Accumulation 2.0

The hobby of collecting random food items

A while back I wrote that I’m moving soon, and I commented on the chore of packing and purging. If you didn’t read that post, you might want to go back and check it out. Two weeks ago I looked at two specific areas in my house - the food shelf and the refrigerator. What do you do with all THIS STUFF when you move?

I don’t have kitchen cabinets or a pantry where I keep my food. I use a metal shelf. Why? Well, it’s a bit of a story which I will try to quickly tell. I live in my sister’s basement. It once was finished with walls and and kitchen cabinets , and was actually a very nice apartment. Then the hurricanes came. The first one that hit, Hurricane Irene in August 2011, brought about 18 inches of water into the main living area. Some things were damaged, but not much. We made some repairs, and life moved on as it had been. That lasted for about 14 months. Late in October 2012 Superstorm Sandy hit. This one was so much more devastating than the hurricane a year earlier. Storm surges brought more than 5 feet of water into the basement. The force of the water was so strong it knocked the refrigerator and stove on their side. This time we did not repair anything, instead we tore everything out. Sheetrock walls and ceiling, part of the tile floor, cabinets, electrical, heating system… everything that was destroyed from salt water was torn out. Both the refrigerator and stove was beyond repair. From that event forward everything I used was more or less portable. Instead of wood cabinets or a pantry for food, I have open metal shelving.

All those condiment type things on the bottom, then one shelf that’s mostly dog treats. Crazy, right? If I had to make a meal from only what was on the shelf it would be hard since there is such a disconnected variety of random things

Even though I have less space now to store stuff, I have still managed to accumulate many different food. And now I don’t know what to do with all of it. Unopened items are easy- either pack and move them or donate them to a food bank. But what about all those opened jars, boxes, and bottles? Does it make sense to move a bottle 1/4 filled with ketchup? How about 1/2 container of oatmeal? What do you do with a bottle of oil you bought for a specific recipe and only used two tablespoons of - move or toss? And what do I do with the items still in the freezer? Are the items still good? How long have they been there? Do I even know what everything in there is? Why did I make so many burritos, and why did I put olives in them?¹ And when were they made? Time often slips by before you know it. I think the burritos were made in 2022. No wait, maybe it was 2021. Oh, please don’t tell me it was actually 2020! Yikes!

Right now there are no items wrapped in foil in my freezer, so nothing is a complete mystery. Still, there are some things that are unidentifiable until they are closely examined. And most aren’t that old, at least I don’t think they are². The odd assortment of food I have stems from shopping at Costco and buying packages meant for a family of six, not one person. Who can eat 14 sausages, 12 burgers, 2 pounds of salami, 6 pounds of wings, or 3 pounds of shrimp before they go bad? How about 6 bell peppers and a big bad of jalapeños? I also have an assortment of bread items. Bagels, ciabatta roles, Italian bread… why do I have so much bread? Again, Costco. So now I’m left with half the package of chicken sausages, a few Impossible burgers, 1 pound of salami, several pieces of bread, 2 bagels, one bell and many jalapeño peppers, and 2/3 bag of large shrimp.

June 2nd: I ate the salami, also gave some to the dog to entice her to take her daily pills. The bread is all gone and replaced with a dozen new bialys. There is still 2/3 bag of shrimp and two Impossible burgers. The dogs ate the chicken sausages, and they loved them. Tonight I may cook the burgers and have them for my work lunch tomorrow. And all those extra burritos I made … they were not good and the few that I didn’t choke down were thrown out. Even the dogs didn’t want them, and when that happens you know they are bad.

Here’s what’s left in the freezer. That box of Mrs Paul’s fish fillets was purchased after the purge began. All I can say is don’t go shopping hungry. Oh yeah, there is a box of Girl Scout thin mints in there, they MUST be eaten straight out of the freezer.

So over the next month I will try to buy only fresh vegetables and fruits, no canned foods, no more than ONE of anything. I’m confident there will be grocery stores where I go, and I’ll be able to start the madness of collecting random food items all over again.

1. I recommend never putting canned black olives in burritos. The flavor is overpowering and really doesn’t mix well with the beans, meat, and salsa. I’m not sure why I thought it would be good. It wasn’t.

2. This is really the problem, nothing is dated so who knows when this thing was even purchased and put in the freezer. When I tried putting stickers on things I cooked and froze, all the stickers fell off. I got aggravated and didn’t try again.