Waste Not

The other day I came to the realization that from my lack of diligence, I had wasted $8.00.

There were 3.5 lbs of hamburger that had been bought on sale for $5.20. My intention was to brown it, then store in separate Zip-Lock Bags for Taco's, Sloppy Joes, whatever. I put it off for a few days until Saturday morning when I decided that it must be cooked or go to spoil. I had put the lid on the pan to let it cool. Unfortunately, I had forgotten about putting it away until we got home in the afternoon.

Then there was an unopened block of cheese in the back of the fridge that had molded. Nope, it was not salveagable. I have a hard time scraping off mold, unless it is a small layer. Yuck! That was $1.48 for a small chunk of Monterey Jack.

Last of all, there was half a bag of shredded lettuce that was left open in the fridge. Not closed with a rubber band or something. 50 cents on sale.

This may not seem like a "big deal" to some people, but it irked me. If I am to go through the trouble to find the best prices on items, I don't want to waste my time.

In between shopping trips and "working the menu", I try to plan how to wisely use what I have in my fridge and pantry. Such as using up the salad and fresh fruits that will spoil earlier in the week. Then as we get into it more - use canned mandarin oranges or some other fruit/vegie that lasts longer.

I typically clean out the fridge and take stock of the items each week. Although this last one was a struggle with the pain I was having in my back. Not much of an excuse though. :)

As I was thinking about this it reminded me how we need to be diligent in all aspects of our lives. Like in our work, marriages, friendships, daily surrendering our lives to God, training/disciplining our children, training the dog, managing and upkeeping our homes, taking care of the weeds outside, our finances, blogging, or whatever.

I need to keep "paying attention". If not then things and/or people get forgotten, broken, piled up, wasted, go into chaos, have no direction, and spoil.