away empty jars and glass bottles as they can be reused as storage containers. Do give them a good wash before reusing.
11. You don’t need to throw yoghurts away – you can freeze them and then eat them as a frozen yoghurt or blend with your frozen fruit to make healthy smoothies.
12. If you cook too much pasta then you can pan fry it and add a couple of eggs to make a sort of omelette for flavour add ham, cheese or mushrooms or anything else you have in your fridge. the pasta goes a little crispy around the edges and it tastes great.
13. Every morning pull back your bedding / duvet and fold over the end of the bed to air your mattress, this will keep it fresher rather than covering the bed, as we forget how much we sweat at night.
14. Always have a folded up bag in your coat pocket or hand bag ready for shopping rather than buy carrier bags as this will save you money. Some supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi have sturdy boxes which their fruit comes in -these are handy if you don’t have a bag.
15. Clean a microwave by heating a bowl of water with a bit of lemon inside it. Also wipe down the hob straight after cooking as it’s easier to clean whilst it’s still hot.