Don’t waste your money throwing away food

A bag of mushy, moldy peppers, a half of a jar of spaghetti sauce, and some mystery meat —a few of the things I chucked into the trash this past week.

All that wasted food and all that money plopped into the garbage turns my stomach, but a new nationwide "Save the Food" campaign hopes to stop me and everyone else from throwing away so much food.

Katie Gordon of Dayton was suprised to learn she was potentially throwing $375 worth of edibles in the trash.

“It’s shocking. I don’t make a lot of money. I’d say it is probably mostly healthy foods that I’m throwing out because I take whatever is easiest to eat,” said Gordon.

The website has in-depth, step-by-step instructions for saving your food from the landfill— from perking up greens and celery, to freezing peanuts.

Dog dangers

About a year ago, I profiled a local pooch who nearly died after eating his owner's sugarless gum, and this past week the FDA issued a renewed warning for dog owners about the danger.

Sugarfree gum and other products contain Xylitol, which can trigger a large release of insulin in dogs, and can lead to death, according to the FDA.

Symptoms include vomiting, weakness, and seizures.

Other Xylitol-containing products to keep out of reach of dogs include toothpaste, cough syrup and some baked goods.

Good deals at government auctions

Need some gold dust from NASA, a bass boat, or a home literally on "Easy Street?"

Then welcome to the world of online government auctions.

A scan of some of the items shows many “may be missing parts,” “may need repairs,” and have “no warranty,” and that an actual in person physical inspection of the items in “highly encouraged.”

You can bid on items here and here.

If your curious, that space shuttle "conductive gold" auction is still on, and at last check, the bid was $1,000.

Have you ever participated in an online government auction? Send me an email or comment below.

Rachel Murray is a WHIO-TV consumer reporter. You can watch her reports on News Center 7, follow her on Twitter @RMurrayWHIO, and like her fan page on Facebook.

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