A Refrigerator Problem

Five Tips For Saving Space in Your Refrigerator

1. Pop or Beer?

Now many people enjoy drinking pop.  Some like beer.  Some do both.  We, however, have had to make a choice, for there is only room for one.  Priorities must be set, so beer it is.  Check out the top shelf in the photo.  It’s for beer.  And the parmesan cheese.  (Ok, ok, occasionally cans of pop make an appearance up there too.  A girl’s gotta be able to make Moscow Mules in the summer in order to play pinochle* properly.)

2.  Who needs condiments?

While we do have some condiments, as you can see in the photo, we have had to cut back and keep only the essentials.  You know, like pickles for the children, jalapeños for the husband, sauerkraut because we’re German, and Greek yogurt and kalamata olives because we’re Greek.  (Just kidding.  We’re not Greek.)

3.  Orange Juice or Milk?

I grew up drinking orange juice every morning, but I really don’t have room for this one because we buy 5 gallons of milk a week.  And lest you think we’re Milk Hogs, we only allow one small glass of milk at breakfast and another at supper, and that’s it.  Well, once a week, on Sundays, the children do get cold cereal, and that does drain away a good gallon or more at one sitting.  Furthermore, orange juice is expensive, and I’ve got a grocery budget that doesn’t allow for it, because we have priorities.  Like Wine.  And Date Night.  (More on those in a future post.)

4.  Just eat the leftovers.

Eating the leftovers is a virtuous and sacrificial act, as most leftovers are not appetizing.  Who wants to eat yesterday’s scalloped potatoes and hamburger that Mom slopped into a frying pan mixed with gravy and whatever leftover vegetables that might be lingering about?  Well, we do.  I hate wasting.  Unless there’s visible mold, we eat it.  (And even then, I just cut the mold off.)

5.  Finally, finish that wine off.

When one pops open a bottle of wine, just finish it.  There’s no room to be storing such things in the refrigerator.  Life’s too short anyway to not enjoy a whole bottle with your husband.  And yes, when I’m pregnant, I have no problems drinking a glass, and our children have mostly turned out undamaged and normal.  Mostly.

*Pinochle requires alcoholic drinks to play.  Why?  Because playing pinochle is stressful for it requires a lot of math and complicated bidding.  So, in order to make it more tolerable, one must have a drink.  Like a Moscow Mule.