Recently I did some major cleaning in my kitchen. The girls (Savannah and Matilda) and I scrubbed the front on all of our kitchen cabinets. I’m sure no one would really notice the difference if you came to my kitchen, but boy did it feel good. Not to mention the fact that Savannah said it was “the best day ever”……..the girl loves to clean and had a blast playing with sponges and soapy water.
That same day I decided to get my refrigerator in order. I removed all of the shelves and drawers and washed them with hot, soapy water in the sink. Then I scrubbed the sides of the fridge and now it looks as good as new!
It’s amazing how good it can make me feel to take a little time to improve the simple things around the home. So, this might be totally random, but as I was in my organization, cleaning mode last week. I made sure to process my produce immediately and properly when I got home from the market.
How do you store your lettuce? Well, my mom taught me to store it this way along time ago and it makes the lettuce last FOREVER! Now, I’ll be honest with you when I say, that sometimes I’m lazy when I get home from the store and I don’t wash my lettuce and store it right away and I end up regretting it every time. The lettuce goes bad before I’ve even eaten half of it. Maybe this is how you store your lettuce already, but if not, I thought I would share this little tip with you.
Remove your lettuce from the bag (this is organic romaine from Trader Joe’s). Separate the pieces and rinse them in the sink. Spread out some paper towels. Lay lettuce down on the paper towels (as see above). Blot to dry with a clean kitchen towel.
Roll up the lettuce in the paper towels. You want the paper towels to still have some moisture in them (this is what keeps the lettuce fresh).
Lindsay Wilkes is the owner and designer behind The Cottage Mama. She creates timeless, vintage inspired sewing patterns for children’s clothes. She is also a fabric designer for Riley Black Designers / Penny Rose Fabrics, author of the book ‘Sew Classic Clothes for Girls’ and can be seen teaching nationwide and online in her video series ‘Lessons with Lindsay’ sponsored by Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery machines.
I just loved this idea:)
Thanks for sharing!
Kiss
Yes. Thank you for this tip! It is so much better than other I’ve found! Yay! Must buy lettuce today!
What a great idea – thanks!
I’m so glad you posted this! Just last night, as I pulled out a beautiful head of red leaf in a desperate attempt to enjoy it before it wilted, I thought “There must be a better way to keep my lettuce fresh!”. Thanks for coming to my aid 🙂
And MY mother taught me this trick, too…a third generation tried and true way to really keep it fresh.
Great tip! Thanks!
Such a great reminder. This is one of the many things that once again proves that putting in time and effort in the beginning can save you in the long run. You aren’t going to end up wasting food and you have a quick go to at meal time!
We do the same thing at our house, except we use tin foil instead of the ziplock bag.
Hi Lindsay again!
I just linked this post in my blog, because I was amazed with your idea, and I already did it:)
themchart.blogspot.com
Kiss
I save fresh coriander leaves this way. When we get more I preserve them in hand towels and freeze them.
Very interesting, did not know this way to keep lettuce fresh for longer.
Kisses
Ana Martins
The second “plus” of this method is that while the paper towels don’t work well for a second use wrapping lettuce, allow them to air dry, and then use them for household cleaning. Ta da!
Thanks so much! We’ve done something sort of like this using a plastic bowl/lid instead of a Ziploc bag. But we don’t actually DO it often enough that I realized it saved it for so much longer. Will definitely try your way!
i am going to try this! i will have to make some changes though. we don’t use any disposable paper products except toilet paper, and we make sure that that is made from recycled paper. i have some dish towels that are quite light and not huge and i am thinking of a sealable container. i will let you know if it works. we have a house duck who would love it if the lettuce wasn’t always going bad. i know, we are a very strange family. the duck wears diapers.
terri sue
Hope this is not an April fools joke 😉 I will definitely try it, thank you!!
I do this too! Great minds think alike, giggle.I’m happy I found your lovely blog. Wishing you happiness, Hugs Katherine
Thanks for sharing! Sounds like something I need to add to my home management guide. Check out this great salad recipe on my blog for a great way to use your romaine lettuce. http://housewifehow-tos.blogspot.com/2010/02/recipe-cranberry-orange-pecan-salad.html! Enjoy!