Cooking at home more often than you eat out or order in, can be rewarding for both your wallet and your waistline. But it can also feel like a time suck that requires a lot of effort. It's hard to perfectly plan all of your meals to avoid food waste and get the most of out your produce while it's still fresh. Don't throw that stale loaf of bread out just yet though! Or let hardened brown sugar come between you and a batch of brownies again.
Here are 10 kitchen hacks to save you a little time, a little money, and a lot of frustration.
1. ) Keep Tomatoes Fresh Longer
Tomatoes stored stem side downFood52
You probably already know that tomatoes are better stored at room temperature than in the fridge. While ripe tomatoes do ok in colder temperatures, storing under ripe tomato in the refrigerator affects the development of the flavor, texture, and coloring. Want juicer tomatoes bursting with flavor? Store them stem side down at room temperature.
Storing tomatoes upside can actually keep them fresh for longer. How? It stops excess air and moisture from leaving what's knowns as the scar. The scar is where the tomato was once attached to the vine. This easy kitchen hack stops tomatoes from taking on that unwanted mealy texture and helps them stay fresher longer.
2.) Stop Brown Sugar From Hardening
Hard, clumpy brown sugar is a real bummer. Especially when you're in the middle of baking something delicious. Instead of tossing it out or breaking out a hammer to try to salvage some of it, try these easy hacks first. The key to keeping brown sugar from clumping is restoring as much moisture as possible.
Make sure your brown sugar is stored in an air-tight container and then add a slice of apple, or an orange peel to the mix before sealing. The orange peel and/or apple slice restores moisture and softens brown sugar up. Within a few hours it's as good as new! Here's a guide to everything you'll ever need to know about sugar.
3.) Easy Check to See if Eggs are Still Good to Eat
Spoiled egg testShutterstock
Not sure how long those eggs have been sitting in your fridge? Instead of cracking them open, gently place them in a bowl or glass of cold water instead. If the egg sinks, it's still good to eat. If it floats, it's time to toss it.
The liquid inside eggs slowly evaporates over time, creating a gas bubble inside. The lighter the egg, the older and more spoiled it is. The FDA's generally guideline is that a carton of eggs is ok to eat for up to 4-5 weeks after it's been packaged.
4.) Soften Butter Fast
Soften cold butter quicklyEver Tricks
Baking with soft butter is almost always better, but it isn't always convenient. If you're in a rush and forgot to let your butter soften at room temperature, don't just use it cold. Try these quick tricks to soften cold butter fast instead!
Grate it, slice it, or place it in a ziplock bag and roll it flat with a rolling pin. It'll soften up pretty quickly. Another cool trick? Try Buzzfeed's warm glass hack. Fill a glass with warm water, pour it out, and then place the glass over the butter to soften it.
5.) Quickly Peel Potatoes and Tomatoes
Thin skinned vegetables like potatoes and tomatoes can be annoying to peel. Here's a way to quickly and easily peel them without even using a vegetable peeler. First boil them and then give them an ice bath. The skin will separate from the center making it easy to peel right off with your hands.
6.) Cut the Fat
If you want to remove excess fat from gravy, stews, soups, sauces, and broths there's a faster way than waiting for it to cool. Pop a few ice cubes into the saucepan or pot and the fat will rise around them, making it easier to scoop out. You can also skim a few ice cubes along the surface of the liquid to help it solidify. Remove the fat with a spoon or try soaking it up with a piece of toast.
7.) Save Wilting Herbs for Later
Herb and olive oil cubesRecipe Hubs
If notice any herbs looking less than fresh you can easily give them a second life with this kitchen hack. Finely chop or pulse them in a food processor with olive oil. Enough oil to completely cover the herbs. Pour the herb and olive oil mixture into an ice tray and freeze. When you're ready to use the herbs just add one or two cubes to whatever you're cooking up! You can also try this hack with citrus zest. Here's a fruit freezing guide.
