Several years ago I wrote Use It or Lose It, acknowledging that my cooking ability had gone into decline when I was married. Just as I outsourced phone numbers to my smartphone, I outsourced cooking to my wife. And once you outsource something long enough, you lose the skill completely. My culinary abilities are now limited to reheating pizza in the microwave.

Last week I fell victim to another version of use it or lose it. Living in a rural area, I’ve learned to keep emergency repair supplies on hand. I have a large tote labeled household spares, a large tote labeled household repair supplies, and a large tote of plumbing fittings. Although slow and size-limited, I’ve also used my 3D printer for temporary repairs. I was ready for anything—or so I thought.

When the pipe to my sink broke, I knew I didn’t have spares, but I had stashed some tape that was perfect for this occasion. It was fiberglass imbued with epoxy and advertised to fix any plumbing problem. Yep, perfect, too bad my tape had expired five years ago. What I had in my hand wasn’t a repair miracle—just a rock-hard lump destined for the trash.

Okay, I hadn’t planned for that, but I did have another roll of tape that would perform a great temporary repair. And it might have—if it hadn’t expired before my fiberglass tape. What had once been tape was now a limp vinyl ribbon with the sticking power of a wet noodle. So much for any instant repair.

Thanks to Amazon, I only had to wait a week before the sink could be used. My wife was kind enough about it, but I knew that look—the one that says she’s planning Brussels sprout cookies in my immediate future.

Back when I was employed, my company had a very active program of tracking expiration dates on chemicals, tape, solder, and adhesives. It hurt my soul to see how much we threw away because of our strict adherence to the expired chemicals program, but as I just discovered the hard way, those trash runs saved us from a lot of disasters.

You’d think that experience would have clued me in to the fact that my personal stash might also have a shelf life. Apparently, I prefer learning lessons the hard way.

I’m used to my tubes of superglue becoming hard as a rock. Certainly, I have yet to completely empty a bottle of Gorilla Glue before it fossilized on the shelf, but it never occurred to me that unopened containers might also go bad.

Unfortunately, it’s not just repair materials. Food is obvious; the expiration label is there for a reason. No, it doesn’t go bad the day it crosses the line, but the clock is ticking. Did you know that extremely old cans of pineapple will explode? They don’t just “go bad,” they redecorate your pantry in shades of sticky black. In my defense, these particular cans predated my marriage, and when I gave up cooking, I forgot all about them.

How about medical supplies? I have a number of off-the-shelf analgesics in my go bag. True, I’m no longer jetting off at the drop of a hat, but it could happen. I also keep a First Aid kit in my car. I haven’t needed it yet, but considering its age, I’ll probably need duct tape to hold the Band-Aids on.

Then there’s your toolbox. Are you really going to trust a five-year-old tube of Loctite to hold your lawnmower together? That’s how parts become projectiles.

Of course, in our case, there are also vet supplies. Nothing like trying to secure an injury with vet wrap, only to have the first three rolls crumble into confetti because you stockpiled them a decade ago. Not to mention, all those bottles of medicine we never seem to throw away. At best, expired meds do nothing. At worst, they can turn a bad situation into a nightmare.

As I start the grand cleanup and resupply of my repair stash, toolbox, medical kit, and vet supplies, I can’t help but ask the obvious question: “What’s in your medicine chest?”

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And of course, today’s song from Songer…Use it or lose it!

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