Tropical Fruits
Tropical fruits thrive in warm climates with frequent rain and humidity, making them delicious and nutritious. They cannot be stored in the fridge as this can cause a loss of nutrients and flavors. It’s best to display them in a colorful bowl on your counter or coffee table.
Frozen Fruits and Veggies
Frozen vegetables may spoil in 10 months or less, while frozen fruit may spoil in 6-9 months. To check if they are still safe to eat, wash off the crystallized ice and ensure they maintain good color and texture.
Leftover Coffee
Storing coffee beans or brewed coffee in the fridge is fine as long as they are kept in an airtight container. However, coffee beans should be stored in a cool, dry place, and storing brewed coffee in the fridge can affect its temperature and aroma, impacting other products in the fridge as well.
Citrus Fruits
Storing citrus fruits in the fridge can slow down their ripening process and reduce their flavor. It’s best to store them at room temperature in a bowl to maintain their best quality.
Vegetables
Vegetables bought by the pound typically last in the fridge for a week or two. Packaged vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower usually outlast their expiration date. Check for irregular smells, textures, slime, or dark spots before consuming.
Butter
Butter should never be left at room temperature as it will spoil within two days. Storing it in the fridge can extend its freshness for up to a month, while the freezer can make it last for 6-9 months.
Mouthwash
Mouthwash typically has a shelf life of a few years but becomes ineffective after two or three years.
Female Hygiene Products
Female hygiene products have a long shelf life if stored properly, with tampons lasting approximately five years. It’s important to store them in the correct conditions to prevent mold and bacteria growth.
Bleach
Bleach has an expiration date, typically six months after opening. After this time, it becomes less effective for cleaning.
Gallon of Bleach
If you find that you are able to go through a full gallon of bleach in just six months, consider purchasing smaller bleach bottles on your next trip to the supermarket.
Old Shampoo & Conditioner
It’s pretty easy to tell when your hair care products have gone bad as there is usually a change in color, smell, or consistency. If you notice any of these, it’s time to throw them away. As long as your shampoo or conditioner doesn’t show any changes, they should be fine. However, don’t use the product if it has been 18 months since you first opened it. Like many other shower-stored items, shampoo and conditioner can harbor bacteria, which can be harmful to your scalp.
Basil
For fresh basil, it’s best not to store it in the fridge. Instead, place it where it can get some sunlight. To prevent wilting, you can put it in a cup filled with fresh water and place the cup near a window where it will receive sunlight. With luck, the basil may even grow roots, allowing you to have a constant supply.
Antibacterial Cleaners
Cleaning products, including antibacterial cleaners, have expiration dates. Antibacterial cleaners are effective for about a year before they start to become ineffective. Make sure to check the expiration dates on your cleaning supplies to ensure that they are still effective.
Cucumber
Storing cucumbers in the fridge for too long can cause them to become waterlogged and less flavorful. It’s best to buy a few at a time and store them in the pantry or on the counter to keep them fresh. If you want to chill them, you can put them in the fridge for an hour before using them.
Nut Butter
Unopened nut butter can stay fresh for up to a year, while commercial peanut butter can last up to two years. Natural nut butter can stay fresh for up to three months after opening, as long as it tastes good. Nutella can stay fresh for up to 2-3 months past its official expiration date.
Pillows
It’s recommended to change pillows every year or two, especially for those who are allergic to dust mites or suffer from back or neck pains. While there are no legal consequences for not changing pillows, it can be beneficial for health reasons.
Meat
When stored in the fridge, meat can only last a few days. In the freezer, ground meat can hold for 3-4 months, while whole cuts of meat can hold for up to a year. Freezing meat prevents the growth of bacteria that cause food poisoning, making the meat safe to consume for an extended period.
Skincare Products
It’s important not to use skin-care products past their expiration date, as the expired formula can be ineffective or trigger skin reactions. The expiration date on a skin-care product is usually half a year to a year from purchase.
Towels
Bathroom towels can accumulate bacteria and should be washed frequently. Over time, the fabric of the towel may degrade, so it’s important to replace them every so often to maintain good hygiene.
Your best option for long-term storage would be the pantry or a closet with low moisture that sees no direct sunlight. If you have some carrot pieces you’d already cut up and want to save for later, here is what you need to do: get a plastic container, fill it with water, put the carrot pieces in there, and put the whole thing in the fridge. It should buy your carrots a few more hours.
Seafood
As a general rule, the freezer will make seafood last longer than the fridge. Raw fish like halibut, cod, or salmon, will last 6-9 months in the freezer, but only a day or two in the fridge.
The fridge will grant smoked fish a lifespan of about 5-7 days, while the freezer will help it last 3-6 months. When air-packed, smoked fish can last 2-3 weeks in the fridge. Canned fish, however, takes the cake with a shelf life that extends their printed date by 2-5 years.
Dry Pasta
Uncooked pasta can last for a pretty long time. When stored in the package in the pantry, this Italian delicacy can hold for up to two years. Once the package is open, though, you have one year to help it find its way to your belly. (Which doesn’t sound very hard.)
Fresh pasta, however, is a different story — if it’s spent more than two days in the fridge, don’t eat it. Cooked pasta has a week-long fridge-life, but the freezer will save it for 6-8 months.
Bananas
If you want your bananas to stay at their most nutritious state, keep them away from your fridge. Or any fridge for that matter. While the cold does make them ripen slower, the moisture in the fridge counters that effect and can turn them brown. And nobody wants brown bananas.
If you aren’t planning on eating your bananas anytime soon but still want to keep them around, cut them up into little pieces, put them in a plastic bag, and store the bag in the freezer. They won’t be fresh-off-the-tree, but they’ll be great in your next smoothie.
Hot Sauce
Keep it in your pantry, keep it in your fridge, keep it on your bedside table as a midnight snack, (we won’t judge). Hot sauce is one of the few things that can be stored wherever you like.
It has loads of natural preservatives (vinegar, for instance) which makes it last for a really long time. If you keep it away from direct sunlight, your hot sauce (no matter the brand) should be good to eat as long as it looks good and tastes good, even past its expiration date.
Boxed Wine
Wait, what? Aren’t old bottles of wine actually better? Have we been tricked into paying too much for our celebratory Pinot? Well, there is no need to panic. When it comes to bottled wine, it does improve with age. When stored in a box, it’s a little different.
Boxed wine is usually good for 6-8 months after the purchase. You should also pay attention to the actual box material. Most of them contain BPA, which you don’t want in your body no matter how good the wine is.
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