Leftovers.

Did any of you ever have to read that weird story 'making do stew' as a kid? The basic concept was that the people didn't have anything to eat so they each threw in whatever they did have and made soup out of it. Maybe it was a fable and it was supposed to have a deep and profound meaning I totally missed out on as a kid. The priniciple though has come full circle for me...

I have a whole new prospective on leftovers lately. I'm not just talking about food, although that's a good place to start. Every once in a while I get annoyed that my pantry has reached a rediculous state. To remedy this I have a new 'game' I play with myself. When I'm frustrated that it's getting a little over-crowded in there, I don't go to the grocery store and I commit to go a week without eating a single lunch out (a single meal out would be a bit extreme, even for me). Then I 'make do' with all the random items that have collected in my pantry over the past month or two.

I did this two weeks ago and finally made: a bag of 'dirty rice', a baked ziti, a hamburger helper (with ground turkey instead), 2 cans of progresso low-sodium soup, and a box of brownies I took to work. Success! I hate to waste things that are perfectly good but sometimes my food goes bad because I simply never get around to making it. Tragic, I know. So that's where this new concept came from.

I've applied it now to other aspects of life. For those of you on here with a bit of an addiction to trying new beauty products, the concept may REALLY come in handy for you. I've taken about a month off recently from buying makeup, lotions, anti-perspirants, etc and I've started working through the stash I have - afterall it's bought, paid for, and taking up space! I pulled out a few things of lotion I had started but never finished and working on those. I used up a few cans of half-used hair spray. Found a few blushes that had been at the bottom of the makeup bin and started wearing them again. Pulled out a few eye shadows that I hadn't touched in a while. I even pulled out a bronzer I bought in winter (when I'm not as tan) and didn't quite go and now that I've been in the sun - it works perfectly - so I'm using that instead of paying 30 bucks for a new Nars bronzer.

I try to be thrifty with my money and resources and this using up leftovers thing has not only saved me some money (so I can have fun in the Key's this weekend) but it's also helped me with my spring cleaning. It's really freeing up some space and I am loving it.

So, if you're up for the challenge determine this week to work your way through the randoms in your pantry and you 'medicine cabinet' and start using up those leftovers, ladies (and gents).

Love,
B