Expiration Dates

Everything seems to have a "use by" date printed somewhere on it, suggesting the product will self destruct if it remains "active" after the printed date. Does this really happen? I think not. Yesterday five inches of milk remained in a gallon marked with "purchase by 12/23/08." Since no big milk drinkers reside here, milk remains longer then suggested dates. As an experiment, just to see if it was still good to go, it was tasted. There was nothing wrong with it. There were no curdles, off-flavors, or anything suggesting it was out of date. Nevertheless, it was poured down the drain. So what's the real deal with "use by" dates?

According to Consumer Reports, the "use by" date is the last date the product is likely to be at peek flavor. If the product is marked "sell by," on the other hand, that indicates the last day the product may be safely sold to the public. According to CR, You should be able to use milk, say, for up to about seven days after the sell-by date.

Still with me? The real throw out date is the "expiration date" that suggests you throw out the food on or before the expiration date if it is still in your hands. The exception is eggs, which are still safe to eat for three to five WEEKS after the marked egg expiration date. Yikes. Eggs don't really expire for 3 to 5 weeks after they are marked with a date? A lot of eggs have met their maker as a result of the marked date on the end of the carton.

Do we have similar markings somewhere on our bodies, suggesting we will self-destruct by a certain date if we are not "used?" And if we do, where is the mark? Do we really want to know this date? And what does self destruct mean, in regards to "use by" body dates? These are all interesting contemplations as milk and eggs are removed from this stainless steel refrigerator and meet the bottom of the garbage can in the garage.

Photo attribution: somewhat frank

Suck It Up: Vacuum 101

We are clean people. Anything dropped to the floor is sucked up immediately with a hand-held vacuum, always on the ready. Cleaning ladies appear weekly to do their thing, which they do very well. No piles of magazines, newspapers, or mail sit in any location on any flat service. Carpets are cleaned professionally every six to eight months. It has been said "one could eat off the floor" in this house. Apparently we are very clean folks.

Putting away Christmas decorations required pulling out the 20 year old Kirby vacuum, which is now too heavy, too cumbersome and just too old. It has lost it's ability to suck -- a new one will replace it. While some may say Kirby needs a tune-up to be as good as new, that will not happen. Kirby has been tuned up a few times, but still returns heavy and cumbersome. There is no gastric by-pass surgery for fat and heavy vacuums, only vacuum replacement procedures. Kirby will soon live at the local shelter, where someone else can decide the next phase in Kirby's life.

Soon either a Hoover Wind Tunnel or a Eureka Boss Smart Vac will start sucking up anything in its path. Both are $139.99 at Costco, both received high ratings at Consumer Reports, and both weigh only 21 pounds. The difference is in the bag. Eureka has bags that capture the dirt, while Hoover is bag less and apparently is easy to clean. Neither will be used very often, only when something is spilled and can't be sucked up by the handheld. A trip to Costco will determine whether Hoover or Eureka wins the suck-up contest. Life became simpler, and clean will remain the key word in this abode. Photo attribution: somewhatfrank