12 ways to reduce food waste and save money

1. Time for a spring clean

Before you do anything else, have a good sort out of your fridge-freezer. We've all got old condiments lurking at the back of our fridge and frozen meals we forgot we had.

Start by arranging your fridge shelves so that veg, meat and fish, dairy, cooked foods and condiments each have a dedicated space. For anything that needs using up, designate an “Eat Me First” section to help you keep on top of food on the turn.

Next, clear out your freezer. Throw away anything too old and label everything else clearly. Group items in your freezer into dedicated sections – for example, put prepared meals in the bottom drawer, veg, meat and fish in the middle, and anything you use most often at the top – say sliced bread for toast or bags of frozen fruit for smoothies.

4. Rely on your freezer

From bread to minced meat to milk, freeze food on the turn before it goes off. Find out what you can freeze this way.

5. Upcycle glass jars

Finished the last of your peanut butter? Clean out the jar and use it to store your cupboard essentials. Reuse them for storing leftovers, overnight oats, homemade sauces or for leftover lunch containers. They’re super-handy for keeping your cupboards neat and tidy – collate odds and ends of open packets in airtight jars (think: pasta, biscuits, nuts, seeds and cereal) so they’re easily visible and don't go forgotten.

6. Beware bananas

Store your bananas in a separate fruit bowl. Bananas release a natural plant hormone called ethylene gas, which makes any nearby fruit ripen faster. If they ripen too quickly, this ultimate banana bread recipe will help you.

8. Cook once, eat twice

Batch-cook at least one meal a week, so you can save yourself cooking twice. Try this recipe for slow-cooker chicken and black bean chilli and enjoy with rice, then turn it into a sweet potato pie or loaded fries the next day. Anything you don’t use, pop it in the freezer, clearly labelled with what it is and the date.

9. Don't throw the carcass

Stretch your ingredients to their full flavour potential – the chicken carcass from your Sunday roast will add depth of flavour to this leftover chicken orzo soup.