Remember Marie Kondo? She's probably back in your memory sitting right beside your recollections of Instant Pot hysteria.
There are those of you who loved Marie Kondo and her Zen militia type attitude towards getting your house in order. You probably still love her.
And then there are those of you who were quite annoyed by her. Your Swiffer Wetjet might not spark joy but a clean floor does sooooo.
7 years after buying it, I’m still only halfway through The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up so I guess that's proof enough that I'm not a convert.
I do think she’s got some stuff right. Like doing it all at once. Getting rid of all your STUFF in one fell swoop instead of little bits over the entire year.
Like these people are doing with their Instant Pots.
The advantage to purging all at once is you aren't going to be tempted to use the newly cleaned up, decluttered room as a place for all your other stuff.
If you only tidy one room at a time you risk infiltration from other rooms. No room in the basement for the bread maker anymore? That’s O.K. you just tidied the bedroom. The bread maker will fit perfectly under your bed. As will your tax returns and car jack.
Ms. Kondo says if you work really hard and FAST you might be able to make your way through her program and tidy your entire house in 6 months. If you’re fast.
I could build a storage room in less time.
The one Marie Kondo trick I really glommed onto in 2016 was her folding method.
7 years later I am still folding my teeshirts this way. And my jeans. And my pyjamas.
The Summer of Doing Stuff Challenge
In 2016, I spent the entire summer with readers who were taking part in The Summer of Doing Stuff Challenge.
It was a 3 month long program where readers taking part spent one month completing any project that they'd been putting off, one month redoing their backyards, & one month was spent tidying.
Which turned out to be pretty hilarious.
Why was tidying hilarious?
The kitchen cupboard contents.
The very first day of the course one of the members tackled cleaning out her pantry because that was the homework I assigned for the day and found the best before 2010 Jello pudding. It was expired by 6 years.
It soon became obvious that there was going to be a competition for who was likely to be hospitalized first based on the best before date contents of their cupboards.
And then another reader posted a box of Curry Mix that expired 8 YEARS AGO. Ditto for a jar of fig chutney.
Imitation Coconut Extract that expired in 2008. Apparently 2008 was a good year for expired food.
That one went over well with the group but THEN there was this from Kate …
“Careful now, ladies- you’ve entered into my Thunderdome… I bring you unopened vanilla frosting, best by date: Apr. 6, 2006.”
Then there was the blackberry jam Sharron had been saving “for the right occasion” since 1992.
Over and over these photos and comments kept coming in featuring the expired foods.
At the time I checked my own cupboards but I didn’t have anything funnier than 2015. I think that’s based on the fact that I redid my kitchen a few years earlier and it certainly isn’t a reflection of the comedic abilities of my food.
So I checked again today in 2023. I present to you the pizza oil. Expired 12 years ago.
So now I’d like to propose a challenge to all of you. Just for fun because blogs should be fun again.
Clean out your pantry and get rid of the weird stuff you thought you’d love to cook with but never did.
Like the bottle of sauce you picked up at the Chinese market that’s so authentic the label is in Chinese which you can’t read and therefore have NO idea what it actually is.
And being a Chinese ingredient you’re too afraid to taste a bit on your finger because what if it’s saucy, pulverized fish guts?
YOUR WEEKEND HOMEWORK
"The Cupboard Challenge"
The keeper of the most expired food wins.
Go now to your pantries, to your cupboards and shelves, and find the can that screams:
If you eat me your innards will definitely rebel.
Then come right back here and tell us what it is and when it expired. You can also take a picture of that 2001 bottle of no name ketchup and send it to me by clicking this button.
I'll add all the photos I get to this post as they come in so we can all laugh and point fingers at everyone else.
Added bonus - you'll get a cupboard cleaned out.
Tracy
Why do I feel, without even looking in my pantry, I've already won this challenge...
Karen
Well then I feel like I won. I'm excited to see your ... canned pork hocks? ~ karen!
Terie
Not fair! I cleaned out my pantry of expired stuff just this past April! Wah!!! I have nothing to contribute!
Karen
Did you double check your refrigerator? ~ karen!
Cathy Smith
You always entertain me. Thanks!
Karen
You're very welcome! Thanks for reading my site, which makes advertisers happy, which makes me money, which makes my mother happy. ~ karen!
Mike
My bottle of saffron from 2006 is another example of $15.00 worth of gone. The bottle is pretty, though.
Karen
OH! Is it one of those little square ones that looks kind of like an inkwell? They make excellent tiny bud vases. You've retained a value of $2 I believe. ~ karen!
Vikki
How can Jell-O go bad?!? I was informed the only thing that is "required" to have an expiration date is baby formula. They get around this by substituting the "best by date". Just using common sense will do.
Helen Whaley
Aww, I’d love to play but emptied my entire kitchen ready for a remodel and threw out my fun expired goods. Although I might add that the dreaded Instant Pot has come into its own this week as I can cook entire meals on top of the washing machine while the kitchen is being worked on.
Karen
Instant Pot compliments?! Sorry, but I don't allow that sort of talk here. There are special sites for people like you. ~ karen!
