willie, you are completely not totally out there! I had to laugh when you spoke about the wheat thins and pickles! I didn't realize I did that until, after a shopping trip my daughter pulled me into the kitchen to show me the collection of Rice-a-Roni that we have NEVER even tried. It always looked tastey when shopping, but once it went into the pantry... forgotten! So there I was with about 7 boxes. She specifically asked that I never purchase it again unless it was on "the list". We are constantly cleaning out the fridge and pantry of the multiples of the same items, all at least opened. Right now, I'd have to guess that we have at least 3 packages of shredded cheese....!

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I forgot the other stuff I was going to respond to!

Luckily my daughter and I are completely in tune with eachother. We will go overboard on something... pasta, homemade soup, certain ethnic foods... and then not want to even think about it for months. I STILL get a little queasy thinking about eating lobster after that trip to Maine!!!

My boyfriend has a touch of OCD (undiagnosed) and I have some tendencies related to my ADD (same source... or result of??) and can relate to those issues. He is more of a "count to ten after touching the doorknob before opening the door" sort of OCD... mine is more of requiring external structure to reduce the distractions or overwhelming (visual?) stimulii.

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Your post made me laugh! I can completely relate! We have LOTS of cheese in the fridge at the moment and plenty of crackers. Perhaps I need to host a wine and cheese party to get through it all?! :o) I have the tendency to work really had at remembering to buy something - like cheese for now - and then I just remember and remember to buy it. I feel pretty proud of myself for remembering. Until I get home and find 5 bricks of cheese in the fridge and realized that yes, I had already remembered the last 5 trips to the store!

I too have a bit of a focus food issue. I'm currently loving spaghetti pescatore from one of my fave Italian restaurants and it's all I want to eat. It usually takes a while before I get tired of it. I once had spinach salad for lunch every day for three months!!!

I also have a bit of a hoarding issue...I buy things that I'm REALLY craving - most recently Haagen-Das ice cream. Almost immediately after acquiring whatever it is I don't want it anymore. So I put it in the freezer until I do. I then save it. I don't want to eat it so that I know it's there the next time I want it. Just the comfort of knowing I can have it if I want it. Drives my husband nuts when I tell him he can't eat something that I'm not eating anyway, just in case. Makes me laugh mostly.

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And the cheese that's in the fridge is now damn good bleu cheese until it's ready go into my garage pantry from which it will make its way up the stairs into the hot attic so it'll be good and ready to excite the dogs and nourish my plantings.

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harcouto said: Your post made me laugh! I can completely relate! We have LOTS of cheese in the fridge at the moment and plenty of crackers. Perhaps I need to host a wine and cheese party to get through it all?! :o) I have the tendency to work really had at remembering to buy something - like cheese for now - and then I just remember and remember to buy it. I feel pretty proud of myself for remembering. Until I get home and find 5 bricks of cheese in the fridge and realized that yes, I had already remembered the last 5 trips to the store!

You nailed it! I never got around to figuring out the source. How many times have I forgotten to buy cheese? Way too many... now it is the complete polar opposite- I think we are always in need of it!!

I actually HAVE had parties (even recently) conjured up merely to use up surplus food purchases (and had a bit of cabin fever).

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i am so ridiculously indecisive, especially when I'm overwhelmed. And the grocery store definitely overwhelms me. Too many freaking choices! I kind of panic and rush through it...forgetting a lot of things. Like buying cereal, but not the milk.

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For general goods - I go the week before payday and shop for what I want. Then On payday (or the weekend of) I will go in and buy only what I'd selected the week before.

In grocery stores, I learn the layout of the store - similar to the way I scout the other stores the week before payday. No intention to buy at that time, but figure out where things are located.

Then with a list in hand, I go only to the aisles I need to, pick up only what I need to and go to the check out... the one thing that's helped with the forgetting of items is I had a palm treo with shopping list type software and I add to what I need as the week goes on. I actually carry it while shopping and check off items as I purchase them. It allows me to list items by multiple stores (just in case...) and that way it eliminates the items after I've picked it up.

I've traded in my treo for a blackberry, and the software is available for blackberry's as well. I personally think its a blessing.

The other problem I had until recently was my DVD collection (my biggest impulse buy - which has almost tripled in size in the last six months due to stress at work). I have on occasion ended up with two copies of items, and then either returned one of them, or put it up on EBay.... Now I have software that allows me to record it and send the list to either my ipod (yes - I'm a techie) or online, so I can check before I buy a duplicate again.

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