Whether it’s trying to open that rigid “clamshell” plastic packaging or finding a container to store pasta, you most likely have the tools somewhere in your home.
Here’s a list of 17 kitchen hacks and tips to save a bit of money and help make your life easier in the kitchen.
1) Slip egg shells off with ease by adding baking soda to your water.
2) Combine two favorite breakfast items into one convenient package, bacon pancakes!
3) Wrap a wet napkin around your beer and get nice cold beer in only a few minutes.
4 ) Don’t waste money on gadgets to open plastic packaging, use your can opener!
5) Have store hangers in your closet? Make DIY chip clips out of them.
6) Place your cutting board on an opened drawer to add extra space while cooking.
7) Increase your meat to bread ratio with this tip!
8) Dunk your Oreo with a fork and don’t get your fingers wet.
9) Do the float test to find any bad eggs.
10) No more chewy crusts by placing a glass of water in the microwave.
11) Add a scoop of ice cream to your almost empty jar of Nutella for some ooey-gooey goodness.
12) Save your Pringles containers and use them to store pasta or a variety of things around the house.
13) Space out a circle when microwaving leftovers for even heating.
14) If your butter is frozen, just shred it instead!
15) Now, this is how you use kitchen hacks to make a BLT and keep the bacon from falling off your sandwich.
16) Fill your water bottle halfway and store it in the freezer on its side for quick ice water.
17) Use an apple corer to make French fry wedges.
Bonus: Creative Ways To Keep Your Fridge Organized
Chalkboard Fridge
If you’re looking for a fun and creative way to spruce up an old refrigerator, try turning it into a chalkboard! Simply clean your fridge well, and then paint it with chalkboard paint. If you’d like, you can also add decorations, like buttons or burlap twine on the door’s handles. You can then draw on your fridge, write lists on it, and so much more.
Create An “Eat Me First” Basket
Everyone has experienced that frustrating moment where you realize something in your fridge has gone bad. To prevent this from happening, create a simple “Eat Me First” basket. Place this basket at the front of your fridge, and then put in all the perishable goods that are reaching their expiration date. This easy trick will prevent tons of food waste.
Magazine Freezer Shelves
Freezer shelves can quickly turn into a mess—it’s hard to keep all those bags of frozen food in order. To keep your freezer organized, try using magazine shelves. Turn the shelves on their sides, and then places all your bags of frozen food inside. Just like that, you’ll have a beautiful, organized freezer.
Lazy Susan Organizer
Tired of digging around in the back of your fridge? Place a Lazy Susan in your fridge! Buy a Lazy Susan from your favorite shop, and then place it on your shelf. A Lazy Susan will make it so much easier to find small items in your fridge.
Reduce Condiment Clutter
Many people have lots of bottles of half-used condiments in their fridge. To reduce condiment clutter, consider buying squeeze bottles, and then condense the condiments in these bottles. Be sure to label these bottles so you know what’s what!
Reusable Shopping Bag Organizer
If you have a chest freezer, consider using reusable shopping bags to organizer your freezer. Line the bags along the bottom of your freezer, and then place your frozen food inside. You can use one bag for frozen vegetables, one for frozen meat, and so on.
Cute Bins
Bins are a simple but very effective way to organize your fridge. Place a few bins on each of your shelves, and then label them. Then, place your various food items in these bins. With these bins, you’ll never have to worry about losing track of your food.
Use Blinder Clips In Freezer
If you buy a lot of bags of frozen food, try organizing them with binder clips. Clip the bags of food to the top shelf in your freezer. Just like that, you’ll have lots more space in your freezer, and your bags of frozen food will be perfectly organized.
Plastic Wrap Mats
Tired of constantly cleaning your fridge shelves? Put plastic wrap over the shelves! Then, when the plastic wrap gets dirty, you can simply throw it out and replace it. With this easy hack, you won’t have to worry about crumbs or liquid getting on your fridge shelves.
Use Lots Of Labels
As you’re organizing your fridge, be sure to use plenty of labels. It’s especially a good idea to use labels on your bins. Labels will help you keep track of where everything is, and it will make putting away groceries much faster.
Grab-And-Go Fruit Basket
Looking for an easy way to encourage healthy eating in your house? Try making a grab-and-go fruit basket. Fill the basket up with all your favorite fruits, and decorate it if you’d like. A grab-and-go fruit basket is an easy way to keep your fruit drawer organized.
Label Fridge Door Shelves
If you feel like your fridge door shelves are getting too cluttered, try labeling them. Create one shelf for dairy, one or two for condiments, and one for any other miscellaneous items. When you label your shelves, you and your family members will always know where to store items.
Dry Eraser Board Organizer
Looking for a good way to keep track of what’s in your fridge? Use a dry erase board! Glue magnets to the back of the board, and then place it on the side of your fridge. Then, write down your shopping list, ingredients for recipes you want to make, and anything else you need to keep your fridge nice and organized.
Keep Leftovers In Mason Jars
Instead of filling your fridge with Tupperware, try storing your leftovers in Mason jars. Mason jars take up less space than Tupperware, and they also look great in your fridge. Mason Jars are also a good choice for meal-prepping.
Use Empty Six-Pack To Organize Doors
If you’re looking for another clever way to organize your fridge doors, try using an empty six-pack. An empty six-pack is perfect for storing small condiments, bottles of juice, and even wine bottles. This simple trick will keep your fridge door shelves perfectly organized.