Librarian Nancy
When my best friend cleaned out her spice rack last year, she found a can of nutmeg that was so old it didn’t have a bar code, let alone an expiration date. It had a paper price sticker of 29 cents.
Karen
That comment led me to Googling the price of nutmeg in history, which then led me to silver antique nutmeg grinders, which I've now added to my Christmas list. ~ karen!
Ann Wilson
I have a wooden nutmeg grinder that I have had for maybe 35 years. I think it still has the original nutmeg nut in it. I guess it is all dried up by now.
Kat - the other 1
You could probably just grind some, toss that, and be good to go again. The nuts are dry to begin with, and the best way to keep it fresh. If the second or third time grinding still smells weird, then perhaps it's time to toss the nut. (Hmm, almost sounds like some dirty game... 😯😮)
Karen
I guess, lol. Or maybe it's now dried to some very rare and valuable level. ~ karen!
Jane
In the basement (out of sight, out of mind), I still have jars of grape jelly I made from grapes grown in my backyard and canned one summer ... drum roll please... 33 years ago! Sounded like a good idea back then preserving the harvest. Found out after I canned them that no one at home likes grape jelly. When I get up the enthusiasm, I should open the jars and dump everything in the compost bin.
Karen
You'll feel really good - and possibly a bit drunk - when you dump them out and clean the jars. ~ karen!
Kat - the other 1
Maybe it's wine now? 😉
Louise
Make sure they don't seep into the ground and contaminate the water. ;-)
Mary W
Hey, No fair - I cleaned out my kitchen when you did the 'clean something' challenge one summer several years ago. My door tread is STILL CLEAN! The chandelier no so much. I'd rather sell it than clean it. I also only took one thing from Marie - but it is still working fine for me - the folded t-shirts trick. I use it for everything I can. Simple and so easy to get the one I want out.
Karen
I think it's the trick everyone remembered and kept. Really I guess the book could have just been a Tik Tok video of folding a tee shirt. ~ karen!
Debbie
So funny
Eileen
should have had this challenge when I cleaned out my parents' house. There were food items that qualified for Antiques Roadshow.
Karen
I hope you didn't refinish or paint any of them. That decreases the value. ;) ~ karen!
Kat - the other 1
I only have two partial cupboards and a bucket, so they get eaten / cleaned out pretty often. Sigh. Don't have a chest o drawers so that folding method doesn't help me. Someday I shall have one, then I may try that. If I can remember that trick, or how to do anything more than drool by then.😜
Marilyn Meagher
Too late! I just purged my pantry the other day but I had some doozies.
Karen
Next up - the fridge. ~ karen!
Kate
Ha! I’m the Kate! I laughed out loud when I saw my frosting on this post and almost woke up the newborn I’m feeding :) I think between the purge in 2016 and the nesting I did when I was pregnant, all of my prize winners have been thrown out. But I will check! Ask me again in a few years though. Having a baby has brought out all of my “sentimental keeping” instincts… I want to hold on to every thing he’s ever touched. It’s going to be a problem!
Karen
I thought I had gone through everything too, but then there it was - the jar of spiced pizza oil I'd been saving for the right pizza? Also a box of raw sugar that was a solid block. So I have faith in your aged cupboard contents. ~ karen!
Christine
Ah man, this post is two weeks to late for me to photograph my expired foods - I cleaned my kitchen cupboards two weeks ago - not only foodstuffs, also unused thingies - three boxes worth!! Quite liberating!
Karen
Now you have all that room to fill up again. ~ karen!
ConCanDo
I, too, find Zen pleasure when Kondo-folding my T-shirts. Four drawers-full. It’s probably time to downsize them.
Karen
When I can't squish another one in, I go through the drawer and make some tough decisions. ~ karen!
Tina
I have a large, heavy can of cuisse of dock confit. There are 8 in the can. I bought it in France, in 2003, thinking to have a party when divorce was final in 2004. The problem is, I couldn’t open the can. It’s that really, heavy duty kind of can. My son opened a can the previous year but he had to use shop tools to do it. The can is still sitting in my cabinet but it’s almost 2am. I’m not going to dig it out now.
Karen
I've never heard of such a can! ~ karen
Glenda
Haha! I was cleaning out my dad's cupboards recently and found loads of expired stuff. The oldest expiry date was 2001! Seriously. A 22 year old container of diet supplement powder. Hilarious. Now I'll have to go through my own for some more laughs. I think there are some spice jars from the 70's...
Karen
The spice drawer is always a madhouse of ancient things. I'm almost positive I have a metal tin of cream of tartar from then too. ~ karen!
Kat - the other 1
At least that (supposedly) doesn't expire!
JennE
I just cleaned half a case of tomato paste from my pantry. It sounded like a can of soda when opened. Something about that made me look at the expiration date, 2020. Not as old as some items, but definitely not safe either.
Karen
That's really weird! It seems extreme for just a couple of years over. At least you had a very good warning that it would likely blow up your stomach. ~ karen!
Randy P
I do believe my pantry cabinet might have a winner, so I reckon all I can do is accept this challenge and actually properly clean something. I'm retired and can use a low impact chore.