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11 KITCHEN ITEMS THAT WILL SAVE YOU A TON OF MONEY
Our grocery bill was one of the highest bills we had when fighting to get out of debt. Eating out less, meal prepping, and stocking up on sale items helped us cut our grocery bill in half.
Now that we are out of debt, we occasionally struggle with keeping our food expenses down. Two growing and picky toddlers makes it hard.
There are several kitchen items that have helped us save money and a few others that I feel every person should have if they want to save money in the kitchen too.
#1 INSTANT POT
The Instant Pot is the number one kitchen device that you have to have if you want to save time and money in the kitchen. It’s a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté, yogurt maker, and warmer. We use it to make oatmeal, easy peel hard boiled eggs, chili, corned beef, ribs, beets, beef stew and more.
The newest version of the Instant Pot can even be used as a sterilizer. Great if you do a lot of canning, which also saves money.
We love that is cuts our cooking time significantly, can be programmed, and in no way do you sacrifice taste.
#2 REUSEABLE TOWELS
Because my husband goes through paper towels so quickly, it has been one of the many items we have stopped buying as often to save money.
I try to keep our stock of mini towels clean so that we use those to wipe down our kitchen messes instead.
These reusable paper towels can be washed and used again multiple times. One roll is equivalent to 60 conventional paper towel rolls.
Related posts:
* How to cut your grocery bill in half
*No cook refrigerator oatmeal recipes
*5 Tips to get your picky eater to eat
#3 COFEE MAKER
If you’re a coffee lover the best kitchen item to save money is a coffee maker. We have a Keurig machine and a French press. Our latest purchase were these reuseable K-cups.
#4 VACUUM SEALER
A kitchen item that will save you money is a vacuum sealer. It’s a great way to preserve and freeze food.
Instead of throwing away fruit we freeze them for smoothies.
The summer time is when a lot of vegetables are on sale. Take this time to freeze fresh vegetables for the fall months.
Proteins (beef, pork, chicken) can be vacuum sealed to last longer and stocked up when they are on sale.
#5 SPIRALIZER
More and more supermarkets are selling precut and spiralized vegetables such as beets and zucchini that are used instead of pasta. They are ridiculously pricey, which is why we just bought a vegetable spiralizer.
Our garden has started producing a massive amount of zucchini. I made zucchini bread for our kids and a nice casserole, but wanted to try something different. We just made zucchini pasta and it great out delicious. Zucchini is an easy vegetable to freeze too.
#6 CLOTH NAPKINS
My family goes through napkins so quickly because of all the food messes we make.
These cute cloth napkins are the perfect money saver. Throw into the wash and good as new.
#7 REUSABLE SNACK/LUNCH BAGS
Stop wasting your money on plastic baggies. These reusable storage bags will save you money, are environmentally friendly, and will have you eating out a whole lot less.
#8 SILICONE LIDS
These adjustable silicone lids are perfect to cover your leftovers. They are both freezer and dishwasher safe. This simple kitchen items means you’ll save money on plastic wrap and tin foil.
We don’t use plastic wrap any more, but still use our foil when using our smoker.
#9 CONVECTION OVEN
I bought my older sister a Breville convection oven a few years ago that she still uses. It one of her main kitchen items that saves her money on electricity (she even baked a cheesecake in it) and she raves about it.
Once our toaster oven craps out I will be getting one. Why waste electricity heating your whole house for something that can be made in this smart oven?
#10 WAFFLE MAKER
A simple waffle maker will save you money because it’s easy to use and extra waffles can be frozen and eaten at a later date.
We have added in chocolate chips, blueberries, and sprinkles!
#11 COOKIE SHEET
Even if you aren’t a baker you should have a good nonstick cookie sheet pan.
I use ours to bake cookies and desserts, but they are also perfect for one pan meals. On one side roast your vegetables and on the other your protein. One of my faves is asparagus, shrimp, lemon, garlic, and butter.
If you don’t have a ton of money to spend save up and buy the kitchen items you think you’d get the most savings from first. If you eat out frequently the Instant Pot should be your must-have kitchen appliance.
Having the right kitchen items can save you a ton of money and time in the kitchen. Because we have the right tools, cooking at home is easier than going out to eat and most of the time tastier.
Great ideas. I’ve been toying with the idea of purchasing an Instant Pot, but haven’t taken the plunge yet – I don’t have tons of kitchen storage.
I know what you mean. We were able to get rid of our pressure cooker and rice cooker once we got the Instant Pot to make some room.
Great tips. I use a few already but will be looking into a few more thanks to your post.
thanks!