Store Condiments In Egg Carton
You can also use a cardboard egg carton to store your loose condiments. Cut the top off the egg carton, and then place your condiment bottles upside-down in the bottom portion of the carton. Stick the carton in one of your small fridge doors, and just like that, you’ll have perfectly organized condiments!
Use Sliding Bins With Handles
Sliding bins are another great way to keep all of your food items organized. Place these bins on your fridge shelves, and label each bin. When you use sliding bins, you’ll always be able to easily find things in your fridge.
Add An Extra Shelf
Do you constantly feel like you don’t have enough space in your fridge? Add another small shelf! Buy a small wire shelf at your favorite department store, and then place the shelf on your top shelf. With this extra shelf, you won’t have to worry about your fridge getting cluttered up.
Make A Snack Zone
Are your kids always saying that they can’t find their favorite snacks in the fridge? Make a snack zone for them! Fill a bin with your kids’ favorite snacks, and then add a cute label to the bin. With this ‘snack zone,’ your kids will always be able to find the treats they love.
Keep Bottles In Place With Binder Clips
Loose bottles are always a nuisance—they constantly roll around the fridge. To keep the bottles in place, use binder clips. First, attach two binder clips to the wire shelf in your fridge. Then, stack the bottles in a pyramid shape, and rest the bottom bottles against the binder clips. The clips will keep your bottles from moving around your fridge.
Put In A Drink Dispenser
Here’s a cute idea for anyone who feels like they have too many bottles cluttering up their fridge: put in a drink dispenser! Put the dispenser on your middle shelf, and fill it with your favorite drink. A drink dispenser will always keep your drinks cold, and it will make it so much easier to keep your fridge organized.
Use Magnetic Containers
If you’re looking for a great way to organize the outside of your fridge, try making magnetic containers. To create these containers, simply glue magnets to the bottom of small Tupperware containers. Let the magnets dry, and then stick the containers to the side of your fridge. You can fill these containers with your favorite snacks, spices, flour or sugar, or anything else you’d like!
Create A Lunch And Snack Station
If you want to cut down on the time it takes you to make lunch for you and your kids, create a lunch and snack station. Fill the station with all the essentials, from bread to lunch meat to snacks. With this easy trick, you’ll be able to fill your kids’ lunchboxes in no time at all.
Attach Plastic Cups To Fridge
If your kids are always losing cups, try attaching colorful plastic cups to your fridge using magnets. Glue magnets to the bottom of the cups, and then attach the cups to your fridge. These cups will look cute on your fridge, and your kids will always know where to find the cups.
Store Veggie Sticks In Upcycled Containers
If you have some old Crystal Light containers in your pantry, use them to store veggie sticks. Cut up the veggie sticks, place them in the container, and put the containers on one of your fridge doors. Just like that, you’ll always have veggies ready when you’re craving a veggie-and-dip snack.
Write ‘Opened-On’ Dates
Do you always have trouble keeping track of expiration dates? Try writing the dates in Sharpie on each food item’s container. This will make it easy for you to know what foods are going bad and what foods will still be good for a while.
Place Fruits And Vegetables In Mesh Bags
When you’re buying fruits and vegetables, consider using a mesh bag instead of the plastic bags at the grocery store. Then, you can place this bag in your crisper drawer—you won’t have to worry about taking out the fruits and veggies and organizing them.
Suspend Bottles From Top Of Fridge
Can’t figure out where to store your six-pack? Try hanging it from the top of your fridge with the BottleLoft Magnetic Strip! This clever strip attaches to the top of your fridge, and it has six magnets. Each magnet is strong enough to hold a 4.8-pound bottle.
Store Items In Wicker Baskets
Looking for a functional and fashionable way to store your food? Try using wicker baskets. Wicker baskets will look great in your fridge, and they can hold tons of food. Just be sure to label the baskets so you can keep track of what’s inside them.
Hang Kitchen Essentials On Side Of Fridge
The side of your fridge is a great underused storage space. To make use of this space, consider buying a few magnetic shelves and attaching them to the side of your fridge. Fill these shelves with all your kitchen essentials, including spices, recipe books, and paper towels.
Easy Egg Basket
If you and your family eat a lot of eggs, consider using an egg basket in your fridge. Place the basket in an easy-to-reach spot, and then fill it with eggs each time you go to the store. An egg basket is an egg-cellent choice for any fridge!
Track Expiration Dates On Magnetic Calendar
Looking for another easy way to keep track of expiration dates? Try writing them on your calendar. Get a magnetic calendar and attach it to your fridge. Then, write down food expiration dates with a dry erase marker. With this magnetic calendar, you’ll never have to worry about food going bad before you can eat it.
Musical Shelves
Many people forget that you can move shelves around in your fridge. If you feel like you need more space on one shelf, you can simply move it higher or lower. Playing ‘musical shelves’ is a great way to customize your fridge so you have the storage space you need.
Use Multipurpose Bins In Freezer
Multipurpose bins are a great choice for a chest freezer. Place the bins on the bottom of your freezer, and fill them up with all the essentials. When you use multipurpose bins, your freezer will look beautifully organized.
Store Dairy On Fridge Shelves
Most people store their milk on their fridge door, but that’s actually not the best place for it. The temperature on the door shelf is typically a couple degrees higher than the temperature in the inner part of the fridge. Because of that, milk goes bad faster when it’s on the fridge door shelf. To save your milk, be sure to place it on one of the fridge’s inner shelves.
Know The Best Place To Store Items
Before you put your groceries away, check out this handy chart showing you the best places to store items in your fridge.