u/MushroomLast2476

Mya, my roommate, has been having a rough few months and one way she's dealing with it is by burning candles. Fine, just a normal candle I have no problem with.
It's become an issue that really does matter to me. 8-10 candles lit in her bedroom for hours.

She sleeps with them lit on a regular basis. Last week I was awakened by the flickering light under her door at 2am, knocked and she had been sleeping for more than 1 hour with 7 candles burning on her wooden dresser.

I told her yesterday that I loved her and knew that she was in a hard situation, but from a basic safety perspective, I didn't like the situation. I recommended flameless LED candles as alternatives or only a couple of candles max and they get blown out before she goes to sleep.

She cried and told me that I was making her cry because I was taking away from her only solace in this time, and that I didn't care about her mental state at all.
I do care. Not getting killed in a fire is also a concern of mine.

She's in her room since and hasn't talked to me. I feel bad and I don't think I was incorrect at all.
AITAH?

Okay so why does every single recipe on earth call for exactly one tablespoon of tomato paste. Just one. Out of a whole can.

So you use your one tablespoon, feel good about yourself, wrap the can in plastic wrap, put it in the fridge and completely forget about it. Two weeks later you're cleaning out the fridge and there it is. Fuzzy. Green. Gone.

I threw out probably 50 cans worth over the years before my coworker watched me describe this problem and just stared at me like I was an idiot.

She told me to drop spoonfuls onto a piece of foil and freeze them. Once they're solid just throw all the little blobs into a ziplock bag and keep them in the freezer. Next time a recipe needs a tablespoon you just grab one out and toss it straight in the pan.

I went home and did it that same night and honestly felt like I unlocked something. No more waste. No more guilt. No more buying a fresh can because I already know the open one in my fridge is definitely dead by now.

Sounds so small but when you're watching every dollar this stuff actually adds up.