You know this, right? the tough ends of asparagus

Asparagus is a rather pricey vegetable. So I like to make sure that I use as close to every last bit that I can.

But those tough ends can be a problem, just as they are. I do the thing I think we all do, snap the stems to break off the tough ends, then steam or roast the tender parts.

I hang on to the tough ends to use in soups and casseroles. I use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough skin on the those ends. Without the skin, the asparagus ends are tender enough for chopping and adding to casseroles or soup. And the amount of waste is reduced to a small amount of skin from the bottom ends of the stalks.

And I even save the liquid from steaming the long stalks. I pour it into my fridge jar of veggie liquids to add to the next pot of soup. (The liquid in this jar, above, is a combination of asparagus steaming liquid and the liquid from a can of green beans. It was added to a soup that I made on Monday.)

Anyways, I splurged a bit on Sunday, and bought 2/3 pound of fresh asparagus at $1.88/lb, to have with dinner, and I was reminded of peeling the tough ends.

Sometimes organization isn't as "organized" as you'd think

the "chicken scratching" at the top of each receipt indicates when I recently
completed a survey, and when my next survey opportunity will open up

My "method" for tracking fuel reward questionnaire opportunities my seem somewhat haphazard. But it's been working for me for a couple of years, now.

One grocery chain encourages its customers to fill out online surveys concerning their shopping experience. As a reward, you earn 50 bonus fuel reward points. The drawback is you can only partake in one survey for points every 7 days, and each receipt's survey offer is only good for 7 days past the shopping. 

If I shopped on a very regular basis, this wouldn't be such a problem. Filling out the surveys might become a regular task for a particular day of the week. But I shop at this store when I happen to be in that area. Sometimes I shop just 4 or 5 days after the last visit. And I can't fill out a survey just yet, when I might be thinking of it, as 7 days has not elapsed since my last shopping trip.

I've come up with a system, of sorts. I keep the current receipts on the table right next to where I store my laptop. Organization experts would probably recommend keeping these receipts on a desk, right? I don't happen to use a desk daily. And if I'm not carefully tracking when the next opportunity to fill out a survey opens up, I could miss it altogether.

As this is an online survey, I need to use my laptop. By keeping the current receipt right next to the laptop, I see it daily and am reminded of the survey, every morning.

when I fill out the survey for this receipt, I will note that date, at the top

To track the survey window, I make some briefs notes at the top of each receipt. I first consult the previous receipt to see when I took the last survey. I then date the current receipt with the "do" date. After I complete the survey, I record the date I completed the survey, and whether it was in the AM or the PM. The previous receipt is filed in my folder of receipts, and this current one becomes the one sitting next to the laptop, to tell me when another survey opportunity will open up.

(I make the two notations --when to do, and when did-- because sometimes life just gets in the way, and I don't fill out the survey as promptly as I'd like.)

I suppose many organization experts would tell me to write this information down on a calendar or in an appointment reminder. I suppose I could. But that would make extra work for me, and may just be enough "extra" work to prevent me from doing any of this. If I've learned anything about myself it's this, make something more complicated than it needs to be and I'll surely drop all of it.

My solution is as simple as I can make it, yet still be effective. It works for me, and has for quite a while now. It's what I think of as haphazard organization.