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?