I have always been someone who abhors waste. I am pretty diligent about recycling, so much so that I collect the non-corrugated cardboard that is not accepted by my town’s recycling program and bring it to my parents’ house, 250 miles away. (Lately, my husband has been slipping it in with the mixed paper and hoping for the best.) I hate it when things break and can’t be fixed. I am very reluctant to throw them away, thinking that they might magically come back to life. Home ownership brought with it anxiety about appropriate sprinkler use and lawn waste disposal along with the ability to compost on a large scale.

In my work experiences, I consistently demonstrate a dislike of wastefulness and inefficiency. I advocate clear and consistent communication, push for proactive planning rather than reactive processes, and maintain nose-to-the-grindstone focus when I have lots to get done–forget the idle chit-chat that cuts into my free time!

The one thing I consistently find myself “wasting” time on is cooking. I constantly read recipes in magazines, newsletters, and blogs. Then I spend trip upon trip grocery shopping, fighting the urge to impulse buy. Finally, I end up spending hours on recipes I am told should take minutes. Sometimes I knowingly take on a marathon recipe. (In fact, I seem to pick recipes that are very involved more often than not.)

Everyone struggles to a certain degree to keep up to date with the freshness of items in their refrigerator, and I am no different. While I am known for some excellent cooking, I am still learning the the basics of being a home cook. Which means that I don’t have a clear repertoire of interchangeable meals, and I having yet acquired the ability to look at a bunch of leftover ingredients and come up with a new meal. It pains me to let them go bad, and throw them out. I need to do better.

I have decided to make it my goal to throw away as little unused ingredients as possible. This blog will track my triumphs and struggles. Wish me luck!