You put half a burrito in the fridge on Sunday. You wrapped it well. You were proud of yourself.
It is now Thursday.
Nobody has spoken of it since.
The Optimistic Placement
You put it at eye level, front and center, where you’d definitely see it.
By Monday, a gallon of milk moved in front of it. By Tuesday, a produce bag. By Wednesday, it had been relocated to the back left, which is the fridge equivalent of witness protection.
The Daily Non-Decision
You open the fridge four times a day. You see it every time.
Every time, you think: not right now.
Not because it’s bad. Because eating leftovers requires deciding to eat leftovers, and you’re just here to see what the options are. You are browsing. You are always browsing.
The Container Situation
Some of it’s in good Tupperware. Some of it’s in a takeout container with a lid that no longer fits, held on by hope.
There’s a small yogurt cup that contains something orange. You have no memory of this. It could be soup. It could be sauce. It could be from a completely different meal era.
You leave it. Investigating it makes it your problem.
The Sniff Test Standoff
Saturday. You commit. You take it out.
You open it. You lean in. You inhale.
It smells like… nothing? Or does it smell slightly like the fridge? Is that the food or is that ambient fridge?
The sniff test has never once produced a clear answer in human history. You either eat it and hope, or throw it out and feel wasteful. There is no third path.
The Executive Decision
You throw it out.
But you don’t just throw it out — you have to unpack it. Scrape the food into the trash, rinse the container, load the container, and now you’re doing dishes, which is not what you came here for.
This is why you left it in there for six days. Some part of you knew this moment was coming.
The Fresh Start
The fridge is clean now. Spacious. Full of possibility.
That night you order too much food and bring half of it home.
You wrap it well. You put it at eye level, front and center, where you’ll definitely see it.
See you Thursday.