41.2025

"It's edible."

That's the theme of our kitchen right now.

We're trying to go through all the weird things that I stocked up during the pandemic when you never knew what would be in or when, and then various sales in the years following. So some of the items we pull out from the freezer and pantry are... old... and somewhat questionable.

But if they pass the visual and sniff test, we decide to try and use it up. The philosophy is that if it's a disaster and tastes terrible, we can just make a sandwich or something. We go in with the idea that this meal may be tossed out and we'll have to have a back-up.

Which means we've been eating most of the items. Some things have been thrown out. But most are... fine. Not great. Maybe a little freezer burnt. Maybe slightly stale.

But edible.

And this was planned months ago when we realized that our old standup freezer is not getting a great seal so the freezer burn threat is real. The goal is clear it out so we can defrost and fix the gasket. (The fridge freezers are also full but they're not as bad as the stand-up, but could also use some curating, but they're not the main goal at the moment. Yes we have more than one fridge. It's a story.)

So we are celebrating getting things out the house, eating up things that definitely need to be eaten or thrown out, and reorganizing our space.

In the meantime, we are saving money since we aren't buying as much groceries! Mostly produce and other fresh items that we go through regularly. The occasional pantry/frozen good if it's a really, really good deal and we know we'll use it up in a timely manner.

But of all the times to lower the grocery bill, we're so happy it's right now when prices are insane due to... y'know... everything going on in the world. It also has a bonus effect that we don't eat out as much because this is our focus and we don't want to waste more money on food when we feel the guilt of the freezer.