Having a way of identifying what food needs to be eaten first in your fridge, freezer, and pantry will help get food eaten. This is where using an Eat Me First sticker comes into play—it works as a visual prompt, labelling device, and communication tool. Setting up an “Eat Me First” shelf is a great way to maximise the life of the sticker and create lasting habits for getting organised.
Think of your freezer as your food’s pause button. It’s one of the most powerful tools you have to prevent waste. Got bread that’s going stale, leftovers you won’t eat in time, or meat approaching its use-by date? Pop it in the freezer to keep it fresh for later. Most foods freeze well and can be defrosted easily when needed – saving your food and your wallet.
We partnered with University of Otago to test storage practices for many common vegetables found in Kiwis’ refrigerators and these are the results. Learn more about this research here.
Store carrots in an airtight container lined with a paper towel to stop them going limp and black. This will help them last 10 times longer.
Wrap it tightly in beeswax wrap, cling wrap or bag and place it in the fridge. If using beeswax wrap, take the seeds out first. This will help it last 4.5 times longer.
Store in an airtight container or a ziplock bag with a paper towel to help them last up to two times longer.
To store cut avocado, leave the stone in, wrap tightly in beeswax wrap and keep in the fridge making them last up to four times longer. Placing them in an air-tight container also works well.
To keep chopped celery, place it in an airtight container lined with a paper towel to last up to five days longer. Save the base of the celery to regrow more celery.
Wrap your lettuce in paper towels and place it in a ziplock bag to help the last up to four times longer. Lettuce crispers are also great to use if you have one.
Take a look at our most-searched foods below, or dive into the full A–Z storage guide for the ultimate food-saving know-how here.
Our humid climate means that bread doesn’t last in the pantry. Frozen bread can go straight into the toaster for breakfast, and if you use it for sandwiches it would have defrosted by lunchtime.
It may be convenient to store them in the same place as they both like the same conditions but when they’re kept together they release moisture which makes them both sprout faster.
Extend the shelf life of meat by freezing it before its use-by date. Freezing locks in the quality ensuring it stays safe to eat even after the use-by date has passed giving you the flexibility to use it when you're ready.
Ethylene gas, released by foods such as apples and pears, causes bananas to ripen faster. Once bananas are ripe they produce ethylene gas, which ripens other fruit. Keep bananas on the counter away from other fruits.
To keep a large block of cheese from growing mould or drying out, wrap the block tightly in its original packaging and place it in a cloth cheese bag in the fridge. Or wrap it in beeswax wrap or a plastic bag while in its original packaging.
