System 17: Avoiding waste
Food in the bin, returns never made, duplicates in the cupboard and guarantees never claimed: the money your household already spent, recovered.
The system guide
Working guides in this system
Avoiding waste Bought for One Use: The Single-Purpose Trap The fondue set, the carpet cleaner used once, the tool for a job that never recurred: borrow, hire or buy second-hand first, and let cost per use do the judging. Avoiding waste Buying Food You Will Not Eat: The Optimism Tax The hopeful shop: ingredients for the cook you wish you were, offers for a household bigger than yours, and how to shop for the week you will actually have. Avoiding waste Duplicate Purchases: Check the Cupboard First Three open bottles of the same cleaner, two of every spice: a door list, a quick photograph and a rule that makes the cupboard answer before the shop does. Avoiding waste Food Waste: The Weekly Bin Check What your kitchen bin can tell you in ten minutes a week, and how to turn what it shows into a shorter shopping list and a calmer fridge. Avoiding waste Guarantees Never Claimed: Money Left in the Drawer The washing machine died a month inside its guarantee and nobody checked: a one-page guarantee register and the habit of looking before you pay for a repair. Avoiding waste Leftovers by Design, Not by Accident Cooking a deliberate extra portion, planning the second meal when you plan the first, and storing leftovers so they actually get eaten. Avoiding waste Returns: The Unworn, the Unopened and the Deadline The shoes by the door and the parcel that never went back: a returns station, a deadline habit and a calendar that remembers so you do not have to. Avoiding waste The Fridge System: First In, First Out A simple fridge order borrowed from shop stockrooms: oldest food at the front, new shopping at the back, and one shelf that says eat me first. Avoiding waste The Waste Walk: A One-Hour Tour of Your Own House Room by room with a notebook: the full route, what to look for in each space, and how to turn a page of findings into a short, ranked fix list. Avoiding waste The Waste You Cannot See: Leaks, Dripping and Standby The toilet that refills itself at night, the tap that drips, the boxes glowing in the dark: finding invisible waste with your meter, your bills and a midnight walk. Avoiding waste Unused Gift Cards and Expiring Points: The Forgotten Wallet Cards in the drawer and points quietly expiring in apps you rarely open: gather them into one place, write down the dates, and spend them on purpose.