Expiration Day

Food and medications have an expiration date. How many ancient bottles of condiments do you have in your refrigerator or archaic prescriptions in your medicine cabinet? Take a minute now and on a regular basis to sort through them both.

Most processed foods have a "best if used by" date stamped on the original packaging. This makes it very easy to, on a monthly basis, sort through the forest of bottles on your refrigerator door and toss out the old sauces and dressings. A weekly check of fresh produce in the crisper will keep vegetables from rotting next to food that is still blemish-free. Items in the freezer need a check too. Frozen meats will last about six months to a year before they become "burned" in the freezer, provided they are packages properly. Dried herbs and spices lose their kick in about a year, so label each one with a marker the day you open and replace as necessary.

Prescription drugs wear an expiration date as well. You probably will not get sick if you take something after the printed date, but the effectiveness of the Rx will decrease little by little after that date. Toss out anything past the date and call the doctor for a refill. Prescription drugs that do not require refrigeration are best stored not in the bathroom medicine chest but rather in a dark bedroom closet. Light, heat and humidity in the bathroom can ruin expensive medication over time.