After purchasing boxed goods and canned items, write the month and year on them with a permanent marker. You'd be surprised at how long you end up keeping food.
I once had so much food stocked up (my husband went to school for 6 weeks and we were planning to move soon after he found a job) I made $60 in returns! I made sure it was brands that they carried, but they gave me a gift card. It was all purchased in the prior three months, and they did not give me a hassle. That helped feed my two year old and I while my DH was at school! Now I keep things only for 6 months, then it gets donated to the neighbors or food bank.
This is a great idea; however most food companies now mark their products with a "best by" date....I wish they had done it sooner....this is very helpful info to have. I did find out tho when it comes to canned goods, unless the can is damaged, the contents will be perfectly safe to consume....not necessarily as tasty tho as would be if eaten sooner.
If you have a food item that just has a code, you can usually call the company or find them online and send an email. I did this with Chicken of the Sea tuna and glad I did because I found out my canned tuna was still good for another year!
I am trying to be better about not stocking up quite so much and using up the older items before buying more....it is hard tho to resist a good sale!
Barbara Hunt says: "You'd be surprised at how long you end up keeping food." Oh boy ain't that the truth! My hubby was under the impression that canned goods last forever....well I looked into that and yes, as long as the can isn't smashed or leaking, the contents will be safe to eat but you may not want to eat! They don't necessarily taste so good once they are past their prime! We've bought way too many canned goods and then stored in the basement just to find some later that end up being trashed cuz they've hung around too long. Same with boxed mixes and such....they do have a shelf life. What I like now is most food companies are dating their goods with a "best by" date. That is really helpful but for things that don't have any date on them, just take the time to write a date....and year with a marker.
we are in the process if moving an to had always marked each can I bought ....but have now changed that to the expiring on the end of the can. this way at a glance you can tell the date for which it should be used. makes me so mad when trying to read the expiring date some are so hard to read or can not be read at all. some have codes on them an I can not figure any of them out. also when writting on the can mark it on the other side from which you will be opening the can
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