I check out patterns, try it the way the instructions say to do it. If I don't like that way or think I can do it easier with less waste I'll try it again.
I personally don't like triangles so will continue to do snowball blocks with the little squares in the corners. My small snippets, scraps and shreds go into a bag to be given to a lady who makes pet beds for the animal shelters in our area. If I have larger triangles I save them for another lady who loves scrappy triangles.
I sew all my strip and square scraps together as I accumulate them becauese it drives me crazy to have a bunch of scraps hanging around. I can handle a stacks of blocks.