If we truly are nearing a worldwide resource crisis, then we will all have to learn to conserve everything we use. Wasting that last little bit of anything will add up eventually. We’ve shown one (rather gross) way to be non-wasteful. This interesting tube of toothpaste is another.

In an odd and somewhat iffy idea, the Swing Toothpaste uses inertia to make sure you get every last bit of paste onto your brush. Your finger goes through the hole in the end, where you to twirl the tube, allowing centrifugal force to push the toothpaste toward the cap.

This handy design was created by Sungmin Hong, Yubin Choi, Yun Kim, Mi Jang and Seokgyu Hwang of Dankook University. It’s fun and functional, the ultimate one-two punch of design. And by cutting back on waste, you save in more ways than one. Eventually we’ll all be (forgive the pun) taking our toothpaste for a spin.

The post Get Every Last Bit of Toothpaste Out by Going for a Spin first appeared on Gajitz.

Opening the fridge to reach for that cup of yogurt or bowl of fruit only to find it has spoiled is incredibly frustrating. But since most of us can’t remember to either write a date on the packages or look at them once in a while to see if the food is going bad, designers Hu Yaxing, Chen Zhipeng, Liao Haibo, and Tang Yigang came up with the QR Code Fridge Magnet.

Each little magnet features a QR code reader built in. It can scan the QR codes on the food (it is unclear whether these are supposed to be there when you buy something or printed at home). Scanning the code will tell you the expiration date as well as the food’s origin and production date. Once you’ve scanned the food, you can stick the reader right to the front of your fridge.

As they days tick by, the color of the magnets changes. Green means something is still good to eat; orange means that the food is about to expire, and red means that it is spoiled and no one should eat it. The clever idea could cut down on the massive amounts of food that’s wasted every year. Additionally, the inventors think of it as a great learning tool for children to teach them the origins of foods. The design was a 2013 Red Dot concept winner.

The post Magnet System Reminds You When Veggies Start to Go Bad first appeared on Gajitz.

When you cut into an apple without planning on eating the entire piece of fruit, you’ve got an ethical waste dilemma on your hands. Of course you can discard the uneaten fruit, if you want that on your conscience. Current preservation methods (plastic containers or bags, natural ingredients like lemon juice) have proved disappointing.

Enter Food Huggers, a surprisingly simple way to preserve fresh fruit or veggies. They are silicone caps that seal the open end of the fruit or vegetable, keeping oxygen out and preventing the food from turning brown. Smells can’t penetrate the material, so your whole fridge won’t smell like onion and your cucumber won’t smell like Chinese leftovers. They also reduce refrigerator clutter, as the halved fruit or vegetable lays flat and won’t roll around.

Food Huggers come in four sizes which overlap each other so that there is always a hugger to fit what you need to preserve. You can even put the little silicone caps on open cans of half-eaten soup, veggies or beans to keep them fresh without hassling with aluminum foil.

The post Hug Kitchen Waste Away With Clever Fruit + Veggie Savers first appeared on Gajitz.