Monday, March 8, 2010

Make Haste, Avoid Waste!

Mr. Bargain just left on a long trip, leaving behind half a large container of yogurt. I don't care for this particular brand. Immediately, the gears in my thrifty brain started whirring, thinking about how I could use up this yogurt.

One way would be to bake it into some muffins or a quick bread. Martha Stewart once featured an article about how to age plant pots, encouraging moss to grow on the pots by brushing with yogurt. If you are interested in trying this, here's a link:

http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/mossy-pots

According to some information I found on the Internet, yogurt is good for septic tanks. I don't have a septic tank, but this may prove useful to someone. If the weather was warmer, I might be tempted to make a smoothie with the yogurt. This week's weather is putting me more in the mood for cocoa than smoothies, however!

It doesn't ultimately matter what I decide to do with the yogurt. The important thing is to cultivate this way of thinking in your daily life. The Internet can be a fantastic waste-not resource. Simply search "uses for _" for lots of great ideas.

I recently applied the same thinking process to some mediocre apples I had. I could have dried them to make dried apple slices, or apple doll heads, or I could have chopped them up in some chicken salad. I decided to give them to my sister to make fruit salad for her son.

What you don't want to do is wait until the item in question is covered in mold, or reduced to a pile of mush in the fridge. I have been guilty of procrastination in the past, but I try to avoid this costly habit.

I hope this post encourages you to make haste and avoid waste in your household. How about sharing your great "use it up" ideas?

7 comments:

zengirl said...

Betsy,

This is great idea. I always try to use up things in unusual way. Maybe you can apple sauce out of that apple or put yogurt on your face for natural beauty mask, natural way.

Mr. Bargain could try to use up the yogurt before he goes on his next trip would help too. :-) I hope he has good trip.

Betsy Bargain said...

Zengirl,

I never thought of using the yogurt for a beauty mask! Thanks for the great idea! Yes, Mr. Bargain is not as good at "use it up" as I am ;). Nice to see you here again!

Anonymous said...

I was just wondering where to find the receipe for the mossy pots-good idea!!

Anonymous said...

I hate to waste anything and love coming up with new ideas to use things up. It's how I came up with some of my favorite recipes!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it, at least for now. said...

Thanks for commenting on my blog of I would never have found ya. I love your blog and added you to my blog roll list! Great stuff ya got there!

Betsy Bargain said...

Anon 1, glad I could help out with the directions for the mossy pots. Anon 2, I know what you mean. That's where some of my best recipes come from too! Thanks for reading!

Betsy Bargain said...

ShannonMarie,

I'm glad I found you too! I'm following you on Twitter. I'm glad you like the blog. I love yours too!