I only purchase what I need for each quilt but keep a full pantry/freezer/canning shelves.

I only purchase what I need for each quilt but keep a full pantry/freezer/canning shelves.

I have a large organized stash. Everything in my quilt studio has a place. I do not like messy. I keep most scraps but don't use them much.
We do have food in the freezer and staples on hand. Not much, maybe a few days worth. We are not big on leftovers. I try not to have any, except for things like lasagna.

I like to keep a decent pantry since we live a little out of town. I can't tell you how many times having a pantry saved me when I needed to feed a guest randomly. LOL I like to cook by my mood too, so I can just pick out from a lot of basics. My fabric stash is not huge, I do cut it down into pieces ready for quilting, and I have one bag of scraps currently. The scraps have plans too for them coming up.

It is just 2 of us so I do not stockpile food that much. I am thinking if the world went Mad Max we would not live as long as many others.

I do have a big stash made up of quilt shop fabric bought at deep discounts. I am very prolific and it turns over quite quickly.

I give away scraps to guild friends as I finally acknowledged I do not like random scrap quilts to make. I love seeing what others make but it is not for me.

I rarely have leftover fabric and if I do, it's a small amount. I don't save 1 or 2 little scraps, but if I have something like an uncut half yard, I'll fold it and save it just in case.

As for food, I live alone, so I always have leftovers. I don't eat them past the 3rd day, though. And I'm a HUGE doggie bag take homer person. I'll eat out and get at least 2 nice meals, sometimes 3.

I've worked my butt off supporting myself for many years, and I'm quite frugal. Yet if I want something 'pretty', yep, I'll buy it. I measure and plan, though, and only buy what I need. I don't hesitate to spend money on nice things but only buy what I'll use.

I plan exactly what I am going to purchase at the grocery store, and the fabric store. But...I do purchase things that are not on the list. Especially if its a super good buy. I do save left overs and we have them for lunch the next day or so. I do not save scraps though, unless they are very big, and I might be able to use them elsewhere.

I am a very anal organized person. My pantry & freezer are always well stocked, I stock up on both food & fabric when on sale. I tend to be somewhat frugal but not a huge scrap savor when it comes to anything smaller then 4-6"-I donate them to others. On the leftovers I don't mind eating them especially if I am in a no cook mode.

I'm not sure that you should change. Seems a pretty thrifty way to live.

Wonderful conversation. I have a small pantry that gets rotated every couple months. Living in the country it's smart. I purchase carefully. I have so much inhertited fabric that I have organized and shared thru sales. I hate waste and love to share. We always eat leftovers, since I'd rather quilt!