Friday, May 18, 2012

Food Waste Friday - The Epic Fail Edition

OK, so I've never participated in Frugal Girl's Food Waste Friday series before, but I figured, why not start off with a bang? If nothing else, it will make everybody else feel soooo much better about their own food waste, which will seem paltry by comparison.
FoodWasteFriday

I figure y'all know by know that I'm a tad bit neurotic. And I'm afraid that I've created perfect storm, and all of my neuroses have collided in my pantry, creating complete and total dysfunction.


I've been a bit of a food hoarder all of my life. I'm not entirely sure where it comes from, but I'm sure it has its roots in my crazy childhood. My mother was a bit of a hoarder in general, and having a cupboard full of 10 year old cans of pickled beets was just normal in our house.


Plus, my mother had a whole host of eating "issues" and would regularly do things like steal my Christmas candy, eat my french fries, demand a "bite" of my candy bar - which translated into cramming the entire thing into her mouth and leaving me with a tiny piece... you get the picture.

Anyhow, I learned early that food "territory" had to be defended fiercely, and I'm sure that led, at least in part to some of my crazy eating disorders and my overall neurosis about tossing food.


But I can't blame it all on my mother. When I first graduated from college and was living on dirt (by choice) I went through times when finding enough money to feed myself was a real challenge. I never went hungry, but I did have to participate in some food bank programs in order to get by.

But things really spiraled out of control after hurricane Katrina. I'm not sure why, but somehow watching the television coverage, and seeing those throngs of people with no food or water sort of  pushed my apocalypse buttons, and I reacted by going out and filling my pantry with enough canned and dry goods to last a year. Because, you know, we have sooooo many hurricanes here in land-locked Colorado!


Seriously, I bought case after case of beans and tuna and even canned spinach... good lord, canned spinach?!? What was I thinking? I guess I figured that if the world was coming to an end I'd be grateful to have the slimy stuff.

But, alas, the apocalypse did not arrive, and in the meantime I got obsessed about the dangers of BPA, and I read Michael Pollan, and decided that eating canned food wasn't really all that healthy.



But, I couldn't just get rid of the stuff, because that would be wasteful. (See what I mean about the colliding neuroses?) And much of it was already past its expiry date so the food banks wouldn't take it. So it just sat in my basement.

And I actually did intend to eat some of it up... but the thing is that it wasn't stored in a very accessible place, so when I did use canned food I generally ended up buying new stuff because I had no idea what was lurking under the stairs behind boxes of other crap. Oy!

But spurred on by my recent encounter with 27 episodes of Extreme Hoarders, I decided that it was time to tackle the problem once and for all! So here it is... the food I'm tossing this week.


Oh, the shame. But everything in these boxes expired over 4 years ago, and some of the cans were even leaking.... EEEEEEWWWWWW.

There's also a collection of canned goods that are more recently expired, and I've made a pact with myself that they need to be eaten within the next few months or they're getting tossed too. To that end, they're all on my kitchen counter so they can't get lost in the land of "out of sight out of mind".


So, what have I learned from this little episode? Well, first off it would be really nice if I could just push a button and de-neurotify myself. I fear that is easier said than done though. I mean, I know logically that the chances of my having no access to food for an extended period of time are extremely unlikely, but I still think it's prudent to have at least some canned food on hand. But in the future, I'm going to try to stick to these guidelines.

1. Only buy foods that I eat regularly. I realize that this sounds sort of obvious, but for some reason when I was stocking up I kept trying to buy things that would create a "balanced diet". Of course canned sweet potatoes, & spinach & fruit... these are things I just don't like, and wouldn't eat unless forced to. So from now on, I think I'm just gonna have to accept the fact that if the world comes to an end I'll have to get by on a less than balanced diet.

2. Rotate the stock. Once again, this seems obvious, but I just got too lazy to do it. It was just so much easier to buy new stuff, rather than dragging out the stuff I already had.

3. Choose an easily accessible location for food storage. This is closely correlated to number two, because a big chunk of the reason that I didn't rotate was that I couldn't easily get to the stuff that I already had.

4. Keep it to a reasonable level. If I've learned anything from this little episode it's that trying to be prepared for all eventualities is a loosing game. I mean really... I once read a book about real risks. The book took a scientific look at the things that people worry about and laid out the reality of how likely we really are to suffer from xyz horrible thing. And while the probability of natural disasters and societal collapse are infinitesimally small, the single biggest risk most of us face is (I kid you not) FOOD POISONING!

So there it is. I certainly feel better now that the pantry monster has been tamed, and I promise, promise, PROMISE never to let it get so bad ever again!

24 comments :

  1. Honestly, I don't know anyone who doesn't have food issues. I think it's more primal than even our childhood traumas.

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    1. That's a good point. I can't think of anything more primal than food!

