The key to keeping your flowers fresh longer will literally cost you 1 cent

There’s nothing more mood-boosting than having a bouquet of fresh flowers sitting on your kitchen table, but there’s only so much you can do to extend the life of those pretty blooms. (You know, unless you buy the kind that last up to a year.) To fight off the expiration date a little longer, there is one trick you can use—and it’ll only cost you a cent.

According to a video from Apartment Therapy, there’s finally a way to put all that change collecting in your purse to good use. Pennies that are minted before 1982 are typically made mainly from copper (the new production method uses zinc), and the reddish-brown-hued material has natural antimicrobial properties that can keep your bouquet thriving, fighting off the growth of bacteria that often make them dry up and wilt away.

Pennies that are minted before 1982 are typically made mainly from copper, and the reddish-brown-hued material has natural antimicrobial properties that can keep your bouquet thriving.

Aside from keeping the water in the vase nice and clean—using a turkey baster is an easy way to remove the old and add in the new every 1 to 2 days—simply plop in your penny. In true tossing-pennies-into-water fashion, you can also make a wish for your flowers to stay alive, but unfortunately there’s no science in that.

Thanks to this hack, your pennies will get a new purpose and you’ll get to enjoy your flowers for much longer than normal. If that’s not a major win-win, what is?

Here’s exactly how to make your cheap grocery store flowers look like an expensive bouquet. Or, maybe just stick to this faux line of plants from Urban Outfitters.