Too many condiments

[Tooth Fairy]

Blissful
See if it is safe to put some of the stuff in the kitchen cupboard rather than fridge and also you may be able to get some into fridge but it really depends on the product. Every time i go through these things in my fridge, i find half of the stuff are out of date and has to be thrown out anyway but i am sure you are more organised than me
X M

 

[Liz-a-bit]

What I do when that happens is I check the expiration dates and clear them out, like Andy M. suggested, but then take stock of what you have and plan out meals for the next few days/weeks (depending on just how bad it is) in order to use them up but still get the most of your fridge.
Or give them to a relative!

 

[JillyBean]

We make our own salad dressing when we need it, so that's a big chunk of space saved.

 

[toni1948]

Mayo is a good foundation for the addition of condiments if you want to oven fry fish, chicken or pork. Toss or paint the fish, chicken, or pork, in the mayo-condiment mixture, dredge in flour or toss in bread crumbs or finely ground tortilla chips, or potato chips. Bake in the oven on a lightly oiled pan or skillet. It's a great way to create a new spin on something familiar.

I know you were looking for ways to reduce the amount of condiments in your fridge, but in the future, you might consider non-traditional uses for your condiments.

 

[LEFSElover]

Sorry I can't help.
My frig is same as yours, and as much as it's annoying as all get out, I love seeing everything in there that one day, I just may need. Not if it's real old or anything, just for instance the 3 flavors of ice cream syrup in there, hot fudge, hersheys and caramel. They're not frequently used, but hey, they're in there just in case. Two are still sealed. The hershey's hubby uses some times for his ice cream but the others are just there for me, yea, right.
I have 17 hot sauces, they're not going anywhere either.
I love mustards, a couple are moutards, so, they're stayin.
Pickles and olives, ok, so I luv 'em. They're stayin, sorry.....

 

[urmaniac13]

If it looks funky - toss it.

If it has an Expiration date and it is past that - toss it.

If it has a Best By date and it's 3 months or more past that and has been opened - toss it.

If it has a Sell By date and it's past that - and has been opened for 3 months or more - toss it.

If it's been opened and you haven't used it in the past 6 months (even if within the Expiration, Best By or Sell By dates) - I would toss it.

If it's just a "dab" and you rarely use it ... use it up or toss it.

If it contains fat (oil) and is over a year old - toss it.

That should get you down to one shelf in the refrigerator door.

Thanks Michael I think I need to go through this routine myself... our fridge is huge but it is getting too cluttered inside it is getting hard to reach for something I need without knocking over several of them, or something more important hides behind all those jars and bottles and gets forgotten!

 

[BreezyCooking]

Condiments have a lot longer life - especially in the fridge - than many folks give them credit for.

And while I do respect MichaelinFTW's opinion/advice, there's no way in heck I'm throwing out the bottle of fabulous White Truffle Oil I have & that I use a drizzle at a time, even though it's already been TWO years. It's still perfectly fine & perfectly delicious - in scent & taste. Same goes for the large collection of different flavored mustards & a number of Asian sundries.

 

[LEFSElover]

you may remember that thread about expiration dates.
it's one thing if it's cheese that's moldy, or meats or sauces or things that can turn instantly into science projects, but it's another if it's my truffle oil or any other number of things I have in there, like BreezyCooking said, I'm not tossing just because others'd say I should.........................

 

[blissful]

Blissful
See if it is safe to put some of the stuff in the kitchen cupboard rather than fridge and also you may be able to get some into fridge but it really depends on the product. Every time i go through these things in my fridge, i find half of the stuff are out of date and has to be thrown out anyway but i am sure you are more organised than me
X M

There was a LOT of good advice on sell by dates, expiration dates, best by dates........If only with I could get a date. lol
Honestly though I don't put condiments in the pantry and some of them I freeze until I start using them. I buy a gallon of something, portion it and then freeze the rest, like parmesan cheese, or soy sauce, or cocktail sauce. Some I just adore. I've never had ketchup go bad, or soy sauce, or garlic bean sauce, or horseradish go bad. I have a few kinds of mustards, which i love. I have lots of pickled items in there. I do make dressings, to keep them to a minimum.
And Tooth Fairy, I'm not more organized at home than anybody here, I'm only super duper organized at work. Though the other day when I was dehydrating tomatoes, I kept remembering how MUCH I miss the summer tomato taste in the winter, so I trimmed the trimmings, and had a big bowl of tomato trimmings to use in soups or a salsa. I need to get better at making sure I don't waste food.