Some time or the other you must have thrown off rotten food from the fridge and felt terrible about the wastage. Here are some tips to help you save money by keeping fruits and vegetables fresh and making them last longer.

We never really bother about the temperatures in our fridge. Ideally it should be maintained between 32F and 41F. If the temperature is too warm food will go bad under bacterial attack and if too cold then icicles will form in the food.

Fresh vegetables and fruits should have air circulating round them to help them stay fresh. This also prevents them turning soggy from sweating. Do not store in packaged plastic in which they are purchased.
Here are some tips for storing fruits and vegetables.

Apples:
Throw out rotten, blemished ones. They could contaminate the good ones and cause them to rot.

Lettuce:
Lettuce stays fresh if stored in a loose large plastic bag. To revive lettuce leaves that have gone limp, remove a thin slice of its stem and store in a container of ice-cold water. Each leaf can be sprinkled with cold water, wrapped up in a tea towel and stored in the refrigerator for about an hour. This will keep them fresh.

Carrots, turnips and beetroot:
Remove the leaves to avoid them drawing nutrients from roots. Store in cold dry place that is dark and well ventilated.

Celery:
Celery will stay well if stood upright on its stalk in a tumbler of water and then placed in the fridge. It can lose flavor immediately on washing.

Lemons:
Place cut lemons with cut side downward keeping them under an inverted glass on top and in a place that is cool.

Mushrooms:
Mushrooms remain fresh if stored in a place that is dark and cool. Do not store in the fridge. Wipe dry and keep on a paper towel to store longer.

Onions:
Onions remain fresh if stored in wire racks, keeping bulbs apart to encourage air circulation and thereby prevent rotting.

Potatoes:
To keep potatoes from sprouting store them with apples in a cool dry place. If you are peeling them for cooking, peel only as many as you need and put them in water till you cook to prevent them turning brown or place peeled ones in a bowl of water in the fridge till cooking time.

Tomatoes:
It depends on how you prefer your tomatoes, soft or rock hard. Green tomatoes or unripe ones stay fresh when stored in the dark. When exposed to sunlight they will soften instead of ripening. If you wish them to ripen then store in a drawer in a paper bag along with an apple till then turn a pretty rosy red.

If you follow the above tips, you will keep your vegetables and fruits fresh till your next visit to the grocery. You never need to worry about wastage and rotting. The saving will also make you feel happy.