Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Speaking of Food and Stuff

Jessica wrote about planning on eating more healthy meals in the future today.


For us, food has been a really interesting hodgepodge this month. At the house, we have two refrigerators, with two good size freezers.  I only use the garage refrigerator for holidays,  but the freezer is usually pretty full.  Same for the freezer in the kitchen.  


Craig does most of our food shopping on the way home from work.  Most of the time he shops every day.  Whenever he stops at Trader Joe's he comes home with numerous frozen items.  Same for when he visits the interesting Asian grocery, Berkeley Bowl, or Costco. I too have a liking for Costco size bags of chicken tenders and such.


I do try to keep things turning over, but sometimes that's hard.


Just before Thanksgiving I declared a moratorium on buying new things for the freezers. On the first of December I declared we were going to try to use up as much as possible before we leave for Christmas.  And we have.  


Tomorrow I will be moving the few things left into the garage freezer, plus moving anything from the kitchen refrigerator that I want to keep, and turning off the kitchen fridge.


We will not be taking any refrigerated foods along on our trip because we will not be turning on the fridge in the Alfa for a week. We will be parking it at our daughters home, and I really can't see running the fridge on propane or batteries all of that time if it isn't necessary.  We plan on shopping in San Diego, on the morning of the 30th., before we drive  to L.A. with our grandsons.


Today I packed more things into the Alfa.  I'm looking at this trip as more of a trial for what we might need when we are full timers that our weekend trips have been.  As I evaluate things in my kitchen, I find that there is so much I will not need.  


I'm trying to create a "master list"on my laptop. EVERYTHING I could possibly pack is going on it.  As I load for a trip, more and more is added.  
Many are things I might not want to take on a short trip, but if they are on the list I can check them off after I have decided I don't need them. 
As things are finding permanent places in the Alfa, I am putting that next to the item on the list, so I can put them there again in the future. 
Eventually the list will be an "index" of where everything might be located.  I say "might", because I'm a realist and know that just because something has a place it doesn't mean it will be in that place when I'm looking for it.  It seems I am always the one who has to find things. One thing I have noticed about myself recently is that my memory for where I have put things is getting much worse.  I hope it's just stress, and not age! I put a couple of things away today that I know if I don't note their locations I might never find them again! 


We have so many places and so many tools around our house that neither Craig nor I have been good at putting things away.  In fact most tools don't really have a specific place.  Craig is constantly asking "where is my xxx?" and I am constantly either going to get it, or saying I don't know, or asking him where was the last place he used it."  
Recently I have been jokingly saying "You must have left it in Topeka."  Reminding us both that when we are on the road we will have to pick up our tools and put them away or they will be left behind! I actually think Craig is starting to put more things away than in the past.


Do you have a system?







11 comments:

  1. My husb is much more organized than I am. His compartments are well organized and he usually remembers where everything is. When you don't have much room to store things, you find you don't need so many things:)

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  2. When in the motorhome, I am fanatic about putting things back the instant either of us is done with the tool/object. In the house, where there is much much more space, if something is just laid down, it does not show as much as something left out in the motorhome....drives me nutso!

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  3. It sounds like you have a great plan pulled together. But, FYI, running your fridge on propane for a week takes very little propane. Just in case you change your mind.

    Enjoy your preparations!

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  4. yes, enjoy the prep work!!..soon you will be hitting the road and the only stress will be where are we heading today?

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  5. Don't forget to leave enough room for you and Craig! Have a fun trip, take lots of photos, eat well, and get ready to enjoy a great football game in Pasadena, when the Ducks beat the Badgers!

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  6. Before we were fulltimers, I just started making a list before we were due to leave. We had the motor home set up with all the necessities, and just had to pack the last minute food and personal items.

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  7. If the Alfa is parked at your daughter's home, could you run an extension cord to an outside plug? A 120 connection will keep your fridge running fine, for very little electrical cost. You just have to have a couple of step down thingies from your 50amp plug. The McMillan's are right. When there's no room to put things, then you don't "need" nearly as many things.

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  8. We don't really have a system, but I try very hard to always put stuff back where I found it. If I change the location, I forget where it is. I think it's definitely a sign of getting older. We really try to always put things away after using them because the small space can get cluttered very quickly. Have fun organizing and enjoy your trip!

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  9. I find that in the small space of a motorhome, things have to put away right after using them or things start to look cluttered. I am thinking of making a master list of where things are stored, but I am still moving things around and taking things out of the motorhome that I feel I don't need to have with me. I threw in several boxes of things the week I left home because I could not make a decision at that time. Just a note about your refrigerator. About 2 weeks before I moved out of my house, a motor on my refrigerator stopped working. I found that some water leaked out underneath the refrigerator when it was off (most refrigerators have a drain for this, but when the fridge is completely turned off, I don't think the drain has the capacity to catch all of the water from the self defrost system) - just mentioning this so that you check under yours when you turn it off.

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  10. Stay safe on the road. Have fun with family. I'm with Jessica about starting up some healthier meal plans for the New Year. If I don't give myself diabetes before this holiday season is over, it will be a miracle. I am not kidding!! Take care and I look forward to getting together in the New Year!

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  11. You sound like us, too many fridges, etc.! TM is always 'misplacing' something but manages to locate 'it' by retracing his steps.
    Have a wonderful Christmas.

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