You may be a large family if every time you turn around someone has opened a new container of peanut butter…
or mayonnaise…
or [insert name of food that already has a full container sitting open in the refrigerator or pantry].
It’s maddening!
So, I got proactive and did this:
X marks the spot!
This is the ONLY peanut butter jar that is allowed to be opened. And if you can’t find the one with the X, you find mom and together the two of you will look for it before determining it is a good idea to open a new one (which will be promptly marked with an X by the way!).
This works for anything that tends to get opened without thinking. Maple syrup, boxes of cereal, and yes, mayonnaise!
Sharpie marker saves the day!
Want to win $100 toward homeschool resources
so you can buy more peanut butter?
Click below!
Erin K. says
This made me laugh! Just yesterday I had to use a permanent marker to write the words “DO NOT DRINK!” on a bottle of juice. I use this juice for making water kefir and every time I go to make some the bottle of juice has obviously been broken in to. Hoping this solves the issue!
Amy says
My non-readers would totally ignore the words – thus the X. lol
Rebecca says
Happens here ALL. THE. TIME! Really not good since our fridge isn’t that big and we buy bulk size stuff (like ketchup) since there are 10 of us. Drives me nuts to find two jams, 3 BBQ sauce, etc in there! Esp when they are right next to each other – really? how did they miss the first one?
I’ll have to give this a try.
Amy says
They didn’t REALLY look! lol When someone tells me there isn’t one open, my first question is, “Did you move things?”
Valeroe says
Lol! Totally agree. However, I use a sharpie X to mark off things that aren’t open to being snacked on or eaten,,,like ingredients for recipes, special dietary foods etc…I say to the kids the X foods are “for a meal”. However, one of my kids asked if he could change his name …to get this…Emill (sounds like a meal) so that all the saved food would be for him.
Alod,
I have a small pantry and a closet pantry. The PB in the little pantry is supposed to be gone before opening one from the big pantry…not always the case, but it helps a little. Now if they could just keep the PB in the jar or in their tummies instead of all over the outside of the jar, them I’d smile even more!
Amy says
Amen to keeping the peanut butter IN the jar! (and jelly too!) lol
Farm School Marm says
Haha! GREAT idea!
Jennie says
We have that problem here too. Usually it is the cream cheese-at one point I think we had FIVE open at the same time! Drives me nuts! We also now have TWO one gallon containers of sunbutter open in my tiny fridge…:( I am DEFINITELY going to try this! My sanity requires it! Thank you so much for the tip!
Charissa says
We definitely have this problem! I found three bottles of ketchup open in the fridge the other day! An idea came to me when I was reading your great solution … when we finish off a jar of something, take the next one out and mark it with the X even before it’s been opened … that way you can always find the jar with an X, and you know that it’s time to open that new one that’s received the mark …
Amy says
Great idea!
Lauree says
This post made me laugh out loud!! Good idea though.
Crystal says
Very clever! That should do the trick 🙂
Amy Marie says
GREAT idea! I am totally doing this, Amy! THANK YOU!
Sheila Mom to Seven says
Great idea!!
And, you should have a Sharpies giveaway. Just an thought…
Sheila Mom to Seven says
I mean, “Just A thought”. Oops. 🙂
Amy says
LOL – I would want to WIN!
Ali says
OH MY! This just happened to me 2 hours ago. My 13 year old peels the seal off the new jar of PB. My mouth flies open, “What are you doing!” He didn’t know there were TWO jars in the cupboard already open. Each more than half full. Too, too funny! Your idea is brilliant!
Kara says
This is a great idea! I have this problem at my house too.Now I just have to figure out how to keep the kids away from the Sharpie.
Sarah says
The title of your post made me laugh, because I totally understand too! In our house, it’s the toothpaste. My husband buys all the kids a separate tube of toothpaste to avoid germ sharing, and then he’ll buy back-up tubes . . . and they’ll get tubes from the dentist . . . and I have a drawer with over a dozen partially used tubes. Drives me crazy. I think I just need to hide the extra tubes, but I like your X idea for food.
Alisa H. says
Yes! We are not a big family (3 kids, 5 people), but this rings true here as well. You are a genius. I now have a pantry chore that might last an entire morning and will be spent with my Sharpie.
Dawn says
The bags of cereal drive me bonkers. I notice several opened bags, only to see that each one has about two inches of cereal left in it. I am constantly combining bags of cereal!!
Jennifer says
This.is.GENIUS! Going to find my sharpie right now!
Godly Indian Mom says
Hahaha gud one 🙂
Linda says
LOVE! this is a phenomena in large families, small families, and every family in between I think. Even empty nester families! I, too, use my trusted Sharpee marker to to lable, mark, disguise and distract — After my big shopping day I often label things so my college son doesn’t take off with that bag of tortilla chips I was going to use in taco salad. Now, to teach him to turn on the light when raiding the pantry so he can SEE my mark!
Amy says
I always tell the kids after shopping day that NOTHING is fair game. LOL on the light!
Debi Senior says
We use a big piece of blue masking tape. I keep a role of tape on a string by the fridge. Every item that goes in the fridge gets a piece of tape with the date on it. We never have to ask how long something has been in the fridge and we always know which jar of peanut butter, mayo, etc is the current.
And heaven help the person who puts anything in the fridge or the pantry without it. Lol
Works like a charm!!
Josi says
Brilliant!! 🙂
Ginger says
Can I just tell you that this is encouraging to me in a completely different way than expected? At my house of 10, we have a major problem of things being put away in the wrong place. I found the 3 parts of the coffee maker in 3 different places, ditto the pressure cooker, and where is the salt, for heaven’s sake??!
But we don’t have this problem. So yay for me. There’s one issue we don’t have. I needed to know that. LOL
Amy says
BAHAHAHA! (and I have your issue too! Especially when I’m out of commission with morning sickness and the kids have had run of the kitchen w/o mom’s guidance!) Glad to be of service to you! 🙂
Janice Trinh says
Oh that is such a genius idea! So far, I haven’t had that problem, but when it arises, now I know what to do! Thanks!
Dawn @ The Momma Knows says
Why didn’t I think of this!? Right now, I kid you not, there are THREE open jars of peanut butter in my pantry and two open jars of salsa in the fridge! When I get home I’m grabbing a Sharpie! Thanks Amy! This is a constant battle at my house.
Amy says
Just tonight, my husband finished off a box of cereal with an X on it, and my son said, “You better put an X on a new one!” 🙂