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  2. Your plan sounds awesome! I love how you are always working on improving areas of your life. So very inspiring.

    I am LOL about the Hoarders episodes; I discovered them 2 weeks ago on Netflix and watched them for the first time. I only made it through 3 before I discovered they were stressing me out horribly to watch. I don't know why...I'm not a hoarder. But surely that's why I'm eating non-stop through them :-/ Time to work on my own issues, obviously!

    And on that note, I believe I read somewhere on your blog that you lost 40 pounds at some point, and I believe you did it "from the inside out", am I right? I would so love it if you'd do a post on that some day, if it isn't too personal. I have the same amount of weight to lose and I have finally come to grips with the fact that eating plans escalate my grazing disorder and they are not going to lead me out of it. I need to pull the weed by the root instead of constantly mowing over it, so to speak. Anyhow, I just wanted to throw the post idea in the "suggestion box" :)

    Misty

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    1. Ha! Sometimes I feel like my whole life is one long self improvement program. I'm glad you find it inspiring, sometimes I think I must just sound like one big psychological mess!

      "Weight loss from the inside out" I never quite thought about it that way before, but that's a great way to put it. I certainly don't "have all the answers" when it comes to weight and health issues, but I'd be happy to write a post or two about my experiences. Stay tuned... :-)

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  3. Hey Cat - Okay, you were right - polar opposite! Personally I think your approach to start afresh is probably the right way to tackle the hoard. I'm a 'recovering' ;-) sentimental hoarder, and I wish I could toss the lot but can't as there are actually bits and pieces amongst that really should be kept. However 4-year outta date cans - they can go!
    Good luck with it all, and looking forward to reading about how you get on! Jo

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    1. Hey Jo,

      Well, for the past few years I've been slowly, slowly trying to pare down all of my belongings to a more manageable level. Sentimental stuff is hard, but I've been working on whittling it down little by little.

      But for some odd reason sentimental stuff is actually easier for me than ridiculous things like cardboard boxes, 25 year old T-shirts and yes, canned food! I'm not sure what that says about me... pragmatic to a fault? Anyhow, I'm trying to stick with the old adage: keep only the things that you use or love.

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  4. The more you write about your mother, the luckier I feel that my parents are (comparatively) normal and sane, and I should cut Kevin some slack when he does something that reminds me of my father (rare, but I freak out anyway).

    I don't really have food hoarding issues (I do hate to throw food away), but I'm lazy about cupboard rotation and checking what I have before heading out. I was surprised to find 4 cans of garbanzo beans last time I checked (but no pinto or kidney). Honestly? I've daydreamed about smart cupboards and smart fridges that keep track of inventory when you take things out or put things away and write you a note when you run out of something or something's about to expire. I'm pretty sure a simple pen and notepad (there's a notepad on the fridge, but no pen, so I get lazy) would be a lower tech solution! It's amazing how the smallest barriers keep us from behaving more productively. Maybe I'll glue a magnet on a pen today.

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    1. Well, I think we each have our own crosses to bear when it comes to parental craziness. I think I am actually fortunate that my parents were crazy in a way that was pretty clearly visible (visible to me, at least). It's at least made it possible for me to identify and rebel against the craziness.

      I think the people who really suffer are the ones who come from families that are completely "normal" on the outside with the craziness buried under layer after layer of complicated subterfuge. I think that's much harder to deal with.

      And, BTW, anyone who reminds me of anyone in my crazy family is likely to get an ice pick in the temple - just joking, but seriously, it takes effort for me to separate it all out once those buttons get pushed.

      I totally LOVE your "smart cupboard" idea. Don't even get me started on the chest freezer in the basement. The sucker is FULL... and to be honest I really don't even know what's in the bottom. Melissa over at Her Green Life (http://hergreenlife.com/) actually has a white board system for keeping track of the contents of her freezer... and I am in total awe. But I think a pen with a magnet would be a wonderful first step!

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  5. Okay, Cat, I have a question. Are you going to empty the cans of their contents & recycle the cans, or are the unopened cans going into the trash as is? Knowing you, you probably have a compost heap where the contents will go. I NEED to do this too, but putting unopened cans into the garbage cans just doesn't seem like the best way to go.

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    1. Oooooo... I was afraid somebody was gonna ask this question. I do have a compost heap, but alas, I couldn't bring myself to open all the cans and compost/recycle. It probably would have helped on the guilt front, and it certainly would have been a much more ecological choice, but I knew that if I went that route it would just feel so overwhelming that I'd never do it. So I bit my tongue and just tossed them all in the garbage. It's terrible I know, but I just couldn't bring myself to expend any more time and emotional energy on them than I already had. I'm sort of waiting for the gods to strike me down as an eco-sinner but oh well, nobody's perfect!

