Don’t Let Your Food Expire

Over the summer, I worked with four clients who had no idea that they had oodles of old food in their kitchens.

I’ve written about expiration dates on food before. In Making Friends With Expiration Dates, I state that “the date printed on the package is more of a suggestion regarding freshness rather than an outright statement that the food has gone bad.” Instead of addressing whether it’s wise to eat expired food, I’d like to discuss the systems breakdown that results in letting food items expire. It’s really a question of how to keep track of your food so that it gets used before it gets old.

First of all, it’s important to have an ongoing shopping list to guide you when you shop for groceries, whether you shop online or in person. If you don’t currently use a shopping list, then start now. Every time you run out of an item, add it to the list. When you do your shopping, only buy the things that are on the list. Don’t just buy all the same things you bought last time. If you have any foods on autoship, cancel it.

Secondly, before you shop, take a look at what is in your kitchen. Are there foods there that you can use to make meals between now and the next time you go shopping? Figure out what you can eat from what you already have, and only add to the shopping list those additional items that are needed to flesh out those meals. Try to use up the foods you own before adding more food to your kitchen.

Thirdly, arrange your products so that the oldest items are in the front and the newest items are in the back. When you go grocery shopping, don’t just unload everything into the empty space in the front of your refrigerator or cabinets. Pull the old items forward first. If you have multiples of the same item — for example, four cans of tomato sauce — arrange them from front to back with the oldest one in front so that you’ll use it before the others.

Fourthly, if there are foods that you use frequently, always have a backup. For example, if you drink milk every day, have two containers in your fridge. Add milk to your shopping list when you use up one, while you still have a second one. That way, you’ll never run out. Just be sure that when you buy a new one, you put it away BEHIND the current one.

Lastly, when you review your food before completing your shopping list, keep an eye out for items that you don’t eat anymore. Your tastes might have changed, or you might found a similar product that you like better. If that happens, then throw away (or give away) the foods you no longer eat rather than letting them take up valuable space until they expire.

I hope that these guidelines will help you to maximize the limited kitchen storage space you have, and prevent you from wasting money by having to throw away food.