I’m trying this new series of articles on Fridays called “Favorite Things Friday” where I will be sharing some of my favorite things, products, life tips, in hopes that you might find it useful in some way for your family. Please let me know in the comments if you would like to see more articles like this. I’m experimenting with this for the next few weeks. If you would like to see more articles like this, I can keep this series going. To go along with these Friday articles, I’ll also include a Giveaway!
My kids love strawberries and blueberries. One of the biggest frustrations I have with strawberries is that they rot so quickly in the fridge. So much so that I started avoiding buying Organic Strawberries, since they tend to go bad even faster. Often, I’ll check back after 2-3 days of buying them, and the entire pack is moldy and needs to be thrown away. I hate wasting food! (Really, I hate wasting anything that I paid for with hard earned money.)
Let me document some tips and products I found helpful in helping to keep strawberries fresh for longer (and other produce too).
How to Keep Strawberries Fresh for Longer
Here are some tips that I’ve learned on how to keep strawberries last longer than the usual 2-3 days. The key to keeping strawberries fresh is to keep them stored clean and dry.
1. Wash Right Away with Vinegar
Once I get home from the grocery store, I wash the Strawberries before they go in the fridge. Mold spores on the fruits are what makes them go bad quickly.
I wash my strawberries with Apple Cider Vinegar and water mix. You can do this in a big bowl or a salad spinner. Leave it soaking for a few minutes. The vinegar solution helps to remove spores and bacteria on the fruit, thus extending their life.
I typically add about 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar to a bowl of water. But you can use regular Vinegar as well. Some people add more vinegar for their wash solution (ie. 1 cup vinegar for 3 cups of water), in which case you’ll have to rinse extra well.
2. Dry Your Strawberries
Drying your berries is the next important step. You can get rid of excess water by spinning it a few times in a salad spinner. AND/OR drying it with a soft cloth or paper towel.
You can also air dry them in a colander, but with so many things going on, I’m afraid I’ll forget about the drying berries on the counter overnight (lol), so I don’t do this.
3. Storing Your Strawberries for Freshness
The quick and cheapest solution (what I used to use) for storage is to line the plastic containers (they came in) with paper towels and put the berries back in the containers.
And then a few months ago, there was a deal we posted on these Rubbermaid FreshWorks containers. I got a set to try and have been hooked ever since!
There’s a little perforated tray in the bottom of the container to keep produce from soaking in any condensation and moisture. And the lid has little “holes” in it to allow air flow in and out of the container.
I’ve since purchased a few more of these from Target (with the food storage category coupon), and I use it with all my fruit that needs washing.
One tip I found to be helpful is to wash all your fruits and veggies in one sitting. Then dry and store. It’ll save you time in the long run instead of washing one item as you need it. Plus, it’s so much more convenient to use, without the additional friction of needing to wash fruits. In the mornings, I love pulling out my green and white containers of already washed fruits and packing my kid’s lunches. SO Nice!
Giveaway Time! Win a Set of FreshWorks for FREE
To make it fun, I’m gonna include a Giveaway to go with these Favorite Things Friday articles every Friday. Check back every Friday for more of my Favorite Things.
For today’s giveaway, I’m giving away the 3-Piece set of FreshWorks Produce Saver Food Storage Containers to 4 Readers. This giveaway starts on Friday 8/24 and will end on Monday 8/27. Winners will be announced on this blog only on Tuesday 8/28 before 12pm PST. You’ll have 48 hours to claim your prize.
To enter in this giveaway: leave a comment below with a useful tip you use at home or something you recently learned or tell me about one of your favorite products. And tell me where you’re reading from (city and state). Let me know by leaving a comment on this post.
This post is NOT sponsored by anyone. I just really love this product and wanted to share my experience. All prizes are paid for by myself.
Do You Have a Favorite Product or Life Tip? Want to be published in a future “Favorite Things Friday”? Shoot me an email with your write up and pictures. If I accept your submission and publish your tip, I’ll also send you a $50 Gift Card to the store of your choice. Send email to tina@FreeStuffFinder.com with subject “Favorite Things Friday Tip”.
Hi! I love dusting my house with dryer sheets!!!!!! Grabs the dust and smells so good! buffalo, NY
A tip that I use at home is to freeze fruit that we do not want to spoil and use the them in smoothies. I am reading from Ames, IA.
Ever since you tagged about these containers I’ve been trying to justify buying them but last year for Black Friday I bought myself 2 sets of Rubbermaid. If I don’t win I’ll wait around for a superdeal.
A product I’m loving is my (verticals standing) vegetable chopper I bought off someone on FB. I can chop pepper and onions in less than a minute. But it should be used over a cutting board.
(Northumberland Pa)
One of my favorite things that I’ve started using lately is a crock pot! I never realized how easy it is to cook a meal. The only tough part is smelling it while cooking!
Reading from Johnson City, TN
Definitely going to try the vinegar and water rinse! I buy lots of fruit and veggies for morning smoothies for my kiddos, as it keeps them fuller longer at school until lunch. Fruit doesn’t last very long in my house but I like the clean and neatness of the containers because I im a neat freak and have everything nice and neatly organized in my fridge and the containers would go great in there too! Watching for deals from the very HOT Fresno Ca♀️
Hello Free Stuff Finder friends ! I love this tip above and will definitely look into these if I dont win this little giveaway! I am from Ohio, definitely not the greatest of states but what can you do :p
I’d say a good hack that I use in my house/ kitchen is using a vinegar solution for cleaning counters, floors, and even though build up on pots and pans. It gets rid of smells, build up, and germs that is great when you have a messy boyfriend and 4 dogs running through the house. It’s usually a 1:3 ratio of water and apple cider vinegar sometimes I’ll add essential oils to the one bottle I use in counters and in the bin for the mop to keep things interesting. When i use this for pots and pans I’ll add a course salt to the pan, spray some solution and scrub away with a sponge and usually gets all the gunk off.
Hope this helps someone 🙂
I heard letting chopped lettuce sit in cold water with some lemon squeezed in water will help it stay fresh longer. And then store in one of these produce containers. From Silverton Oregon
I use those same containers! Love them! I used to use paper towel at the bottom on the container, but those are so much better.
I store my matching linens inside the matching pillow case. This is an easy way to keep the sets together, and you know everything will be the right size if you organize your linen closet by sheet size. I’m reading from Aiken, SC and I’d love to win this!!
I missed the last deal Target had on those. I use Thieves vegetable spray or vinegar & water as well. Cilantro I put in a jar with a little water ( like I would flowers) and put a bag over it-makes it last so much longer! (Saginaw, MI)