Comment by mcgrath_sh

Comment by mcgrath_sh 3 months ago

22 replies

View on Hacker News

Genuinely curious, I don't write anything long by hand, but do you not jot down disposable information with frequency, or date food, or anything like that? I date food we put in the fridge/freezer. I jot down something like a phone number if I am redirected. I have to give my pet medication occasionally and I use a post-it to track so the household can know. Like I said, I'm not writing anything even as long as a card, but I use a pen multiple times a week, and essentially daily. I know a lot of people use their phones for this stuff (and I do too), and maybe I'm an old person now for not using my phone for all of that.

dharmab 3 months ago

I use a text file in my phone for notes.

I don't have roommates, but if I did we'd probably use a whiteboard for tracking errands and schedules.

Reply View 0 replies
diggan 3 months ago

> I date food we put in the fridge/freezer

What date are you putting on the food? Every packaging here in Spain (and Europe I assume) has both the production date and "best before" dates printed on them from the factory, and stuff that doesn't have packaging you know if they're bad by looking/smelling/tasting.

Reply View 20 replies
  • mcgrath_sh 3 months ago

    I batch cook and freeze meals, and some of them look similar (sauce and chicken vs sauce and pork) and I want to eat the older stuff first. There are also some products that are recommended to be disposed of within X days of opening, which fall well before their best by date.

    Reply View 3 replies
    • Macha 3 months ago

      When I batch cook meals, I then eat them over the next few days until either it's done or it's been too long for that meal. Then I batch cook something else. I usually don't have multiple batches on the go.

      Reply View 2 replies
      • philwelch 3 months ago

        So you just eat the same meal over and over again until you run out?

        Reply View 1 reply
        • Macha 3 months ago

          Pretty much. I'll have the same meal 2-3 days then cook the next.

          Reply View 0 replies
  • omegaham 3 months ago

    Unopened, a jar of pasta sauce is good basically indefinitely, but as soon as you actually open the jar the clock starts ticking. We don't make enough pasta at a time to use a full jar, (and in fact will usually use a small fraction of the jar) so I write the date that I opened the jar on the lid to plan its use a little better. "Hey, better find a use for this sauce, it's going to go bad eventually."

    Reply View 0 replies
  • seszett 3 months ago

    When freezing something you made or something unfrozen you won't be able to finish before its expiration date, it's good to write the date on it as well as what it is when it's not immediately obvious (for example... frozen duck fat and coconut oil look pretty much the same, and they don't smell anything when frozen).

    Reply View 0 replies
  • HeyLaughingBoy 3 months ago

    Food that's not prepackaged. e.g., I recently threw out a container of eggs that had been in my freezer for about two years because my hens were laying so much faster than we could consume, that we had dozens of extras.

    I also label things like the date I install a new HVAC filter, or how much to cut off on a piece of lumber, etc.

    Reply View 2 replies
  • dharmab 3 months ago

    This is handy if you're doing things like separating a package into portions for your fridge for near term use and freezer for long term storage. Such as the large packages from Costco/Sam's Club.

    Reply View 0 replies
  • spiffytech 3 months ago

    When I open milk, I write the date on the cap to help keep track of how long it'll remain good.

    Reply View 9 replies
    • wongarsu 3 months ago

      My method is that I assume it's gone bad when it tastes sour.

      Reply View 3 replies
      • stevetron 3 months ago

        I throw away bread when the green fuzzy stuff on it no longer tastes good.

        Reply View 1 reply
        • wongarsu 3 months ago

          I can taste the mold in bread before it's grown big enough to become visible.

          For most foods evolution has graced us with the ability to see, smell or taste any issues well before they actually become a problem. There are some things you have to look out for like botulism or salmonella, but for simple foods like bread and milk there isn't much point in taking precautions

          Reply View 0 replies
      • hk__2 3 months ago

        Yeah, no need to write anything down when you already have a detector built-in in your body called "nose+tongue" (well, at least for milk).

        Reply View 0 replies
    • pasc1878 3 months ago

      Much easier to just drink enough so there is no chance of that happening.

      But then I am in UK where milk is easily obtained in 2 pint or less packages and is all long term - over a week. It is harder to gat 4 int or gallon containers which I think are more common in the US.

      Reply View 4 replies
      • stevetron 3 months ago

        In the US, the way milk is sold, is that larger amounts cost less. In other words, the 1/2-gallon container, buy two of those, and it costs significantly more than a single 1-gallon container. It gets even worse for quarts. But I seldom buy in the 1-gallon container as it will generally spoil before I've used it all, so there isn't any savings there for me.

        Reply View 3 replies