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.

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.

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.

2. Plan smart

Plan your week by having a look at what's in your fridge and cupboards and plotting your meals around what needs using. Try our handy recipe meal planner tool to inspire you. Leave a night or two empty to allow for leftovers or last-minute changes so you don’t overbuy and waste more food. Take note of any food you throw out at the end of each week, so you can adjust your next meal plan and use your freezer to help you cut down on waste.

3. Make a shopping list

Stick to your meal plan by writing a shopping list before you shop. Use the M&S App to create your own digital checklist, which you can easily check off as you shop. Tick, tick.

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.

7. Have some flexible recipes up your sleeve

Whether it’s a traybake, stir-fry or an end-of-week frittata, have some recipes to fall back on to help you use up those odds and ends. For example:

• Swap in any other firm fish fillets in this cod, new potato and roasted tomato recipe.

• Exchange asparagus for broccoli, peas or any roasted veg in this flavour-packed frittata.

• Got leftover roasted meats? Use this perfect sandwich recipe as inspo.

• Chop up any crunchy veg and add it to this salmon teriyaki stir fry.

• Use up a stale loaf, swap the chard for kale, and use whatever tin of beans you've got to hand, in this hearty ribollita recipe.

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.

10. Skin to stem

Make use of the whole vegetable from skin to stem. Broccoli stems, cauliflower leaves, herb stalks, and potato skins are all perfectly edible and full of flavour. Chop them up and use them in soups, stir-fries and traybakes. We love this leek and potato soup recipe, topped with crispy potato skin croutons.

11. Shake up a salad dressing

Down to the end of a mustard, pesto or harissa jar? Add a swig of olive oil and vinegar and a pinch of salt, then shake it up into salad dressing.

12. Saved by your spatula

Spatulas are every frugal cook’s go-to kitchen utensil. Get that last bit of yogurt from the pot and scrape your saucepan clean to reduce food waste and the washing up, too.