Keep Your Potatoes & Onions Fresh & Out Of Sight With This Brilliant Storage Hack

We all experience the phenomenon of buying fresh produce, like potatoes and onions, only to have them rot a few days later. It's an incredible waste of money as well as a huge bummer when it's time to cook up that delicious plate of steak and mashed potatoes only to realize that your ingredients are bad. Groceries aren't getting any cheaper out there, so we have to get a little wiser in the house. The common reason why our tubers and bulbs tend to go bad almost immediately after purchase is improper storage. Some people just group their onions and potatoes together and store them inside their pantry. One TikTok culinary enthusiast, Mai (@thycook), came up with a brilliant storage hack that will keep your onions and potatoes fresh for longer by using a mesh laundry bag.

If you own anything silk or satin, then you're likely already familiar with mesh laundry bags. They are used to hold and protect these delicate pieces while being laundered in a washing machine. Since the bags are made of mesh cloth, water and detergent can easily penetrate through them. This design makes them perfect to store your perishables in. Your food stays fresh, you save money, and get your delicious mashed potatoes at the end of the day. 

A common mistake people make when storing their produce is grouping onions and potatoes together. Because they are root vegetables, you might be tempted to shove them into a box together in your pantry. However, this will spoil them more quickly. Both onions and potatoes absorb moisture rapidly which can cause spoilage. Worse, they both also give off a lot of moisture, hence why mesh laundry bags are perfect for their storage. They keep the produce dry and aired out, extending their shelf life.

TikTok food creator, Mai, keeps her onions in their own mesh laundry bag and isolated in a cool, dry place with proper ventilation. The same thing goes for potatoes. You can find mesh laundry bags online; just choose the sizes you need and make your purchase. Make sure you don't store them in a closed container, drawer, or cupboard as the humidity in these places could easily cause them to rot. The mesh laundry bag hack can save you money as well as another trip to the grocery store.