Are you a "user up" or a "thrower out"

I used to cut the mouldy bits off cheese but my dear friend, an ex microbiologist says I've been v lucky so don't do it now.
There was a letter in the Times about someone clearing out an elderly aunt's home and found a tin marked "string-too small to save".
I think that sums up our generation, having it drilled into us not to waste.

Newquay, without giving your age away, how many years have you been cutting the green bits off. We have for at least 70 (ok it was my Mum at the start) and so far we have been lucky, I will risk it for the next few years until they have to cut green bits off me.

User-up - deffo - I will use stuff that has passed its SBD by several years if it is a condiment or other kind of preservative - it's in the name for goodness sake!! Preserve!! I have a jar of molasses which has gone sugary but is beyond describable in its deliciousness!! My husband even scraped off the penicillin on some cream cheese and added it to his indescribably wonderfully healthful breakfast: spinach, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, feta - et al. We are of the old school, we use our common sense!!

Apparently sell by dates are very very conservative, as they need to ensure that nothing will go bad before the date on the packaging, if that makes sense. Basically the date will always err on the side of caution, by months in many cases. The sell by date is the date up until which the supermarket/shop can have it on the shelves, it doesn't mean the product automatically goes bad.
I tend to use everything which i possibly can out of the fridge, but there are times when i throw stuff.

Newquay according to my Google research, you should never, ever remove mould from soft cheese because the mould sends strands into the whole cheese, so it must all be thrown away. But mould doesn't penetrate very far into hard or even semi-hard cheeses, like Cheddar, Parmesan and so on. The Mayo Clinic website advise to cut away at least an inch surrounding the mould, and be sure not to let the knife come into contact with the mould. Then it's safe to eat the rest.
article here if anyone's interested

Since I've retired unexpectedly through ill health and taken a massive drop in income, I've become very good at using up and planning meals from left overs. I enjoy the challenge and we are eating as well as before, if not better. Any bashed fruit becomes fresh fruit salad or crumble or banana loaf or anything I can conjure up. I've even managed to lose weight, as I have time to cook more healthily. I'm now an expert "user upper" I used to waste a lot of food when I was working, as I never had time to check fridge and husband did shopping.

I was just thinking about how many of us have been lucky as far as cutting the green bits off cheese goes. I certainly remember my mum doing it when I was little and assume her mum did it as well. We are both still going strong (she's 94 in August). I think most people did it when money was tight so an awful lot of GNs must have been lucky as well!

Regarding " sell by" dates, the Bodach used to visit various firms, and the fellows at United Biscuits and Nestle told him that Marks & Spencer's " sell by" or "best before" dates were at least two weeks earlier than other supermarkets who had been supplied with exactly the same product.
I thought that was to ensure that the product was in tip top condition, but it was probably to make us buy more of the product.

Cynical, or what?

Im a user upper too, I often make a salad from whatever veggies there are in the fridge or soups in the same way. Cant afford not to these days.

User-up here, too. Any cooked veg left that isn't used up by the next day is put into a bag and stuck in the freezer. I use it to put into soups. Same for chicken carcases - they just get bagged and flung in the freezer, too.
I also (someone else does this?)cut off the ribbon hanging loops that are inside clothes and tie them together to tart up present wrapping. Rubber bands (usually dropped by the postie!)are kept in an old tin and are used for sealing opened freezer bags etc.
When an old chest of drawers gave up the ghost, we removed the handles and castors and sold them on eBay.
I also cut off the green bits from cheese, even though I was trained not to do this on numerous Food Hygiene courses at work (working with people whose health was rather vulnerable, therefore I obviously followed the correct practices). My mother, grandmother and many generations have scraped off the green bits from cheese and furry tops from jam and have lived to tell the tale, and maybe have been all the stronger for it.

My children (all grown-ups and with families of their own) have told me that we now live in a throwaway society. I see them throwing out half-filled bottles of suce, because they have bought a new one. How sad.

food is definitely judged by the "look at it, smell it, taste it"& if it's ok use it. garments past their best are stripped of buttons & zips etc, anything clothes wise that I have gone off or doesn't fit - Charity Shop. Recycle where possible. Had to have a clear out 5 years ago when we downsized & again when I moved last year into an even smaller property (have cut down on sentimental items as well as things I look at & wonder will I ever need that). I am a natural hoarder & collector so parting with anything is so difficult but living on my own now at least I know there is no-one else throwing out (late husband was a nightmare with hoarding clothes)

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without!" was the mantra of a very old Canadian relative. He lived by it constantly. Don't think I'd want to.

Actually, I remember a local nurse laughing that her aged mother had in her freezer (rediscovered when said very old freezer packed in) a joint of meat from the sixties..

User-upper certainly! My OT is a thow-er away so I have to catch him before valuable ingredients disappear. My mother was the same as me, even worse in fact. When I was first married, my OT got quite a shock at how far I'd push things!