Remember when we mentioned that we were on a grocery shopping hiatus? The idea was to make a concerted effort to eat as much as possible that we already had in the fridge and the freezer so we didn’t have to worry about keeping things cold for the 6-ish hour delay between being out of our house and getting to move into our new one (which will hopefully still happen Monday afternoon assuming the bank stays on schedule with the transfer). Here’s what the fridge looked like just two weeks ago when we started:
And here’s what the fridge looks like now that it’s truck-loading day (after two weeks of eating some pretty “creative” meals to get rid of as much as possible):
Not too bad, right? Thanks to my borderline compulsive list making idea (detailed here), we managed to get down to just one carton of ice cream and one bag of edamame in the freezer and a few condiments along with a bit of bread, cheese, a few pickles, three yogurt cups and a few sticks of butter in the fridge. And we’ll probably eat the rest of the ice cream and those pickles today (no I’m not prego- promise). Thankfully everything else will easily slip into a small cooler that we’ll stick in the cold moving van so everything should travel really easily (as opposed to needing a bunch of larger coolers or hijacking John’s sister’s fridge for the day). Plus we saved some money by avoiding the grocery store. Most of all, we’re even more excited about moving into our new house now – because it means that we can go on a huge food shopping spree and eat normal meals again! Woot woot.
Sera says
You’re not alone Nicole G… Happy Moving Youngsters and bring on the good times in the new castle!!
Amy L. says
Best of luck in your big day tomorrow! Wishing you a very happy Welcome to the new casa Petersik!
Melissa says
That’s so good! I will have to remember to make a list like you did. We moved from KY to VA Beach in March and we were forced to throw a lot of stuff away.
Good luck to you all tomorrow!! I’m praying everything goes smoothy & amazing! I can’t wait to hear all about it!
Amanda- Hip House Girl says
I was gonna say- that ice cream wouldn’t last long around these parts!
suzanne says
Good luck tomorrow! How exciting!!
Rachel P. says
Great job you two. I know it’s hard to clear out things when you are getting ready to move, but it seems like you have done a pretty good job. Once when we were moving we ended up eating pancakes every breakfast and lunch for a whole week just to finish off the pantry before a half-country move. I’m curious; I’ve changed a great deal of my shopping, storing and even my cooking habits after moving so much and eating my way out of the current home’s fridge. Has this experience changed your perspective in any of these areas?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! Well at least we hope it has. Right now we’re vowing to buy full thought out meals instead of odd sides and snacks and all those other random extras that don’t always get eaten. It’ll hopefully make for less waste, keep our new kitchen less cluttered, and save us money. Here’s hoping it sticks!
xo,
s
Lynea says
Good Luck tomorrow guys! I’m so excited for you and to live vicariously through you!!!!
Liesal says
Good luck tomorrow! Hope everything goes smoothly for you guys. Have a happy last night!
Kathy W. says
Good luck with your move! I love your blog and can’t wait for all your new adventures in remodeling and decorating and baby raising.
diana says
Wow! And, this way, it’s much easier to clean the fridge.
Fingers crossed for today, hope that everything will run smoothly! Can’t wait to meet you on the other side!
Deb says
Just a lil note to let you know I am still a faithful follower .Cant wait to see the big reveal . Good luck ,take a break / breather ,you have people like me that know you need it . Queenie
MS says
Good luck today guys! Fingers crossed for you that everything goes smoothly!
Katherine says
Hope the snow doesn’t cause any trouble and just makes the new house even more magical! :)
YoungHouseLove says
So far so good! What a fun surprise!
xo,
s
Witty Wife says
Good luck today! I can’t wait to see how everything turns out!
jules says
Well done! Why is it so satisfying to get rid of everything in the fridge or a cabinet and then getting to start all over again? Hope the move goes well!
Niki says
I know this might sound creepy, but I had a dream last night that I was helping you guys move. Weird, right?
Good luck to you guys!
YoungHouseLove says
Love it! We would have welcomed the help!
xo,
s
Lorrie says
Wanted to wish you guys the best of luck!
It is such a coincidence that you guys are moving into your new house today, and we are signing the papers on our new house today. We should be moving the end of January….it is all so exciting!!!! All of your posts have been a great help….can’t wait to see your guys new house!
Vicki says
Yeah – I’d take care of that ice cream for ya. (I’m preggo. But I would take care of it even if I wasn’t.)
J'Anns Boutique says
Good luck with the move guys!
http://jannsboutique.blogspot.com/
Relevant Notes says
That’s super impressive – every time I try to do something similar I end up with such a mish-mash of stuff I have to go buy more to fill in the gaps!
Good luck with moving! Looking forward to seeing pictures of the new place :)
Amy says
You have inspired me to clean out our fridge, freezer and pantry (even though we’re not moving)! Our goal is to grocery shop only for perishables (bread, milk, eggs and fresh fruit/veggies, if necessary) until at least the end of the year. I’m going to challenge myself to see just how long we can go…. Good thing we’ll be visiting others for the holidays and they won’t be subjected to random PB&J with frozen veggie meals :)
Christine says
Nice work, guys! I’m impressed.
This is kinda what my fridge looks like right now over the holidays! We’ve just been out so much it’s not worth buying groceries we’re not going to eat. It’s true it forces you to get creative with your meals!
Lonely Wife Project says
Wine for the next owners is a great idea! Awesome tradition to keep alive. Good luck with your move!
Julie at www.velvetandshag.com says
Great job! I’m seriously impressed. The “after” pic is unfortunately what my fridge usually looks like!
The English Organizer says
I know you’re moving today, so hopefully you’ll read this in your new digs!
A once-in-a-while fridge clear out is a great idea. When our freezer failed earlier this year, I was shocked by how much we had in there!
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
I love it! I’m doing a similar thing at the moment in the lead up to our holiday. It definitely tests your creativity.
I hope the moving is going well!
tara says
thanks for the fridge update… nice work. i have moved 4 times in my adult life and i have never done *that* well at cleaning out the food. i end up giving a box full of pantry and fridge items to friends we are leaving behind. now i have a goal for my next move…! :) congrats on the new place, so excited for you guys!