Lots of things make me feel guilty—white privilege, procrastination, throwing away unused produce after it starts rotting in my fridge. There’s an easy solution to that last one, at least. As you’ll see in the above video, there’s a quick, simple way to make fresh herbs, and some vegetables, last for weeks, giving you ample time to put them to good use.

Here also are a couple of vegetables that didn’t make it into the video but can be preserved using the same trick. Celery stays crisp for ages like this; just trim off both ends of the stalks beforehand. And, easiest of all, scallions: You don’t have to trim them at all; instead, just stick the root ends into the water. In both cases, you’ll want to cover the glasses loosely with a plastic bag and keep them in the fridge.

Update, September 3, 2014: One additional tip I should have spelled out in the video: Every day or two you should change the water and perhaps even re-cut the stems, just as you would for flowers, to make the herbs and vegetables last even longer. Fresh, clean water keeps produce fresh and clean; dirty old water does the opposite.