Store It Foods

Whether you are shopping online or shopping at a “brick and mortar” store, it’s wise to give a little thought to your purchase.

That may sound like a rather obvious thing to do.  After all, if you’re shopping for something, you’ve already given some thought to what you want to buy.  How many times, however, have you purchased something that ends up being seldom if ever used?

Sometimes you have simply bought the wrong item — a spur of the moment decision that you later regret.  Sometimes you have purchased the right product, but the wrong model.  That’s where the product footprint can often come into play.  Simply put, the product footprint refers to the space that that product occupies. 

Consider a pressure canner.  A large, 41.5 qt. (liquid capacity) pressure canner far outperforms its smaller brothers and sisters with its abiltiy to can up to 32 pint jars at a time.  But if it is so large that you cannot fit it into your cupboard, and have to store it in the basement, inside the garage, or tucked away in your apartment storage room, then how often are you going to bring it out to do the canning of those 32 pint jars?  Inconvenience often translates into non-use. The same thing can happen with smaller appliances.  

A vacuum sealer, for instance, is not overly large, and can be a great addition to any household.  Many families use these handy little food storage appliances on a very frequent basis.  Yet, if space is limited and only the smallest vacuum sealers can conveniently be left out on the counter where they can easily be reached at any time, should preference be given to something like the palm sized “Frisper” with its small footprint?  Will having them that handy really make a difference in how much they are going to be used?

Yes, size should be given serious consideration if a “yes” or “no” answer is going to be an important factor.