As a single man with no roommate, there are several things I wish came in smaller sizing including:
Bread- I can never use a full loaf before it begins to mold. You can freeze it but it doesn’t taste as good. I wish they would make a loaf about half the size of the regular loaves- I’d gladly pay a little over half-price for one.
Ice- When I’m running short (or out) of ice, I wish I could buy a small bag perhaps 1/3 the size of the huge bags sold in grocery stores.
Canned vegetables- there are a few that are perfect for single servings, but most of them aren’t.
Oh yes the canned vegetables, esp canned beans. Sometimes I like to mix a few of each kind to make into a salad, and I’m left with like 4 or 5 half cans. I can remember to eat maybe another half can the next day but the others will eventually meet fridge rot doom.
Also prewashed lettuce mix in sealed bags. I can’t finish a whole bag before it turns all wilty, yick. Yeah I know I can get baby greens in the bulk, but those I feel like I have to wash, and even so, I can’t help but think to myself, “I’ll just save an extra trip to the store by getting a few nights worth,” & then I end up causing the same problem! :smack:
And CELERY! What were the crop breedologists thinking, that we like to eat several HUMONGO stalks PER DAY?? All I want is a bit to chop into my tuna sandwich, or mabye one stalk to add to my stir fry. The stuff takes up so much room in the veggie bin to boot!
Also, tofu in plastic tubs sealed with plastic. I use half for a stir fry or other dish, and the other half dutifully goes into a tupperware with water to cover, and though I scream in my head “don’t forget to change the water if you don’t eat it tomorrow!” I undoubtedly forget, much less remember to eat the dang thing at all, ever. Another fridge rot victim, and boyeree does rank tofu smell… uh, rank.
And I cook for 2 (really 3-4 since I like to bring leftovers to work for lunch). I feel doubly bad for you to cook for only 1.
Well, it looks like I’m grabbing the wrong end of the stick here:
Clothes
What ever happened to the size small? I’m lucky if I can find medium, but everything comes in XL and XXL. If you’re a rugby player you’re sorted, if you’re a jockey… good luck.
I’m small (hence the tag) short and not fat, nothing off the shelf really fits me
As for foodstuffs, seems like I’m more organised than you guys I’ve never had tofu or whatever go off, I always plan a way to use it up. Bread maybe, the place I get it from used to to a half sized loaf, but not any more.
I refused to buy anything packaged as “xzy for one” it’s too depressing. I’m not having that stuff staring at me from the shelf thankyou.
You could buy frozen vegetables, and just us how much you need and save the rest - that’s waht I do, my SO is not a big veggie eater and I am.
stevenalice - I have found that the leaf lettuce (not in bags, bulk I guess) stays fresher a lot longer than the pretorn bagged stuff. I have a salad spinner so it’s easy to wash and store. It stays fresh at least a week this way, even after shredding.
I hear you on the celery - I am always tossing out bunches of it.
I wish salad dressings came in smaller sizes. I have bought big bottles of dressing that looked good, but end up throwing it out after I learn I can’t stand it.
Tonic water and seltzer water. I’m constantly throwing away almost-full cans because I wanted one gin and tonic and I had to open a can to make it. I know they make small bottles of it, but the Laws of Soda have declared that the smaller the package, the more expensive it is. The bottles cost about $4/6. A six pack of cans is about $2. A 2 liter plastic jug is .99.
I’ll second (third?) the celery. I’m always throwing it away. FYI, you can reconstitute it if it’s rubbery by cutting a stalk and putting it in a glass of water for about 30 minutes. However, if you’re anything like me, trying to remember to put the celery in the water 30 minutes before you need it is a losing battle.
Sampiro: have you tried storing your bread in the fridge? It takes a long, long, long, long, long time for bread to go moldy when stored in the fridge, and I don’t think it changes the taste like freezing does.
Being scatterbrained, I wish they would sell single-use deoderant. At least three or four times every summer, I forget to put any on after my shower, then have to stop by a pharmacy and spend a few bucks on a stick that I’m only going to use once.
I’ve often said that the cigarette manufacturers missed the boat on packaging. There have been many times over the years where I would have bought a mini-pack of 4 or 5 cigs. This was usually when out having drinks, want a smoke - hate to bum one from your friends - but don’t want or need a whole pack. I haven’t been a full time smoker for many years, but there is still something about the alcohol / tobacco combination. I never want to continue the next day, but having a couple with drinks on rare occasion…
As a single guy, I also wish bread were sold in half loaves (just the basic stuff, not the multi-grain, sourdough or other fancier breads that often are made in smaller loaves). I usually don’t have the space in my refrigerator to store it there, but I’ll do some re-arranging and see if I can fit a full loaf in there.
