To Refrigerate or Not – Free Up Space by Removing These 8 Items

It might just be me, but has anyone else noticed the proliferation of "off-grid" living videos and social media pages in the last few years?  You know the ones that feature someone making bread, raising chickens, building a home kind of thing.

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Growing up in the "late" 1900's in the 70's and early 80's, we just called it living.  Outhouses and kerosene lanterns were the norm in my house.  And while we had refrigeration, there weren't expiration dates on stuff like normal food.

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To Refrigerate or Not - I am Way More of a "Let's Err on the Side of Caution" Guy

Without preservatives, most food will eventually go bad.  My nose is still tuned to dairy that isn't fresh.  Even the slightest hint of spoilage and it is down the drain.  And if something is past its expiration date?  To the garbage it is thrown.

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My wife on the other hand?  Meh, it should be fine, it is just a "sell buy date" she says.  That thinking also leads to things on the counter that I think should be in the fridge.  It boiled over this weekend with the soy sauce not being back in the cozy comfort of our refrigerator.

So, Should It or Not?  Here Are 8 Items That You Don't Need to Refrigerate

As per usual, my wife was the correct one.  You really don't need to refrigerate your soy sauce.  And it had me thinking of all the other things that might be taking up valuable yellow dye No.5 space in my cooling apparatus.

Mountain dew zero bottles on a shelf

Here are some things that most of us assume that once you bring it home and crack the factory seal, it belongs in the refrigerator.  Check the gallery below to find out more. 👇