We have used cloth napkins in our house for years. It always astounds me when I go to someone’s house and they use paper napkins because it’s just such second nature to us to use cloth. When people first come to visit, they are always a little surprised, but then when they come back they are used to it!
Yes and I like the cloth napkins because they make me feel like I’m at a restaurant lol
All great suggestions. I really need to look into the Instant Pot, I see tons of people using them and want to see if it is something I would use. I use the reusable K-cup, mostly because no matter where we travel; especially overseas, we like to try different coffees so we need to be able to use ground coffee.
Yes, I would say with the Instant Pot look up popular recipes and see if they are ones you would make frequently. I use ours to make hard boiled eggs, chili, mac and cheese, beef stew, and oatmeal all the time so it’s well worth it.
Yes! I think the only thing I still need is that convection oven…
I will have to give the bamboo towels a try!
REUSABLE PAPER TOWELS!!!!!!???? I didn’t know these existed! Buying NOW!
LOL they make everything these days
I need to get some of those reusable baggies! We go through way too many of those on a regular basis. Thanks for the ideas!
With the kids we do too. My only fear is them losing them or dumping them out anyway lol
The reusable bags and the bamboo towels are on my list!
Great list! The silicone lids look really useful. I may need to try those!
Thanks!
I’ve actually been thinking of getting a slow cooker and a yogurt maker. But if the instant pot does both…..! I’ll be looking into that – thank you!
You’re welcome. I haven’t tried the yogurt maker feature yet, but love using it as a slow cooker, pressure cooker, and steamer.
These are great items, thank you for sharing.
I’m trying to decide if I need an Instant Pot. I hear such good things about them. Great idea using reusable paper towels instead of regular! They are so expensive and the kids use them in no time.
I will say that I am one of those people who feels like most things can be done in the oven or on a stove top. We had a slow cooker which I rarely used and honestly I never would have bought it if my sister didn’t buy it for us for Christmas last year but I am so glad she did. It saves me so much time and electricity and I use it at least twice a week. My husband who was like oh we’ll never use that thing uses it even more than me lol
I stopped buyin paper towels years ago. My hubby didn’t like it at first. Haha! Great list! I need to look into the silicon covers.
It is very hard for my husband too lol We buy them when they are very cheap and use them sparingly. At least I do 😉
I want an Instapot so badly! Just need a bigger kitchen
It is so worth it. I actually got rid of our slow cooker. I’m lucky it fits perfectly under our sink. We use it at least twice a week.
Oooo, I never thought/knew about reusable paper towels or zip lock bags!
Waffle maker is a real saving deal, like how many frozen waffle we got from the store for a month, making our own waffle is way better!
I know! We go through them like crazy too so now I just make a bunch and freeze the extra ones.
I have never heard of reusable paper towels! I will have to try to get them as I know it could seriously save us money on our budget. Thanks for these ideas!
You’re welcome. They are a great money saver. I sometimes use small towels too, but I love the feel of paper towel for cleaning certain surfaces.
I have most of these and love them. But I bought the newest Instant Pot and ended up selling it to a friend after a few uses. I think, for me, it just didn’t make sense. If my kids were little and I was always on the go with them, I could see the benefit. But I do love my air fryer!
Yes I agree. My Instant Pot is a lifesaver with my two little ones. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Air Fryer, might have to look into it. I don’t want to get another kitchen appliance, but I know I would eat healthier with it 😉
I haven’t seen the reusable snack bags you show. They would be a great thing in our house!
I have had a spiralizer on my kitchen “need to have” list for some time.
I just got ours because we have an overstock of zucchini and yellow squash from the garden. Plus the spiralized veggies at the supermarket are very expensive. A great way to encourage healthy eating which I know I need lol
These are great options. I’ve been wanting to try the reusable towels. Paper towels are so expensive!
They are! And my kids and husband go through them like water.
We have a rice cooker that does four things, and that exact convection oven. The real oven is never on. It’s great!
That’s cool. I think I’m going to have to get the convection oven because I am always baking and it would be nice not to heat up the entire house in the summer.
Great post! I too have a husband who uses “generous” amounts of paper towels, I’ll have to try those reusable towels out.
Thank you! Yea husbands are funny 😉
I have been thinking about getting the Instapot but have no idea where to start – LOL
I would look up popular Instant Pot recipes and see which ones you would use. I know for me I use it to make hardboiled eggs, chili, stews, oatmeal, and mac and cheese and it saves me a TON of time. If you find a lot of recipes that strike your fancy then I would get it.
Great tips to save money. I love my vacuum sealer and using reusable stuff is always a money waver.
Yes, we don’t use ours as much as I would like, but it still saves us money which is great!