time to clear out the fridge

I woke up this morning full of energy and feeling normal, so after breakfast, decided that today was a good day for clearing out the fridge.


Shelves and crispers were emptied and washed down, tired looking vegetables were tossed, most other items put back.


But there were a few things that seemed to have been there forever, constantly being pushed aside or to the back, so I checked the use by dates. Things like mayonnaise, which I rarely use unless I'm making potato salad, then I use the whole jar....teriyaki sauce which I'd bought for a recipe, used twice, then shoved into the back of the fridge. Sandwich pickle that I'd bought aeons ago when I had a craving for fritz and pickle sandwiches. You get the idea.


Well!!
The mayonnaise dated back to 2007!! The fat free mayo looked a funny colour, I have no idea how old it was. I only knew it was still there because I didn't like the taste.
Just look at all this stuff taking up room in my fridge.
Tartare sauce? When and why did I buy that? Never mind, in the bin with it.






Once the fridge was sorted, I decided I might as well check the pantry.
Many items, like these below, are used frequently, so replaced often. I just gave the jars a wipe over and put them back.







The spices however, are a different story. Like the teriyaki sauce, many of these had been bought to try a new recipe, then never used again. Things like caraway seed, turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin. I had the open bin right next to me, so emptied containers as I checked contents.
There's only a handful that I use on a regular basis, along with the parsley.



Other things I found were coconut, both dessicated and shredded varieties, probably still okay, but I don't think I'll ever use it, so out it went. Breadcrumbs, they were probably less than a year old, but they go stale and/or rancid, so out they went too. I'll buy a fresh packet the next time I make schnitzel.
Icecream cones bought for last summer and found right at the back behind the tuna and diced tomatoes. I nibbled one and found it soft instead of crisp, hmmm, chuck those.
The bin was quite full by the time I'd finished and I had much more space in both cupboard and fridge.
Quite a productive morning, if I do say so myself.


Comments

  1. Oh, I'm inspired. Must...go....clean....fridge....now....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hah sounds like you're feeling more chipper which is good. Yeh, cleaned my fridge the other day and I had two bottles of fish sauce. I don't even remember buying it let alone using it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We had a huge clean out when we moved to Melbourne and now that our house and kitchen and cupboards are literally one-quarter what they were in Adelaide, we're ruthless with our condiments, pantry provisions and books.

    That said, our fridge is groaning with all sorts of sauces, pickles and essences but they're all Love Chunks' not mine and seeing as I'm grateful that he does the cooking, I'm happy to have them there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kass; welcome. Tell the truth now. Did you go and clean your fridge? Or did you keep reading blogs?

    Baino; one bottle of fish sauce is one too many.

    Kath; maybe Love Chunks should clean out the fridge?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I put everything into glass jars and label them. I hate leaving food in cardboard boxes, with my housekeeping anything could crawl in there and it's about time I did a clean out.

    ReplyDelete

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