I’ve written about kitchen hacks before but here are five things that you can start doing right now to save money.

I’m always looking for ways to save a few pennies.  As grandma used to say, if you keep track of the pennies, the dollars take care of themselves.  Not that I am too cheap or stingy, but why waste money – especially for things you already have?

It’s estimated American throw away 40% of the food purchased. That’s a huge amount. We should be following the examples set by our ancestors to use up, and recycle, our kitchen & farm food and tangibles.

So here are 5 things you might want to consider doing.

1. Use every drip and dab.  My mother used to cut open the toothpaste tube (they were metal back then!) so we could use our toothbrush to get out the last bits of toothpaste that wouldn’t squeeze out.  There can actually be quite a lot left in there – cut one open next time you think your done to see! Maybe you go another week. Think how many bottles, cans and boxes we discard before it’s truly empty or used up – ketchup bottles, honey, shampoo, creme rinse, dish soap, jam jars, mayo containers …often we just need to either scrape it clean or add some water and keep using it until it’s really gone.
2. Save the heels or slightly stale pieces of bread and make bread crumbs.  Whir around in a food processor to form fine crumbs; I tend to put them in the freezer so it’s like using fresh bread crumbs, but you can also spread them out on a cooking sheet and dry them in a low oven, then store them in an airtight container.  My mother-in-law let the ends of a loaf of Italian bread sit out to dry, then grated it on the fine side of a box grater with the same result. I haven’t purchased bread crumbs in ages.
3. Turn stale bread into croutons – cut into cubes of your preference, toss with a bit of olive oil and herbs, garlic/onion powder, or grated cheese and bake in a 250F oven until totally dry, tossing once or twice.  Store in an airtight container in your pantry. I think mine taste better than any I can buy.
4. Make your own spice mixes – I keep a healthy (i.e. large) number of spices and dried herbs on hand, and I can find a recipe for just about any spice mix I might need on line or in a cookbook.  It’s way cheaper and more practical to mix up what I need from what I have on hand than spend $5.00 on a tiny bottle that I might not ever use again. I don’t buy something like apple pie or pumpkin pie spice mix.
5. Save left over vegetables in the freezer – every time I have a spoonful of corn, or a quarter cup of green beans left from a meal, I drop them into a quart container I keep in the freezer.  The next time I make a soup or stew and need a mix of vegetables, I just take out the container.  I’m not spending money buying a mix, and I am not throwing out perfect good food.

What are some things you do around the kitchen to conserve, re-purpose or re-invent what you already have?