Old and Outdated

I don’t consider myself a hoarder, more of a waste-not-want-not kind of person.

I frequently use a gel for back pain. I received a small sample of Voltaren through the mail, and it’s proved to be effective. I’ve had it in my purse to remind me to buy more…but I keep forgetting. The other day I was in the bathroom getting ready to go out, dreading the pain that a day of shopping usually causes when I thought about that empty tube of gel in my purse with regret.

Then I remembered a jar of Icy Hot gel that was stored in the cupboard. I reached behind me and grabbed the jar of bright blue gel. Before I moved to this new place, I remember that this jar was in the fridge, one of the reasons I kept forgetting about it. The jar got pushed to the back and it was that old ‘out of sight, out of mind’ kind of thing.

The first thing I noticed was the direction, Keep Open Container in the Refrigerator, oops, didn’t see that when I moved. Can gel spoil, I wondered. With the strong menthol odour, I thought not, but….

So I was going to slather some of this gel across my lower back, but quickly decided against using it, at least if I was going out. The strong smell might not be pleasant for others, especially in the close confines of the car. I guess that was one reason I liked the other brand, it was odourless.

Just out of curiosity, I checked the expiry date, and was totally blown away. JUNE 1995. What? No way have I been hauling this jar around for nine years, packing and unpacking it through numerous moves. And not just the moves, did I never clean out my fridge?

I’ve learned two important things from this experience: 1. Putting something in my purse as a reminder, does not guarantee that I’ll see it and remember, and 2. I need to clean out my fridge more often, and pay attention to what’s lurking in the back.

Maybe I should give sticky notes a try, as a reminder. Now if I can only remember where I put them.