My developing and printing sessions have become short. Very short.
But short is better than nothing, and short is all I have time for.
I'll develop a couple rolls of 120 and be done, or I'll develop a
couple batches of 4x5s and be done, or I'll print one or two negatives
and be done and use only a few sheets of paper. Then I'm often not in
the darkroom for weeks. By the time I'm back, the fix is past due,
according to the label (I think Ilford says one week after dilution).
I've been using Ilford rapid, because I'm too rushed to mix my own
like I used to. Rather than take a chance I just dump it in my holding
bottles for taking to the photo lab for silver removal, and mix new
fix.

If I test the old film fix with a snip of film and it still clears OK,
can I feel safe that no other chemical breakdowns have happened that
might adversely impact my film? Is there any way to know if the paper
fix (different dilution) is still good and safe? I just hate this
wasted capacity and wasted expense.