8.) Put Lemons to Work
Don't toss those old lemons out just yet! Instead put them to work as an all natural, and powerful way to clean your countertops, utensils, your oven, and even the fridge. Lemon juice is one of the best natural cleaners, because of it's low ph and antibacterial properties. It's even capable of restoring rusty brass and copper.
Try using half a lemon in place of a dish sponge. Scrub away and then let the lemon juice sit for a few minute before washing clean. Lemons are actually a safer and more environmentally friendly way of cleaning than other store bought products.
9.) Restore Crusty Bread
Revive old breadGetty Images
Don't throw out that stale loaf of bread either. Reviving a crusty baguette is possible with this amazing water trick. Run the stale loaf under water until the crust is completely wet. Don't be afraid to drench it.
Set your oven to 325 F degrees or on it's warm setting and put the wet loaf directly on the metal rack. Let it bake for 6-7 minutes and when you pull it out, it'll practically be as good as new. Warm, soft center and crunchy crusty exterior ready to be used again.
10) Microplane Garlic and Ginger
Finely chopping or mincing garlic and ginger can be a real time suck. Luckily there's an easier way. Microplane it! Anytime a recipe calls for minced garlic or ginger reach for a microplane zester instead of a knife.
It's faster and easier on your fingers. You can also try using a spoon to peel ginger, it actually works better than a vegetable peeler. And for the garlic? Give it a good whack with the back of a knife and the skin will fall right off.
Every time payday rolls around, I’m on top of the world. Jeff Bezos-level rich - even though I’m anything but. And then somehow the very next day, rent is due.
The cycle continues. The next payday, bills for my apartment. I find myself without a surplus of savings since I just moved and newly-furnished my apartment completely.
Even more terrifying is the looming presence of the holiday season. Halloween’s officially over and before we know it, hello Thanksgiving…and then there’s Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s. It’s insane.
I’ve been feeling very British lately. Not in a Union-Jack-obsessed, “Keep Calm and Carry-On” way. I went through that phase in 2012 with everyone else… no thank you. And it’s not even a surge of patriotism catalyzed by the Queen dying — I’m firmly team Diana and team Meghan.
Now that fall is officially here, the holidays will sweep in and I’ll have to contend with the fact that I won’t be spending them with my family in the UK. I went home to London earlier this year, so there’s not much left in my travel budget for another trip across the pond. A few domestic jaunts might be in my future, but the closest I’ll get to England this winter is watching Love Island and Love, Actually.
So in that spirit, I’ve been filling my days with content from my favorite Brits. I’m listening to all the old British rock bands I grew up listening to, patiently awaiting the new Arctic Monkeys album, and rewatching anything with Michaela Coel in it. I even shipped myself an order of British Baked Beans, so you know it’s dire.
I’ve also been watching British YouTubers like Grace Beverley — my favorite. Generally, I only go on YouTube to watch Vogue Beauty Secrets and AD Open Door videos. But I’m so glad I stumbled on Grace. Her content is a mix of London lifestyle (what lured me in), relatable entrepreneurship, and mindful productivity. I’m not a hustle-and-grind-girlboss, but as a creative person in a 9-to-5, I need all the help I can get to stay plugged in. So, the video “how to be really really really productive without getting overwhelmed” changed my approach to WFH.
Grace outlines her own productivity method: the to-do table. Instead of making a simple to-do list, she divides her tasks into a table that anyone can follow. As someone who’s survived with to-do lists for years, I recently implemented Grace’s method, and it’s revolutionized my workdays.
how to be really really really productive without getting overwhelmedwww.youtube.com
I follow her routine to a tee. Here’s how it works:
Essentially, she divides her daily responsibilities into four categories: quick ticks, tasks, projects, and non-negotiables.
- Quick Ticks: Actions that take less than 5-minutes
- Tasks: To-do’s that take up to 30-minutes. Probably don’t take too much brain energy.
