It is possible that I need to clean out my refrigerator a little more often. It’s not that I don’t enjoy surprises. But sometimes I find rather alarming things in the refrigerator.

Don’t get me wrong. I have the Three Day Rule for all leftovers. After three days they must be eaten, frozen, or given a decent burial via the garbage disposal.

Over the years, I have perfected the freezing of leftovers. My specialty is holiday dinners. I even have little Rubbermaid lidded freezer trays that have individual compartments, so the gravy does not slosh onto the carrots and corn.

Turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes can become a frozen feast. Ham and veggies work well. Scalloped potatoes are impossible. How can something that tastes so good the first time, taste – and look – so disgusting after being frozen? Freezing scalloped potatoes is like freezing a salad: a waste of time, space, and baggies.

Anything chocolate can be deliciously frozen. Not that we ever have much leftover chocolate to freeze. But, in theory, chocolate tastes even better when it is frozen. I have a secret cache of Easter candy I am saving in my freezer. Although I think we may have a freezer rat. The Reese’s eggs seem to be disappearing.

And how long can you keep leftovers in your freezer? Are they like guacamole, which turns brown before you can snap a lid on it? Or are freezer leftovers like that hailstone I put into the freezer in 2010, which is still there, all hale and hearty?

My real problem, though, are those bottles of stuff in the refrigerator door. They are not exactly leftovers, but they are not exactly fresh after a while, either. Some of the salad dressing says, “Use by 2025.” Okay, that should be good. But those same bottles also say, “Refrigerate after opening.” So are they ticking time bombs of salmonella after they are opened?

Then there is the stuff in the refrigerator that I am not sure will go bad, no matter how old it is. I have a bottle of lemon juice that says, “Best if used by 4/24/21.” It’s lemon juice, for goodness sake. What is it gonna do, go sour? I am hoping it turns to vinegar, or ferments, soon.

Then there is my block of blue cheese. Like, how do you know if blue cheese has gone moldy? It comes from the store moldy. So is extra mold on blue cheese a good thing? When I try to scrape the new mold off my old cheese, I am not sure what is the new mold and what is the old mold.

Well, my mama always said, “Can what you can, and freeze what you can’t.” She always had a freezer full of chili and a pantry full of jelly. You cannot go wrong with either of those things.

Jackie Hope is the longest running Dickinson Press contributor and columnist. "Hope's Corner" is a weekly humorous column centered on a message of hope for residents in southwest North Dakota.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Dickinson Press, nor Forum ownership.