Ever thrown away a half-used food product because, well, you never got around to using it? So has 77% of the population, according to a survey done for the J.M. Smucker Company.

Don’t toss it, repurpose it – particularly if it’s a Hungry Jack brand item. The “Use Up the Box” contest will award a year’s worth of groceries to the best recipes that use the company’s instant mashed potatoes, pancake mix or syrup. Two caveats:

• Your recipe must use at least one cup of Hungry Jack instant mashed potatoes or pancake mix, or at least ¼ cup of Hungry Jack syrup.
• Your recipe cannot be “Doughnut Bites With Bacon Sugar,” because that’s already been done.

I left the Windy City under unpleasant circumstances, i.e., I was fleeing my marriage. Now I have a chance to go back on my own terms — with your help.

I have seven or eight reusable shopping bags. Most are destined to fall apart within a year or so because they’re made of that papery kind of fabric. Of course, they were also obtained for free so I got exactly what I paid for.

Not so the winner of this week’s prize:

Yesterday I didn’t post at all, and it felt odd. Much of the day was taken up with deadlines: my Living With Less column for MSN Money and a guest post for Get Rich Slowly. I took a two-mile walk. I spent some time with my aunt. I scanned a ton of family photos at Walgreens, and had a plate of ravioli at a pizzeria while I waited for the prints to be ready.

Those photos, particularly the ones of my mother, are generating a lot of melancholy. It’s going to take some time for the emotions to shake down. When they do, I’ll be writing about what I’ve learned – and what I hope to continue to learn – from looking back.

This week’s winner is Lenes — not sure if that’s a man or a woman, but s/he will be smooth and soft with help from the Eucerin package.

Thanks to all who entered.

Friday’s giveaway is green in nature. I wish I could say that means “cash.”