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Winter coats

No, I’m not talking about the cute little number with the fur collar and deep pockets hanging in the hall closet.
I’m talking about the items in your refrigerator that have furry little green or white or blue coats on them.
The mystery blobs, the jars you opened months ago, the hard, dried up chunks of cheese, or the four bites of leftover chicken you were going to toss into a salad-two weeks ago.

Clutter doesn’t just happen on chairs or in closets, garages and desk tops.
Anywhere in our homes where we have things we’re not using (or eating), 
things we don’t need, (giant economy on sale size) 
and are keeping out of guilt or obligation (I really should eat those leftovers for lunch) we have clutter;  
including our refrigerators and freezers.

Just as things migrate to the back of our closets, items disappear to the back of the fridge 
and into the freezer.
It’s hard to wear clothes we don’t know we have, and difficult to eat food that we don’t remember we’ve saved, especially if we don’t really even like it. 

If the truth is you never eat leftovers, stop putting them into containers and stacking them in the fridge.
(That realization may lead to you being able to purge your cupboard of excess plastic containers too!)

If certain vegetables always end up as limp slimy messes, buy less.  
The monetary savings of buying in large quantities is only economical if you actually eat the food.

(And don’t ask me to taste that off smelling milk to see if it’s bad……..)

Emptying, sorting and eliminating the clutter from refrigerators and freezers 
will make meal preparation easier, help remind us which foods we really do eat and enjoy, 
and help us better manage our food budget.

(Oh, and you can let go of the winter coats in the closet you’re not wearing too)