The first thing I do is make sure every piece is straight! I have less waste that way especially with strips where you can end up with humps that cannot be used. I cut my pieces as close to each other as possible. Now with my Accuquilt I am finding I have less waste. Those little pieces are are cut into pieces to be used with another DWR quilt and the pieces that are even smaller than that are now being collected for an animal rescue to make bedding for the animals. The larger pieces end up in my scrap baskets for future scrappy quilts. Nothing is wasted.