But, dang it, if the world as we know it comes to an end, my husband and I won't starve.
Yes, I have a problem. I finally have admitted it to myself and to my husband, who sang hallelujah that I have seen the light. Of course, admitting that I have this compulsive behavior does not mean that I can control it.
The pantry is standing room only. Every shelf is stacked three to five items deep. I'm not even sure I know what's under there, and I only filled it up a couple of weeks ago. I had to install shelves on the back of the door just to get everything in there. So what did I do today? I had to add a bag of tapioca. Why? Did I need tapioca for a recipe I wanted to try? Nope. I just had to buy it because I didn't have any.
Selling one of my freezers for this move, however, did force me to consolidate and temporarily stop some of my bulk buying habits. Oh, except for that 6 pounds of flank steak that I got on sale two days ago. I had to find a home for them somewhere in the abyss. For crying out loud, I have to practically empty a shelf out to find what I'm looking for. Thank goodness for dry ice. I don't think I could ever move if I had to actually empty my freezers to do so.
Oh, and the canned goods. Yeah, they don't all fit in the pantry - or the kitchen at all, for that matter. Thank goodness there's this nice space under the steps.
And my food won't lack for seasoning any time in the near future as I've got the spice trade wrapped up in the kitchen overflow that's hiding in the storage room (don't tell my husband!).
Yup, I've definitely got a problem... but admitting it is the first step, right?
I have gotten a lot better about using up my food before I move. I also love to stock up on things, but 6 months before I move I start going through everything in the house and make an inventory. I then start planning my weekly menus around anything that needs to be used up first (I start with the freezer). I try really hard not to add any new meats - including anything that shows up on sale - and only supplement my meals with fresh veggies and fruits as I need them. I am about to move again myself, and have been detailing how I used up my food in my blog.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have enjoyed is finding new ways to substitute for missing ingredients and also coming up with completely new recipes using whatever I have left in the house.
Good luck using up your food - it sure looks like you have a lot of nice meals in store for you :) All those home canned items made my mouth water.
I absolutely have the same problem.
ReplyDeleteI now have a deal where every couple months I go on a "no shopping for X days" and I can only use food in my pantry. It gets interesting but definitely helps solve the hoarding :-)