Don't throw food away challenge

squeaky

Morning all

Throwing food away can have many reasons... things spoiling because you bought too much, or getting lost at the back of the pantry/fridge/freezer, or having leftovers or scrag ends that you just don't know what to do with.

There are lots of threads about on how to use up individual things - but this one is aimed at keeping an eye on what and how much you waste and, should you wish, setting yourself a target (either total, or a reduction).

You could set your target by weight, or volume, or even cost the waste - so if you waste half a cabbage bought for 98p then you threw away 49p.

By the time your total reaches a tenner... just imagine tearing one up and flushing it down the loo !! because that, effectively, is what you will have done.

There are a number of ways to reduce waste... shopping more effectively, organising your stocks, regularly checking use by dates, adjusting portion sizes, and finding ways to use up odds and ends.

So this challenge covers quite a lot of ground.

Do please remember that this is a Challenge thread, so do yer best to stay fairly close to the topic

As for me... I'm not sure what to set myself... my dalek composter, now five years old, is just over half full - and that includes some garden waste; and no food waste goes into my normal bin. My waste is usually the cuttings and peelings from preparing veg etc - and the majority of those are used when making stock before they finally appear in the bin.

If you are not sure what to include... the best suggestion from challenge participants is - if you were going to eat it but had to bin it; that's waste.

Anyway... good luck everybody


Some related links that may help:-

using threads here on Old Style MoneySaving A list of threads about using up all sorts of things.

grocery challenge threads here on Old Style MoneySaving Lots of advice and support on how to budget/shop/manage your overall grocery bill.

Store cupboard challenge While this thread is a challenge - it does contain a LOT of ideas on using up things.

How to survive on what’s in the store cupboard (plus a little money)

Store cupboard - in case of emergency


The "What do I cook with this stuff..." thread

What can I replace this with?


Composting:- There are loads of threads on the green fingered board:- Greenfingered MoneySaving

And here's a tip from further down this thread... There is a method of composting called bokashi, which is Japanese, whereby you can compost anything, including cooked food, meat, raw meat, anything of organic origin, this is a quick link, but there is tons of info out there http://www.bokashicomposting.com/


Tip:- Many of these threads have lots of ideas in them - so once you have opened the thread, use the "search this thread" link (towards the top right corner of the page) and then put your ingredient in. You'll get a list of posts in that thread that have at least a mention of your word.


I think I need to put a thread motto into the first post...

Don't tell yourself off for what you lost - pat yourself on the back for what you've saved.

For the first post in the December Challenge - [post=48981119]Click Here[/post]
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ab7

squeaky wrote: »

Morning all


You could set your target by weight, or volume, or even cost the waste - so if you waste half a cabbage bought for 98p then you threw away 49p
Anyway... good luck everybody

I make that 44p :D
but I'll need to do this, some weeks are worse than others e.g. last week was a good week threw out a half packet of grapes last week so there's 50p and two rock solid crumpets kids had put into the cereal cupboard instead of bread drawer so there's another 25p!

lizzywig

I have been hopeless at trying to use things up in the past and have made a huge effort to improve on this. Since I've been on maternity leave I've found it so much easier. Anything left over from dinner I'll usually have for lunch the next day and odds and ends now get frozen. I was even going to make some tiffin using some slightly stale biscuits the other day....until I dropped them in the washing up bowl :-(

rising_from_the_ashes

Brilliant idea!:D

I try not to waste stuff but do sometimes fall short ..... often due to being a single person and struggling to get through fresh produce before it's well past it's best!:o

I tend to buy big packs of stuff as they're cheaper - but not if you end up throwing 1/2 of them away!

I do quite well with things like eggs and ham etc as the dog loves these so gets any missed ones;)

Target .... that's difficult as I've no idea how much I chuck out just now!:o (in the last week there was certainly a pack of mushrooms I'd forgotten about = 83p, 1/2 pack of rolls = 33p, most of a swede = 40p, couple of carrots = 10p, 2 yoghurts = 50p and probably a couple of other things)

Lets try .... not going to throw out more than £10 in November (1st - 30th), ohhh that sounds loads :eek::eek: but I bet I throw at least that out just now!

squeaky

ab7 wrote: »

I make that 44p :D

Then you need a new calculator

adelight

I probably throw away less than £1 worth a month, but I suppose it could still be zero.
Obviously i'm not going to be using banana skins or onion skins etc, they go in the food waste.

rachbc

Oh love this - I noticed that I was regularly throwing away the same items half used so now I make sure when i buy them I have plans for using/ keeping them. So tubs of humous get portioned up into mini tupperware and frozen immediately so I can take one out at a time rather than eating half then finding it had grown a new life form a week later.

Chickens help a lot with controlling fresh fruit and veg waste so I think I might try for zero waste next week.

Time to start saving the peelings in a bag for stock again.

squeaky

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Brilliant idea!:D

I try not to waste stuff but do sometimes fall short ..... often due to being a single person and struggling to get through fresh produce before it's well past it's best!:o

I tend to buy big packs of stuff as they're cheaper - but not if you end up throwing 1/2 of them away!

I do quite well with things like eggs and ham etc as the dog loves these so gets any missed ones;)

Target .... that's difficult as I've no idea how much I chuck out just now!:o (in the last week there was certainly a pack of mushrooms I'd forgotten about = 83p, 1/2 pack of rolls = 33p, most of a swede = 40p, couple of carrots = 10p, 2 yoghurts = 50p and probably a couple of other things)

Lets try .... not going to throw out more than £10 in November (1st - 30th), ohhh that sounds loads :eek::eek: but I bet I throw at least that out just now!

Blimey... that's over two quid. Just imagine throwing a two pound coin away because it's not shiny any more!

squeaky

adelight wrote: »

I probably throw away less than £1 worth a month, but I suppose it could still be zero.
Obviously i'm not going to be using banana skins or onion skins etc, they go in the food waste.

Mine go into the compost... so eventually they help me grow new food

Onion skins... the dirty outside ones go straight to compost. The inner clean ones going into my stock bin. They are great for giving a stock a rich colour. THEN they go to compost.

torbrex

Its a great idea and I wish I could join in but I just dont throw any food away

I was taught too well by my mum, I always rotate my stock cupboard and freezer, I never buy food that I wont use and I never cook anything that I wont eat, even my apple cores get chopped up and put out to the bird table.

It does help that I live on my own so things are easier to control and I always shudder when I see my next door neighbours bin full to overflowing and the stench of rotting food that comes from it.

rising_from_the_ashes

squeaky wrote: »

Blimey... that's over two quid. Just imagine throwing a two pound coin away because it's not shiny any more!

I know:o

I also think part of my problem is that it's nearly a 20 mile round trip to the supermarket so I tend to get loads of fruit & veg when I go (to save having to use fuel to go again) but just can't get through it all.

I have improved recently .... I now try to buy things like leeks in big packs and freeze into portion sizes the day I get them but still a ways to go!