Thursday, August 13, 2015

Eating Down the House

So... sometime last week I was making a grocery list and dreading going to the store. I just didn't feel like dealing with it. Eventually laziness won out and I spent the evening communing with my couch instead.



Somewhere in there it hit me - how on earth can I think that I need to go to the grocery store when I have 2 freezers literally bursting with food, cupboards that are soooo full that I can hardly fit any more in them, and a garden full of fresh produce!

I just seem to get myself into certain eating patterns, and then it becomes easier to keep doing what I have been doing than to engage my brain and look at the situation logically. But the truth is that I've got a ridiculous amount of food in this house... so much, in fact, that I'm not entirely sure what I've got!

I think I once read about something called "Parkinson's Law" that essentially says that work expands to fill the time allotted. Well, apparently if you're like me (in other words, if you can't pass up a good sale, and react to stress by stockpiling food) food also expands to fill the freezer space allotted!



So. I'm on a mission to eat down the stockpile to a more reasonable level, and hopefully get the freezer emptied out enough to defrost it before the fall surplus arrives.

I'm not gonna do anything crazy like I did a few years back where I tried to go for a month with only a $25 grocery budget, as I think I could quite possibly go crazy without fresh fruit - especially at the peak of the summer season, but I am gonna try to re-arrange my eating a bit to use up some of my surplus before I buy more.

Anyhow, it's been about a week since I thought I needed to go shopping, and I've barely made a dent - nor have I noticed much difference in my eating. My last trip to the grocery store was on July 28 and I'm betting I can easily make it for a month with only a small trip for some fruit & a few things for dinners with CatMan.

Stay tuned folks... I see a freezer inventory in my future...




22 comments :

  1. Our freezer/cupboards are not full enough to last us for months (I don't think!) but I suspect there are some ancient things in them that could do with excavating and eating...along with all the random jars of stuff in the fridge door...
    I just made a huge batch of French bean soup though, so we will be eating that for a while!

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    1. Ooooo... what's French bean soup? It sounds yummy, and I have a TON of soup makin's hogging room in the freezer!

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  2. I generally don't stockpile food. I find if I do too much of that, I end up wasting more which is not really a savings at all. However, I do go through phases where I have more in the pantry and freezer than I can easily see. Then I try to eat specifically to use up that food. I find that is when I do my best cooking. I think I work better with some definite parameters instead of a wide open slate for a menu.

    Good luck with your "eat down."

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    1. I just HATE having to go out when I don't want to. I think I'm spoiled by working at home... or something like that. Anyhow, my life doesn't afford many opportunities to just "stop by the store" it's always a specific trip, which requires inertia - something I seem to be lacking at the moment!

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  3. I am just as guilty as you are at times of doing this. Right now I have a strange situation in which I have very little left in the freezer. Fruit is gone and none has been put up this summer. Oh I do still have pumpkin in there. The pantry is stocked with staples but those items take a bit of thought to come up with new ways to prepare them as my usual go-to ingredients are gone.

    So your summer garden is doing well? No more damage from hail? My garden is suffering. It's just too cold here to ripen things like peppers and tomatoes.

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    1. I think I need to keep a notebook or white board or something by the freezer and write down what's in there!

      The garden is doing quite well. We've only had a few small hail storms since I upgraded the hail house, so it hasn't gotten a good test, but at the moment I'm overrun with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini. Yay!

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  4. Dang it! My comments were just lost. Sigh. Hopefully this will post.

    My kids and I just got back from my mom's--she overbuys produce but we were able to eat down a lot of her salad/fruit stash as well as her chicken and buns stored in the freezer--less food waste at her house, yay!

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    1. Grrrr... Blogger is such a bummer that way.

      Anyhow, I'm sure your mom was grateful for the help. :-) It's funny, I almost never waste food - I'm pretty good at using or freezing the fresh stuff before it goes bad. My problem is forgetting what's in the freezer!

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  5. Being overrun with cherry tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers sounds AWESOME! We're also currently eating our way through the freezer's contents becuase it needs defrosted really badly (it's not been very well). Only the sorbet I made, a bag of streusel topping and a pizza base to go! Woop!

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    1. Good work! I fear I have a LOT further to go before you do, but my freezer is also in desperate need of defrosting!

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  6. What kind of freezers do you have? The reason I'm curious is this: We can grow stuff just about year 'round here, so for the last several years I've concentrated on just keeping a smallish garden with something fresh coming all the time. But in the last couple of years I've started freezing garden surplus and since I only have the freezer in the top of my refrigerator, it fills up fast. So I am in the market for some kind of freezer but I don't really have a lot of space. Can't decide whether to get a small chest freezer or get a new side-by-side frig/freezer.

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    1. Well, I have a small chest freezer (7 cubic feet) in addition to the freezer on top of the fridge. I have to say it's a mixed bag. It's good because it's very efficient to operate, and it only cost about $200 new. The bad part is that it's hard to keep things organized without a good system - which can lead to (ahem) stuff getting lost in there and not knowing what you've got! My parents have a stand alone freezer that is vertical just like a regular fridge and they love how easy it is to organize with the shelves and everything, but it does cost more to run than my chest freezer. All in all it was a great investment, but I do think I need a better system!

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    2. The 7 cubic-foot chest freezer sounds just like what I need - small yet efficient. Let me know when you get your system worked out : )

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    3. I think they also make smaller ones 5 cubic feet maybe. There wasn't much price difference as I recall, and the energy usage was similar so I went with 7. But if space is at a premium you might want to look at the small ones too. :-)

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  7. Yes, we have the same problem. We tend to like the bulk stores like Costco and BJs, and that does not help the food hoarding problem! I am curious to see your freezer :o)

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    1. Well... I finished the inventory of the basement freezer. Umm... 14 pounds of cheese?! It just kept going on sale for better and better prices! Oy!

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  8. Once in a while I go for the eating-down-the-stockpile, thinking this will be good training for me in case of emergency. I find my supplies sorely in need of variety after a few days. Just stopping by from the AtoZ Road Trip. I'm looking for interesting blogs to add to my list for visits! Loved your post.

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    1. Alas... I have more variety than I care to admit! My problem is that I'm weak... I want what I want when I want it. Sigh.

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  9. Meant to tell you you'll be mentioned in my post on 8/26. Here's the permalink that goes like that morning. https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7148510738485459197#editor/target=post;postID=6946864087400602580;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=34;src=link

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    1. Garsh... I am not worthy! I'll have to go check it out!

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  10. I've also gotten to where I have too much. When I was making room for this summer's harvest, I saw that I still had lots from last year. I did make an inventory (although I haven't been checking it off) so I have somewhat of an idea what I need to use up. I've been planning to do a "Use it Up Month" and will probably do it next month. Today I went to the grocery store and bought three things - wine, cane sugar, and salt. I want to have a month where that's what my shopping looks like. I am getting ready to place a big bulk order - things like cornmeal, flour, olive oil, etc. - and that should keep me busy for a while.

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    1. I'm trying to keep my purchases to stuff for CatMan, stuff for Princess & some seasonal produce... I am NOT missing peach season! It will take significant work to get the chest freezer empty enough to defrost it though...

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