Prolong veggies ....in the times of inflation...

Fruits and veggies
According to a study, more than a third of oranges and apples you buy for consumption get thrown away every year because they are past their best.

But fruits will last up to two weeks longer if you remember to keep it in the fridge, instead of the fruit bowl, as many of us do, at room temperature.

Even if fruit and vegetables have started to shrivel up inside the refrigerator, it is not always too late to save them. You can revive produce, like carrots or cucumbers, simply by putting it in a bowl of ice-cold water. Just because it's shrivelled doesn't mean it's lost its nutritional value.



Milk & Diary
To save electricity many people keep their refrigerators at a very high temperature of about seven degrees. This temperature does not always preserve the food for longer durations. By turning the temperature down by two degrees to five degrees, food will stay fresher for long, without having much effect on your electricity bill. Lowering the temperature could improve the shelf life of milk by a quarter and meat by half


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Petrol
With the cost of fuel rising, we dread a visit to the petrol pump. But there are ways of making those trips to the pump fewer and farther between.

Cars use the most fuel when the A/C is switched on and you are waiting at a signal which has a countdown time of three minutes. Make a habit to switch off the A/C at the signal to save fuel. But there is nothing better than turning down the engine.

Also if you don't speed on empty roads, you probably won't have to fill up your tank so often. Driving at 60 kmph, you car will give much better average than driving at 80 kmph. You can use up to about 20-50 per cent less fuel by keeping these points in mind and without affecting you journey time





Printer ink
While the cost of printers has gone down, ink cartridges can cost up to Rs 2000-3000 each.

To cut back, try using smaller, slimmer fonts in typefaces such as Garamond and Courier - and try setting your print quality to draft. Do not use colour print outs when not necessary.



Clothes
Taking more care when washing and drying clothes will keep them looking good for longer. Using very hot water with lots of detergent speeds up the breakdown of fibres of your clothes and fades colour. Air dry as much as you possibly can because less heat is involved and use only half a spoon of detergent when possible



Make up
Women typically spend more than Rs five lakh on make-up during their lifetime. One of the best ways to preserve cosmetics is to apply products like lipstick and foundations with a brush. For example, using a special foundation brush rather than your fingers, or a sponge, will help you to use less. Use a little bit at a time and press and roll into the skin so you don't waste it.

It's also essential to seal bottles and lipsticks every time after they are used in order to stop them drying out and letting in bacteria



Fresh flowers
Cut flowers should last around five to seven days. But to make them survive for even longer, pick flowers while they are still buds and keep them out of bright sunlight. As soon as you get them home cut the stems, which will have sealed over, to help give the flowers more moisture. Take off any leaves that will be under the water line. The leaves will rot away, which will in turn pollute the water and flowers need fresh water to survive. They will also take up valuable water and nutrients that should be going to the flowers to keep them alive.