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Eating Through Your Fridge For Fun and Profit

Your refrigerator is your single most important weight management appliance. It is your in-home mini grocery store. However, if used improperly, it can be a huge money pit.


Where the average person sees a fridge full of food, every single thing in there represents a dollar value. People tend to forget that - even me, from time to time. There's something about grocery shopping that puts me into a weird state of mind where I forget how much I'm spending because I figure it's money that needs to be spent. Not eating is not an option, so I tend to forget about the dollar value attached to it - at least while grocery shopping. Sure, I bring my coupons with me, but I don't even really think about my total bill. I'm trying to break this habit.

Practically everything you end up putting in your fridge is perishable, some things more so than others. So, it's a good idea to get organized before your money starts wilting away. Your freezer is less of a problem, but it can get cluttered and non-vacuum sealed items will eventually get freezer burned.

Maintaining an organized fridge becomes more challenging if you share it with family members since that means you're probably also storing food that you don't like. Eating all your freshest food that will still keep for anther couple of weeks means you'll be tossing out food next week because it's no longer edible.

Also, remember that clutter begets more clutter. You should try to segregate your food from other household members wherever possible and also try to organize shared things that will perish soonest. While you may not care about that disgusting casserole that only so-and-so may or may not end up eating, having it sit on your shelf may obstruct your view of some of your food that you forgot you even had.

Also, keep in mind that expiration dates are guidelines and not hard and fast dates whereby disregarding them means a trip to the hospital. Your nose and your eyes are more reliable, so use them. I have a hard time drinking a gallon of milk or eating all my eggs by the stamped expiration dates, so I'll sometimes have them up to a week or two after. It's fine.

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