Waste Not 7/17

John 6:12 (New International Version)
12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."

How much do you waste? We have become a generation of wasters. Do you waste food? Do you spend lots of money on things you don't need & don't use? That's wasteful. I know, because I am guilty of it too.

I have a whole shed full of stuff that is not in use. When my kids get back in school, I plan to declutter as much as possible before it gets too cold. I should have at least 2 months in order to do this. I am going to freecycle or donate anything that I don't intend to immediately start using in my house (except once a year items, like Christmas decorations). Anything that is trash will go straight to the trash dump. My reward will be a nice uncluttered shed that we can use to store the types of things it was meant to (tools, lawnmower/weedeater, Christmas decorations, out-of-season clothes, out-of-season toys--ex. pool in the winter, kids' bikes & scooters, Christmas presents that I don't want to be found by the kids, etc.). By having the shed serve its purpose, it will also declutter our yard. No more bikes laying around, LOL.

I also want to stop buying the stuff we won't use in the first place. I need to start asking myself...Do I need this? Do I love this? Do I have a purpose for this? Will I use this? Will I use this more than just a short time?

I have made a plan to stop wasting so much food. I have started OAMC'ing again. I have 40 meals in my upright freezer right now. All I have to do is pull out that day's meal (labeled in order by date), add sides and I'm done. I buy perishables once a week (milk, eggs, produce) to round out the week. I have not done a breakfast & lunch OAMC yet, but I intend to. In my freezer (over the fridge) is ice, ice cream and one week's worth of meals...labeled by date & stacked in order). My fridge just has milk, eggs, cheese, lunch meat, bacon, produce and condiments. By having my fridge/freezer decluttered and organized, less food will go to waste. I can see at-a-glance what I have on-hand. I am also keeping my pantry decluttered. It only has baking staples and sides to prepare for the week's meals.

I want to stop wasting so much, my dh works way too hard for his money to go to waste. And, I work too hard on our home to let it be cluttered up. My kids, my dh and myself deserve better.