Coupon Queen: Items to run a frugal kitchen

You can clip coupons, and shop the sales but having a frugal kitchen set up is another great way to keep your household expenses down. Now, I'm no Martha Stewart but I do cook at home just about every night of the week and it saves us a bundle. Want to run a frugal kitchen? Here are a few of my favorite items to have in a kitchen. Cloth towels I can get a deal on paper towels with sales and coupons but using a hand towel is still cheaper. I recently noticed that my family was blowing through roll after roll paper towels so I recently hung a hand towel right next to the roll of paper towels. It's cut down on our paper towel use significantly. Of course, you'll want to make sure to wash these towels frequently but even with that, a kitchen towel is a frugal choice. Slow cooker I was gifted a slow cooker at my wedding shower over 20 years ago and it's still an appliance that I use multiple times a week. Slow cookers are not only convenient, but they save me money by allowing me to cook meat straight from my freezer. I buy meats when they are on sale, store them in my freezer, and then use this handy appliance to whip up a delicious meal with minimal effort. Even an inexpensive cut of meat will be juicy and tender after a few hours in the slow cooker. My middle son still cheers when he knows it's "crockpot chicken day" — his favorite. We can smell it cooking all day and best of all, it only took 5 minutes to prepare. Quality storage containers Leftover night is not only on regular rotation at our house, it's planned for and added to our weekly food menu. Leftover night usually happens on Thursdays and my whole family can choose their own meals from whatever they find in the refrigerator. While we do have some plastic storage containers, I prefer clear, sturdy glass bowls. I find that not only do they hold up better but they also make the food easier to see. This in turn means that we have less food waste. A good knife Every frugal kitchen needs at least a couple of good knives so don't waste your money on a cheap knife set. I have a few knives that help me do different things such as a pairing knife for peeling potatoes and slicing fruit and a chef's knife for the bigger jobs. If you plan on cooking often, invest in a good set. The Christmas holidays often have amazing sales but there are quite a few throughout the year also. A stockpile Having a stockpile to fall back on can save you from ordering out dinner on repeat. When you see a sale on canned food or dried goods, stock up. This includes canned tomatoes, vegetables, rice, beans, pasta, sugar, and flour. These staple items can make a variety of meals and can be stored for quite a while. This week's deal Here's a deal to grab this week at CVS. General Mills Cereals 9.7-14.3 oz. — $1.99 each Buy 2 = $3.98 Use the $1/2 General Mills Cereal CVS digital coupon (found on the app or CVS online) = $2.98 total — just $1.49 each! Rachel Krych is passionate about helping others spend less and save more. In addition to her weekly column, she has a blog, Couponing With Rachel, which earns her compensation from Google for ads it places there, and from entertainment marketers whose promotional codes she touts. She doesn't write about entertainment in her column. Email her at couponingwithrachel@hotmail.com.