Sorting the Hord, or why I have 6 jars of Peanut Butter

I have admitted before that I am a food horder. If you need a reminder, see my freezer inventory from last fall which is back up to teeter-tottering proportions. Whether it is some genetic disorder brought on by the "gray shelves" we had in the basement growing up (always stocked with a minimum of 3 bottles of ketchup, 3 cans of every cream soup, and 7+ cakes mixes among every other ingredient known to man), or if it's my miserly affinity for "stocking up" when I see a sale, I know that I have WAY too much food on hand for just 2 people. I love being able to pick any recipe and know that I most likely have every ingredient in the house to make a batch or three. But, I also know that it has gotten out of hand in several areas.

I have been trying hard lately to cut down on the grocery bill and have succeeded in depleting some of my pantry (less than 3 boxes of spaghetti) and my canned goods (less than 3 cans of Rotel). Tonight, however, after one-too-many metal coffee mugs came flying out of the cupboard while I was searching for peanut butter, I decided the next area to tackle was making itself painfully (literally) obvious.

Here is the cupboard above the coffee pot before my self-imposed intervention:

I took everything out and sorted it into categories. Why did my brain think these things all belonged in the same cupboard? I think it has something to do with the shapes of the containers, but I also use the excuse that I grew up in a house where the Oreos were kept in the onion cupboard, the measuring cups were in the Jello drawer, and the chips went with the 9x13 pans over the fridge, but the crackers belonged with the glass bowls below the phone. Just because.

Here's the (embarrassing) tally:

Peanut Butter (with 6 jars, this is it's OWN category)

• Skippy Creamy 28 oz
• Skippy Roasted Honey Nut 16.3oz--on sale $0.99 last week!
• Skippy Creamy 16.3oz (2)--on sale $0.99 last week!
• Skippy Super Chunk 16.3oz
• Jiff Extra Crunchy 18oz
• (You know you need several varieties for monster cookies, O'Henry bars, and PB&J sandwiches!)

Coffee/tea

• Folgers Classic Roast
• Folgers Classic Decaf (2)
• Folgers Classic Roast Instant
• CoffeeMate Vanilla Caramel
• English Breakfast Tea
• Cinnamon Apple Tea
• Coffee Filters
• Travel Mugs (4)
• (Also interesting that I have not had coffee or tea in about 8 months and DH has had very little since I can't stand the smell during pregnancy)

Drink Mixes

• Swiss Miss No Sugar Added
• Swiss Miss No Sugar Added-indiv. packets
• Great Value Hot Cocoa Mix
• Country Time Raspberry Lemonade
• Crystal Light Raspberry Lemonade
• Crystal Light Natural Lemonade
• Hy-Vee Thirst Splash Raspberry Tea
• Hy-Vee Thirst Splah To-Go Raspberry
• Drinking Straws
• (I am pretty sure I could fix drinks for over 100 people-summer or winter)

Ethnic Food

• Tostitos Chunky Salsa
• Prego Chunky Garden Spaghetti Sauce
• Ty Ling Egg Drop Soup mix
• Old El Paso Taco Shells (2 boxes)
• Hy Vee Taco Shells
• (We better get eating or we'll never finish the 48 tacos we have coming!)

After consolidating a few things and throwing out the empty, the gross, and the humidity-hardened, everything fit quite nicely back in the cupboard.

I am hoping this little exercise helps shame me into buying and hording less.

Now, if only I could tackle my cereal habit.