Shortcuts on savings for the kitchen

Sometimes we really don't notice just how much we spend on little things like herbs and flavorings. It's easy to just go to the store and buy a small jar of parsley flakes and keep it but if you start adding up all those small amounts it's not so small at the end. A small bunch of thyme, oregano, parsley or cilantro is generally around $1.99 or higher depending on store/season. In winter prices go up. And face it, when a recipe calls for a spoon of chopped parsley we buy whole bunch but rarely use it all before it goes bad. Since I hate wasting any kind of food I used to dry remaining herbs in the oven at 180 degree for few hours but then it gets my electric bill higher.

So now I have much better solution - I keep narrow boxes of herbs in the house and available at all times. If I only need a spoonful of something I just pick it fresh and chop what I need. No waste of either herbs or money in the store. Remaining just keeps growing. And since most of the herbs get along with each other I can keep more than one variety in the same box - parsley next to oregano and thyme. Only basil and mint needs it's own space.