To toss or to eat: Taking the mystery out of the leftover timeline

I am terrible about eating leftovers, which isn't very convenient since I work from home. My husband, on the other hand, is very happy to warm up a dish we had last week for a repeat meal. Every time I see him peeling back the Tupperware lid on food that's been in the back of the fridge, I cringe.

Whether leftovers are still good to eat has to do with more than your personal threshold for nastiness. It has to do with how quickly you put the food into the fridge, how long it stayed there and how you reheat it when you're ready to dig into it once again.

This Mayo Clinic dietitian limits perishable leftovers to four days in the refrigerator. She also advises reheating leftovers to boiling on the stove top or above 325-degrees in the oven to avoid the risk of multiplying bacteria in your food. A common sense but good reminder is to steer clear of reheating food in chafing dishes or slow cookers and to be sure to get your cold foods -- like salads, sandwiches and summertime soups -- into the fridge immediately after you decide you've had enough.

Obviously, there are safe ways to save your leftovers and make sure they get eaten and not tossed. I'm considering posting a note on our refrigerator to remind myself to make a lunch out of leftovers the next day and to remind my husband to look at the calendar before he dives into a dish.

What are your tips for leftover storage and snacking?