Things have been busy, what with Thanksgiving having come and gone. And midterms. I blame midterms (they're my scapegoat) That doesn't mean the ideas for saving money have slowed down, no, quite the contrary.
In fact, with Thanksgiving in mind, let me bring up a wonderful idea: tupperware!
Potlucks are particularly great places to bust out the old plastic containers! They can be inexpensive (bought from thrift stores or Value Village) or can even be old yogurt containers! Anything that holds leftovers really, it doesn't have to be fancy. Even if you just want to fill up a large plate or bowl with layers of food, that works. If you're worried about a lid, use another plate to put on top of it instead of buying clingy, messy plastic wrap. Please note this is not recommended for soup.
People feel more shy about bringing tupperware then they should. Although I will admit, it might be a bit out of place to just whip out the containers after a dinner with friends, it's a bit more socially acceptable for potlucks. I just hate wasting food, and I'm sure others feel the same. I've been to small meetings where they've had food too where the hosts have insisted people take food home. This not only helps reduce food waste, it lessens the clean up they have to do, and gives you an extra meal!
The only rebuttal to this I've felt had merit regarded food safe. After these meetings or events, food has been handled and possibly touched. If someone from one of these events drags you from the hall and says "Hey guys, come get some free food, we're trying to clean up" you ARE taking that risk. But put yourself in their situation: you know the food is good, and you just want to get rid of it, or else it will go to waste. Nothing wrong with that, right?
I went to a club meeting. When all was said and done, they wanted people to take the extra pizza home. I obliged, and was ready to take it back to my residence. On the way, I saw a group of people playing board games. I popped in, yelled "Who wants pizza?!" and everyone obliged to take this free pizza. Granted, they knew who I was, and trusted me.
Moving away from saving money for a second, I want to discuss the other aspect of this blog: green living! UNBC has started a competition on Facebook for students to share how they maintain a green lifestyle. These are not big huge projects, but rather day-to-day acts and ideas that everyone is capable of doing. Most of these are simple and actually have the potential to save you money! They are well worth checking out. My favorite (and apparently well-liked idea on the competition page) is from my friend. She insists it will save you at least 50% of the energy required to dry your clothes. Less energy spent = more money saved! This is vital if your a student who hates letting the laundry machines eat your quarters.
Once your laundry is done from the washer, toss it into a drier with a DRY towel. The idea is, the towel will absorb most of the moisture from your wet laundry, reducing the time required in the drier. When your laundry is done, the towel itself will be a bit damp, but you can hang it up to air dry. As my room mate pointed out, this may not work if your load of laundry consists of wet towels. Then you're kind of screwed and will need to fork over the quarters.
Can't win every time.