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    2. I would have done exactly this as well! Sometimes, when you are dealing with the guilt of the wasted food, you just need to get it out of the house and NOT spend more time and energy on it.

      I do my best now to watch dates and stay on top of our canned goods. I also learned from a similar experience that there is NO point in buying foods that you would only be willing to eat in an emergency situation. A few years ago, I invested in can racks that slide the cans in from the top and rotate them under and to the front. Awesome investment and I have never regretted it.

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    3. Oh thank you Mary, I feel better already. Can racks... now THAT's an idea! Do you remember where you got them? I feel some Googling coming on...

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    4. ECL - my question wasn't asked to make you feel guilty. Opening & dumping is nasty & messy, if like me, you don't have a compost pile/heap. However, I'm thinking that once I put all of the cans in a garbage bag, I either won't be able to pick it up, or it will break & I'll have cans rolling everywhere.

      And, I'm with you on the BPA. I rarely buy anything canned, unless I must. If there is a glass jar option, even if it costs more, I go for that instead.

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    5. No worries, I take complete & total responsibility for my own guilt - your comment just got me to fess up to it! And I had to make numerous trips to haul the stuff outside because the boxes were so heavy I couldn't lift them! This may sound crazy, but I sort of didn't like the idea of my can opener coming into contact with what could be toxic spoiled food.

      I've heard that there is one brand that doesn't use BPA in their cans - Eden Foods maybe? But this doesn't really make me feel much better because as people have pointed out, we have NO idea what they're using instead, and what it might do to us! I also read somewhere that the seals on glass jars are loaded with BPA... but I still think that's better than a can that's lined with the stuff.

      I've largely switched to frozen veggies these days - although that won't be much help if/when the power goes out. I can take some solace in the fact that power outages around here are usually caused by big blizzards though, and if that's the case, ice will be easy to come by!

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    6. Some sources regarding BPA use in cans:
      http://organicgrace.com/node/316
      http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/7-companies-you-can-trust-to-use-bpa-free-cans.html
      http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/bpa-canned-foods-best-and-worst-brands-out-there.htm
      And if anyone is concerned about GM foods this is the best source I've found: http://www.cornucopia.org/category/reports/

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    7. Great set of links Connie... thanks!

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  6. Great "do as I say, not as I do" post :)

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    1. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions!

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  7. Have to say I was a little surprise at this post. I would have never guessed that you would be a hoarder of any kind - sure glad you are getting a handle on it now!

    I've always been the opposite, maybe because my mother was a food hoarder (and every other kind of hoarder too) BUT she never pulled the give me a bite or digging into my holiday candy thing - that's probably what did it to you more than her being a hoarder.

    I always had a well stocked pantry but got a little freaky about things that were in there more than a couple months even if they weren't nearly expired (my mothers stuff was always years past the use by date). I donated on a regular basis. Over time I used canned foods less and less opting for fresh. Finally learned to have one little cabinet with canned foods and only things I really use.

    We live in Florida where hurricanes and weeks with out electricity are a real possibility. I've learned to stock up way, way more on bottled water (the most important!) and things like granola bars, tuna packets, peanut butter, boxes of crackers, etc. - things we will use up even after the emergency passes and things we could live on for an extended period nutritionally speaking as well. Even if we were starving, cold canned creamed spinach and similar things are going to be the last things we'd eat and only used if absolutely necessary for survival!

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    1. I fear I am a recovering clutter hound. I've never been a big shopper, but I think that having lived through periods of scarcity has made it difficult for me to let go of things that "might be useful".

      But you know, in a funny way, I think that buying less "stuff" sort of contributed to the whole food hoarding thing. And when I think about it, most of the things that I tend to go overboard on are "consumables" both food and otherwise. Maybe it was a reaction to feeling a bit "shopping deprived" in my young adult years.

      Anyhow, I'm not sure that I could say that I'm "all over it" but I'm certainly gaining new perspective and have MUCH less desire to acquire anything that won't be used up and gone within a reasonable period of time!

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  8. All I can say is - thank god I haven't got a basement.

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    1. LOL! It's both a blessing and a curse, that's for sure!

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  9. I think it's highly commendable that you put your apocalypse survival measures out there for us all to see. I have actually come across the Frugal Girl site and have quietly attempted not to waste a thing, but it is really hard! Even though I am one person and only own a tiny bar fridge!

    Good decluttering Cat :)

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    1. Well, I'm pleased to say that I've eaten my way about half way through the "use it or lose it" pile. But it may take the rest of my life to eat the gallons of dried pintos and rice that are still in the basement. And then there's the chest freezer... I counted six gallons of frozen pumpkin puree... what can I say, it was a bumper crop and I just can't stand to let it go to waste!

      I do think I'll be tempering my grocery shopping habits from now on though!

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