Ahhhh, this is why I’m glad I live in Britain. I CAN buy half sized loaves, single portion tins of vegetables (you can even buy multi packs of them) and lettuce you can buy in two smaller bags ‘eat me, and keep me’.
You can’t buy everything in the States…
For bread - when you first buy the loaf, take half of it, put it in a freezer bag, and stick it in the freezer. Remove it when the first half runs out.
Eggs - I usually want to buy 3 for a recipe, and end up with 12. I suppose I could always make 4 batches of whatever it is I’m trying to cook.
Trays of bottled water. It is nice to buy an entire tray wrapped in plastic. But 24 * 750ml is a lot of weight to carry (approx 36 pounds), I would much rather they were packaged in 12s.
Do you all use the bread out of the freezer, thaw it, and use it without toasting it? If I have sandwich bread in the freezer, I’ll just take a couple of slices off and throw them directly in the toaster. They come out tasting normal. I’m not a big toast fan, actually, but it’s better than the alternative.
Regarding celery: Do your supermarkets have a salad bar? You could get a couple of stalks worth. You’d obviously pay more per pound, but you might well come out ahead–especially as a whole head of celery isn’t cheap. They also sometimes sell “soup vegetables,” which is a bag that contains a few stalks of celery, a carrot, some parsley, and some other stuff. That might occasionally meet your needs if you need some random vegetables.
I wish bags of tortilla chips came in smaller sizes. (But bigger than the tiny snack-size bags.) We never finish a bag of tortilla chips.
I also wish a lot of things just came packaged in smaller units within the larger package so you can use part of the package and the rest stayed fresh. Remember how Oreos used to always come in a paperboard box with 3 plastic sleeves inside? (That actually seems more environmentally friendly than a plastic tray in a plastic bag.)
Our supermarket sells celery by the single stalk, same as carrots. They also sell half and quarter sections of lettuce and cabbage heads, a half-dozen eggs and some other smaller breakouts.
I definitely hear you on the bread, though. And I wish I could get an eight- or ten-pack of corn tortillas, but they only seem (at my store) to come in 24- or 30-packs.
Spices! A recipe calls for say, half a teaspoon of tarragon. The rest of the bottle languishes in the cabinet for two years until the next time I see the bottle and think “When did I buy this?” By this time, it’s gone gray and entirely without scent.
Desserts - after a nice dinner out, perhaps a taste of something sweet? But no! Restaurants are in competition with each other to make bigger and bigger desserts. I was out on Sunday, and the table next to us had some sort of cake concoction that filled a normal sized dinner plate. It was as if they’d taken a family-sized chocolate bundt cake and put a quart of ice cream in the center, then poured a bottle of caramel sauce over it. The first restaurant that starts offering a single petit-four for perhaps a buck will have my adoration.
Lighter flints. I know it’s only a buck or so for an 8-pack, but when I need one, I usually buy a pack, pop one in, put a spare in the cotton, then proceed to lose the other 6. They should sell them in twos, for like a quarter. And lighter fluid. I have a big bottle at the house, so naturally, I never need to fill the lighter at home. I just want to buy a tiny bottle, 1 oz or so, for an emergency refill. Package that together with the flints*, sell it for 99 cents, and you’re practically printing money.
Check out the “travel sized” area of any pharmacy store like CVS, Brooks, Walgreens, etc (I forgot to check your location but you know the stores I mean I’m sure)… there’s almost always an area that sells smaller sized deodorant, toothpaste, etc. Perfect to throw in your bag/car/whatnot!
Meats, and hamburger in particular. I’m perfectly willing to heed the advice of nutritionists and cut down a bit on my red meat eating. But if they sell hamburger in 1 pound batches, then it’s easier to just dump that into the spaghetti sauce and eat it over the course of a few meals than it is to repackage it into smaller packages when I get home.
The Grocery store I go to allows us to tear the box of a dozen egss in half- there is a perforated line in the middle of the styrofoam box. I only discovered this about a year ago- you should check it out. It really helps so much- I never use that many eggs. Bippy the Beardless-
They sell water bottles in packs of twelve- I buy them all the time. Green Bean-
I totally hear you on the tortilla chip thing. I have NEVER used a whole bag before!
