short shelf life
i always waste cereal because if the package has been open for longer than 5 days, i would say, i find it inedible. like the air has affected it somehow and without the freshness it’ll make me sick. the same with cookies that have been out, even things in the fridge. it makes it virtually impossible to eat leftovers.
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I am terrified of leftovers. If it’s in my fridge for longer than a day, I won’t eat it.
So – when you get stuff like this, get yourself some Ziploc-type bags, portion out your cookies, cereal, or what have you, push the air out, and seal them up. Nice, fresh as the day you opened the box, and you save a little cash.
Same for dishes like soup or chili where you make a lot but can’t eat it all at once. Package it up and freeze it.
Look – your food is a lot less wonky than you think it is. About the only thing I would be really concerned about is unrefrigerated raw meats. You’d be surprised what happens along the supply chain from producer to store to your dining room table, guys…and y’know what? You aren’t sick yet. So quit worrying, quit wasting your money, and eat the stuff.
You’re here. Your ancestors ate a lot worse. And they didn’t have preservation techniques to speak of, hardly.
Get a klip-it (or similar) cereal container to keep your cereal fresh and crunchy. Or one of those vacuum ones where you can put the lid on then pump the air out.
There are lots of airtight plastic containers that you could put cereal into right after buying to keep it fresh. And many are designed exactly for this purpose, even in similar shapes to cereal boxes. There’s no need to waste so much food and money! It’s pretty upsetting that people do this, actually, IMO. But if your neurosis really prevents you from eating leftovers no matter how well preversed (I think this is obviously the case), then make all your food from scratch (have oatmeal in the morning so you just make the amount you need that day!) and only make sandwiches or dinner food in one meal portions so there aren’t any leftovers to be wasted. Or at least find a dog or something who will be happy to eat what you won’t.