How did this even happen?
So I was suppose to be writing my favorites post for you today but I simply can’t. You see something has happened and I can’t get past it. I’m beside myself just thinking about it.
Those that have been around here long enough know that I love to purge. I get such a high from throwing things away or sending stuff to the thrift store, whatever is most appropriate for the situation. But sometimes in the life of an organizing junkie I run out of things to purge and then I get desperate for a fix. Something. Anything. That’s when I usually hit up the kitchen…between the pantry shelves and the fridge I can almost always score something to part with. Products with expiration dates make me so happy as they allow me to toss away without the guilt. Don’t judge, I’m an addict remember?
So as you can imagine, expired products don’t stand a chance in my house!
Until yesterday that is.
Something escaped my toss.
This soup mix has succeeded where no other product ever has.
It had lived on past its prime. Long, long past its prime for that matter.
It didn’t expire last week or even last month. Oh no, this sneaky little box, which had been cowering in the back of the cupboard, expired quite some time ago.
Take a look.
Do you see that?
Perhaps you need a closer look. Lean in.
Ummm WHAT? DECEMBER 2012??? It’s 2014!!! What kind of organizing junkie am I?
The shock still hasn’t worn off, how did this even happen?
Can you see the headlines now?
Org Junkie defeated by soup, will she ever recover?
So sad.
Send chips. Oh wait, don’t do that 🙂
You are not alone my friend,a few weeks ago I discovered a bag of chicken wings in the very back of the freezer dated 2012…dunno how that happened because we both love wings!!I had to throw them out because I wasn’t sure if they were safe to eat…
Oh my gosh Laura, that is hilarious! Defeated by a box of soup mix. tisk tisk!
That’s not old! Heck I’d use it. When I moved last year I had a can of something or other from 2007. Now that’s a bit past it’s prime.
Please donate your expired food like this to your local food bank. Most cans, bottles, and packets can be used well past their expiration date. I totally understand your desire to get rid of it, but someone who is hungry can still use it.
When I was the person who organized the church food pantry there was no way we could give out expired stuff. Heaven forbid someone should get sick on it and blame the church. Hate to say it but it should be garbaged.
Our local food bank (a big warehouse) has a list of how long different foods are good past their expiration date and does give out expired cans regularly. My teenage son volunteers there and his job is checking expiration dates. They do throw some away, but I send all my expired food to them so they can decide. I would hate to waste something that could be used.
I found a box of Jello in our pantry from 2006. So we either packed and moved it from an apartment, to a house, to a storage unit, to a new house where I finally found it in 2014, or we bought an expired box of jello sometime after we moved into this house in 2010. Which is worse?
Oh gosh … we’ve all seen {and eaten} worse!!!
;-}
About 2 months ago I was expecting a company to come repair basement walls. I needed to move my basement “pantry” shelving. I threw away a canned lemon curd from 2004. I threw away multiples of pumpkin pie filling, cream corn and canned soups that were over 5 years old. My observation was I wasn’t using the basement pantry very well.
When I cleaned out all the expired medicine in December, I found a bottle of Chloraseptic from 2008. 🙁
I clean out my refrigerator and pantry cabinet pretty regularly but I stumbled across a bottle of salad dressing that was Oct. 2012 last week. I was just like you; HOW did I miss that?!
Most items like that are still good past the “best by” date. They may not be as fresh or flavorful, but they are usually safe to use. Frozen meats I would toss but I might have used the soup mix.
Are you sure you didn’t buy it recently and it just happened to already be expired? Some stores aren’t good with clearing out old stock.
No it was old because it’s not a product I normally buy….I think I bought it to make a dip once upon a time 🙂
Totally been there my friend.
This post made me chuckle…too funny! I’ve had this happen to me…the worst is when you buy something from the store, it’s close to expiry, and you don’t notice until after the fact!
True story! lol
If you are having withdrawals from not having something to purge/organize you can come over anytime and organize my many “stuff.” You will be more than welcomed. Although I don’t comment I do LOVE your tips. I follow your blog on my reader. Thanks for sharing the many tips.
That used to happen to me quite frequently. Now before grocery shopping for the week, I go through my pantry to see if I can make any meals from what’s left. If I don’t think I’ll use something, I put it aside for the food pantry. There are still items that get past me, though!
Maybe the evil disorganization imps changed the location of the box every once in a while so you wouldn’t find it right away. :O) ?
I have learned to check expiration dates when buying food at the grocery store I frequent. THEY do NOT toss expired stuff, instead putting it in the front so that when people buy it, they are getting the expired stuff! Been burned by that too many times – now I look at the dates BEFORE I buy!
I went through a few cupboards last weekend and ended up with multiple expired items – cake mixes, sauces, taco shells, and I still have other stuff here I feel guilty for tossing out. I also noticed a bunch of cans in the back of the cabinet say expired. I’m just going to toss them out here and there for now, and not rebuy those items. It makes me mad at myself. I’m trying to do better buying food, but I’m not doing good enough!
What cracks me up is how very perturbed you are by finding this. I 100% understand how you feel. Still, I chuckled, just a bit.
That’s because I’m such a dork lol 🙂
I came across a few things early Jan when I was purging things in the cupboard, mainly food. I still have cake flour that’s expired…can I still use it? ha!
Speaking of purging, I’m finally clearing out my roll top desk and half of it was done yesterday. i can’t believe all the stuff I found, especially on the desk top part. Lots of junk! Sigh! Still have a few more drawers to go through today. I have to move the new desk out of the way to get to it. ARG! anyway, I’ve posted it on my blog so see what I’m up to and will be posting new soon! One step at a time! I’m conquering! Thanks for your encouragement. Hugs and have a good week and don’t let one box git ya down. It’s gone! Don’t think about it no more! :0}
Oh dear! You must have been mortified!
That is happened to me before too – we are all human, right?!
lol…you got it 🙂
That’s not expired, that’s past it’s best before date, and can be safely used. There’s an enormous difference between “expired” and “best before” dates!!