True confessions: I am a recovering spend thrift. There, I said it! Recovering from a super size, Costo surplus mentality, don't think about excess waste, disposable, replaceable, barely used, replace it after a year type of living ... now reflecting on the ways my grandparents lived during and after the Great Depression ... ways that stayed with them until the end of their lives ... a resurgence of my formerly too poor to know the difference childhood is resurfacing ... and just in the nick of time with hubby's retirement, the RECESSION that has been going on for some time that may turn into a DEPRESSION, and the Lord stirring my heart and mind to prepare for the days ahead (waste not want not). It may or may not be doom and gloom just upon the horizon ... but preparedness/thrifty living is something that should NEVER go out of vogue. Now when I examine my pantry shelves and see the two dozen bags of assorted beans I pressure can them or cook and freeze for soup. Or the little bits of egg, veggie and hamburger scraps that once would go in the trash can, I add them to my dog's portion of din-din. The thought of being told, never to give pets people food is ridiculous. With the exception of such tooth sticky food as pasta, or hazard to dogs health chocolate and salmon ... the likes of sliced apples, bits of celery and chicken meat are now going to supplement the dog's food. And those zip-close bags that once got used and tossed with ease are now getting washed and dried to reuse. This week I discovered how to use my power strips to 'power down' the computer, printer, stereo, etc. to not waste standby mode electricity. Some of our mega watt kitchen bulbs have been replaced with compact fluorescent ones. The wasteful years have come to an end. Grandma's ways were best :) What have you done recently to 'power down' your waste?