I say the best way to put a freeze on inflation is to put that freezer to work. Since I don’t cook Asian flavors every week, I keep special ingredients like ginger and thai curry sauce in the door of my freezer so I don’t have to buy new supplies each time. I do the same with tiny bits of leftovers, too-ripe bananas, strawberries nearly ready to spoil (just be sure to hull them first.)

People like me do end up with cluttered freezers, but I can’t tell you how much money I save but stowing these things for use later. Some of the random items I can almost always find in my freezer are egg whites, anchovies, sweetened condensed milk, sesame seeds, pine nuts, bread crumbs, enchilada sauce. And that’s just on the top shelf.

To be sure you get the best use out of these random bits, store them in a somewhat organized fashion — you don’t want to forget what’s there.