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Monday, March 10, 2014

Wasting Food and Expiration Dates...

I just wasted my last jar of food from the refrigerator. When there are several people in one household opening different jars of food, you're not sure exactly when that jar of salsa or tomato sauce was opened.

When we get home from grocery shopping, that's when I clean the refrigerator out. I threw out several jars of food this weekend from the "I'm not sure" question.

Here's my new solution. We'll see how long this system last and if people actually write the date on it when they open a jar or container of food.

food expiration dates

Come on in and share your ideas on expiration dates...



Tonight is my late night to work, so I made and put everything together for tacos. If all this salsa isn't eaten, it will go back into the refrigerator. It may sit there for whoever knows how long, get pushed to the back of the refrigerator and then the question comes…

"How long has this salsa been in here?" If we're not sure, our motto is...throw it out. Better safe than sorry.

food expiration dates

The misleading date on the jar is the expiration date for the jar sitting on the shelf.

"Best Used By"…02/13/15

That's the date for sitting on my pantry shelf, not my refrigerator shelf.

food expiration dates

 Writing the date it was opened will hopefully save some money around our house.

food expiration dates

What do you do about expiration dates in your refrigerator?

Thanks for stopping by,
~Karen~

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27 comments:

  1. This is a great idea.....Thanks!

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  2. When we put leftovers in the fridge, we use a dry erase marker on the container to write the date we put it in and what it is. We use the re-usable deli meat containers for most of our leftovers. Then when they get used, we just wipe it off and put it in the dishwasher.

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  3. In my house, the boys eat up anything that is not pinned down, so nothing seem to stay around long enough to expire except me.

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  4. Thank you, I need to remember this!

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  5. I put a sticker with the opening date and if I'm making my own preserves I write on it what's inside and the space for the date as well. This way we always knows. I prefer tomput the sticker on the jar itself as my family love to mix the lids

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  6. Kinda related but not...I put fresh vegetables and fruits actually on the shelves of the refrigerator rather than in the drawers. For some reason, it's a lot easier to grab an orange off the shelf for a snack than it is to open a drawer to get it (I have no idea why this is true in our house, but it is). I can also keep an eye on my more perishable veggies and work them into a meal before they pass the point of no return.

    The drawers now get things that are long(er)-lived and less-used, like the jar of horseradish, the bottle of BBQ sauce, yeast, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, etc.

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  7. I have adult children back at home. They all cook their own meals and buy their own food. You are right about wasting food. Our main problem is there are so many jars and bottles in the fridge things get lost in the back. I will try your dating solution.

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  8. I do use your dating system but my question is: How long is that jar of salsa good AFTER you open it?

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  9. I use the same system ... date things with a Sharpie kept by the fridge

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    Replies
    1. I do the same thing. Keeping the Sharpie handy to the fridge is the real key. :-)

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    2. With 3 pre-teens in the house rarely does anything get thrown out. The other day I found a jar of sweet pickles and dills with 4 in each jar. All I did was put them on the counter while cleaning and they were eaten. Great idea though. I use this for my laundry soap, softener, softener sheets and dishwashing detergent, lets me know how fast I go through it all!

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  10. I think this is a great idea. My husband hates to waste food and after finding out that we now have to pay over $650 for Health insurance because of Obama Care I will certainly be paying more attention to what gets wasted. We have 4 adults in the house and I pay for all the groceries so I will be putting a system in place. Thanks for sharing I will try and use this one for our condiments and possibly any left overs.

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  11. I got a labeller for Christmas and I've been labelling my frozen leftovers - date made and what it is; I also use it for labelling my makeup with the date it was opened. I don't know why I didn't think of labels for my bottles and jars in the fridge too. If you are unsure about whether to keep or toss I found a great site www.stilltasty.com. It hasn't steered me wrong yet!

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  12. Great idea....since I am the only one who cooks or puts anything away in the fridge, I could make this work! I already use a Tupperware or Pampered Chef label for leftovers, both in the fridge and in the freezer

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  13. I use this method for jars of food, and baggies with leftovers too. It works great! I love Amy's idea of using a dry erase marker on plastic containers.

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  14. I put a sticky magnet on a marker and stuck it to the fridge. Those tend to disappear in my house. I also write on the jar as lids get mixed up. I date stuff the same in the freezer.

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  15. I have been doing this for about one year now, and I love it!!! I also do it with non-food items ~ as I am curious to see how long things last.

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  16. I write the date that I bring cans into the pantry on the top of the can. That way I use the FIFO inventory method

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  17. Je fais cela aussi, surtout sur les boissons gazeuses et le lait qui ne servent pas beaucoup chez nous.

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  18. We are hopeless and just end up throwing stuff out that has been in there for months. There needs to be an open jar amnesty where all the opened part used jars of sauces get used in one big dish!

    http://asaucystitch.blogspot.co.uk

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  19. We did that at my mother's to help all the various caregivers use the freshest foods. It worked out very well because we were all cognizant of the freshness. Probably also because there's at least one vigilante trasher (me) in a family of savers. It's a great idea.

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  20. We write the date on the lid when we open a container, because no one can ever remember exactly when it was started.

    Noreen
    Crafty Journal

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  21. There's a site called stilltasty.com They have all the info on food safety, it's so helpful!

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  22. Been doing this since I retired.I also date any leftovers,too, cause I never know what my brain is thinking!

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  23. I write expiration dates on my cans and bottles but hadn't thought of writing opened dates. I know that these packaged goods are good way past the date stamped on them and that somewhere there is a list that tells how long they last past that date but can't find the list. I have a friend who volunteers at a food pantry and they have a list like that. Any ideas where to find it? blessings, marlene

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  24. Great idea Karen! I am actually taking a different approach to tackling food waste. I am a tech nerd and love my iPhone and iPad quite a bit. I use these devices in nearly every facet of my life, so why not try to put them to use for my soon to be growing family in the kitchen? I am going to start entering expiration dates on food we purchase in an application I just downloaded from the App Store. My hope is we can keep better track of items nearing the end of their shelf life. I am currently searching for another iOS application from the App Store that will allow me to enter current items I have on hand, possibly nearing their expiration date, to make a meal. My wife loves cooking, but I now she can relax and let me do some cooking for once (that reminds me I should get Tums too). It could be a complete disaster or success. With our first child on the way, it will be nice to establish some good habits early before there is one more setting at the table. Hopefully this can help control food costs...we'll see.

    If you want to follow along you can visit my site http://iOSetc.com where you'll find all my social media account links. It's easy to get the most up-to-date information there. I will be adding the opened dates on packaging too thanks to reading this post.

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  25. I used to put the date of lay in pencil on our hens eggs

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Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment...I just love hearing from you!