- Projects: Long-term list items. These help guide your priorities, even if you’re not crossing them off in one day.
- Non-negotiables: Pick 3 things each day that you must get done. This is how you’ll truly measure success.
With everything written down and sorted, next address your schedule. Meetings, deadlines, and time blocks — whatever works best for you. Write it down. Then make a pact with yourself to stick to them.
This way of categorization provides a roadmap for prioritizing your day — making you far more productive. Have you ever spent the entire day on small tasks and then suddenly realized you hadn’t moved the needle on any task? Or do you spend way too much time on tasks that aren’t a priority? No more. With your non-negotiables laid out, you know what to laser-focus on and what to dedicate energy towards.
Also, it pays to know your working style. I’m not a morning person. Yet, I have to be up and at ‘em super early. So, first thing in the morning, I march through my Quick Ticks to warm me up. I set a time limit, so I can knock out some easy wins which is totally inspiring. Then I move on to bigger things without lingering on emails or admin. For others, it might be more helpful to tackle the big things with all that early-in-the-day brain power earlier.
Grace has great tips on avoiding overwhelm and burnout. My favorite is taking more intentional breaks rather than scrolling through social media. I call this scrolling “productive” because I’m “coming up with pitches.” Oh, the lies we tell ourselves. It’s more productive in the long run to giving my brain a break with non-screen related stimuli.
Grace’s solution? Set a timer to read a real, an actual book. I’ve never thought of this. It’s a genius way to check off some books on my TBR and kickstart my creativity. After reading a good book, I’m completely inspired to write. So having books near my desk helps me step away from the computer during my lunch break for an actual reset. (And yes, the current books I’m reading are by British authors: Assembly by Natasha Brown, and Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalolu.)
In my pursuit of switching out my WFH set-up and getting my life together, I’ve engineered my workstation for success. With my new WFH essentials and Grace’s productivity technique, I’m revitalized for work — despite the fall blues and my melancholy about the pending holidays.
Here are the things getting me hyped for work and helping me crush my Grace Beverley-inspired to-do tables — no lists in sight:
Southwest Airlines Sale 2022
Pack your bags — Southwest Airlines is having a major sale! Fares are as low as $59 one-way if you book by October 3rd.
This end-of-summer super sale is a game-changer for your travel plans through the end of the year. Summertime travel gets all the glory. But why not take advantage of your long weekends, holidays, and PTO this fall. You’ll be surprised at how much travel you can fit in. Keep the fall/winter season exciting with domestic trips that give you all the excitement without breaking the bank. All thanks to Southwest.
Here’s the breakdown:
Where can you go?
You’ll find discounted tickets to and from most airports. Sale fares apply to cross country travel, and even Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean! Whether you’re visiting a new city or revisiting your last beach vacation, this sale has fares to make your travel dreams come true.
What do the fares cover?
Southwest Airlines has multiple fare tiers, each with various benefits. Wanna Get Away fares start at $59, while Wanna Get Away Plus fares start at $89. You can also find great deals on Anytime fares, which offer priority boarding and express lanes. Then there’s Business Select tickets for a luxe experience at an affordable price point.
Do you have to be a Southwest Rapid Rewards member?
You may think these sale fares are too good to be true. Is there a catch? Do you have to be a Southwest Rapid Rewards member to access them? You’re in luck — anyone can attain these fares for a limited time.
But, insider tip, you should consider signing up for Southwest Rapid Rewards. With a free sign up, you earn points and miles with each trip you take. And with this sale, each dollar you spend on these discounted tix can stretch super far until you eventually earn free travel. The only thing better than a sale is free stuff.
So pack your bags and brace yourself for those chaotic airport lines. Everyone’s hopping on this deal so get on it. Don’t miss out — grab your sale tickets by October 3rd!
I’ve been browsing the Southwest Airlines site, checking out flights and dreaming.