Storing Fruits and Vegetables

I have trouble balancing my fruit and vegetable purchases with the rate in which I use them. I'm lazy about getting to the store so I try to buy enough produce for a week or so, but sometimes I don't eat it fast enough. This dilemma drives me insane, because I want fresh fruit and veggies handy at all times, and yet, I don't want to waste them either. I've been trying to compromise by attempting the grocery store more often, buying fewer pieces of produce at a time, and buying more frozen ones as insurance that I'll always have what I need. I still don't have it quite right, but I'm doing a better job. There are still days where something I buy rots in 36 hours and I want to go on a rampage.

I'm hoping the below tools will make me an even better 'gatherer'.

STORAGE TIPS
I recently found this awesome list of how to store the most common fruits and veggies so they last longer...without plastic...from Berkeley Farmers' Market via Fake Plastic Fish. I think this is going to be very helpful to me.




BLUAPPLE
I also saw this neat little product at Whole Foods, the BluApple. You're supposed to be able to put it in your fruit and vegetable compartments in the fridge and it absorbs the ethylene gas that produce gives off. Since these compartments are enclosed the ethylene gas builds up and the fruits ripen faster and rot. BluApple is supposed to help prolong the life of your produce. Ok, so they're not plastic-free, but the blue apples are reusable for-like-ever and just require non-plastic inserts.

Found at The Daily Grommet:

REUSABLE PRODUCE BAGS
Also, since we're on the topic, you might consider getting some reusable produce bags. Sure many of us have canvas bags for our groceries, but how about smaller bags for produce? My pea brain took a while to catch on to the need for these bags too, instead of all those produce plastic bags, but I made the switch awhile back. Whole Foods has some for sale, that's where I got mine, which are nothing fancy, just natural cotton mesh. But if you want something a little more fashionable, do a quick search on etsy.com for "produce bag" and you'll find plenty of fun, reusable bags like these cute little owl-stamped bags from MissMotley's Etsy.