Travel goodies: what about expiration dates???

I’m one of those oldies who needs to pull out the items & a magnifying glass - LOL!

My main expiration concern are my two prescriptions. I load those ahead of time in two tiny “day-of-week” containers. When I return from a trip, I just continue to use those up for the extra week ir two that I brought on the trip.

Anything with sugar in it doesn’t need to worry that it won’t be eaten during the trip. ; ). i did just throw away some individual packs of almonds in my kitchen pantry because of old expiration dates. I check them when I am getting close to leaving on a trip to place a few in the prep box on my guest bed.

I don’t worry about toothpaste dates because I just refill the smaller tubes with new toothpaste. I rarely use sunscreen; my liquid face foundation does have sunscreen in it, and I do just mix old & new into the tiny sample jar.

The expiration dates I keep an eye on are for my contact lenses solution and snacks. Those I will toss if expired. But sunscreen and toothpaste… do they even have expiration date?
But I go thru those often. If not on the trip, then I will use at home.
If I come home with any leftover (which is rare) then I just finish using at home. If I use a refill travel bottle like for shampoo and conditioner, I fill with fresh stuff from home big bottle.

Toothpaste - I finish up the travel ones when I get home. Or I might take 2 half empty ones on a trip.

Conditioner - as long as the big bottle at home lasts, I refill the travel one. Then I use it up, clean and refill.

Contact solution - like Joy, I'm more diligent about this, discarding the travel bottle contents when the big bottle expires.

Non prescription meds - this is the part I hate. I carry a starter kit of cold meds and pain meds to get me through a night or a weekend, until I can get to a local pharmacy. I used to buy these in bulk at Costco, but I hate discarding them. Now I use drug store coupons and buy the smallest size, so they're nearly free. I do cheat and will carry them a while past their expiration dates for an upcoming trip.

I"m a big one on checking expiration dates.

Then I get out the "Sharpie."

If I decant pills into different size ziploc bags, I write the name of the medicaiton (prescription and non-prescription) on the bag and the expiration date.

Most toothpaste tubes have the expiration date embossed on the end.

For most refillable bottles/tubes, I use a small label that is attached to the bottle/tube and I write the name of what's inside and any expiration date if applicable.

As my vision is changing, I also carry a small magnifyling card to help me read those teeny tiny expiration dates. Something like this:

Magnifying Cards

They are the size of credit cards and also come in handy with menus, maps, etc.

The only consumables I carry are products at the 2.4 to 3 oz volume and they are mostly consumed by the end of my travels. I return home, they get finished off and discarded. I'm not storing anything consumable or with expiry dates.

Does toothpaste "expire?" I've been carting around sample tubes of toothpaste for decades and I bet some of the tubes I use on trips are many years old.....(always ask my dentist for these after my exam)

I go by smell..would not throw out food only because it has passed the exp date....olive oil goes bad but dried pasta..? Nuts, yes, but jars of marmalade or boxes of salt??

Ii can only hope the food police stay away from my kitchen..

Like Frank, I also put my OTC meds in a small ziplock and on the outside write the color of pill, medication name, and expiration date. Because I'm doing this at home, I can use my readers or a magnifying glass to figure out when things go past their due date. I also put a piece of clear tape over the writing as the Sharpie pen does wear off getting tossed around in the bag.

Toothpaste does expire as fluoride degrades over time. Though for a couple week's trip you may not be terribly concerned about that. Every couple of years I toss or replace any other things that might expire like sunscreen.

This is another use for our ubiquitous phones.
I take a photo of tiny print, then enlarge.

I have a labelmaker mostly for this. After having purchased something like sunscreen, I print a label with the date of purchase and slap that baby right on yhe tube / bottle / stick / container.

My only concern of expiration date outside of medicines is eye drops and sunscreen. I'm not taking any chances with my eyes. And SPF ingredients in sunscreen can break down and lose its effectiveness and you won't even know it until it's too late.

For everything else, if the color, scent or consistency hasn't changed, I'll keep using it beyond the suggested expiration date.

Does toothpaste expire? I just pulled out one for use that has been in my travel bag since I bought it in Sorrento 3 years ago. I guess my answer to your question is that I don't take expiration seriously. Case in point, on the radio earlier this week was a rant by a consumer advocate that expiry dates placed on products is getting out of hand. He used Himalayan Sea Salt as an example which is 600 million years old but the packaging gives it an expiry date of 2 years.

A lot of personal items, such as cosmetics and lotions/creams, have use within X months of opening date to prevent contamination and bacteria growing. Every time you open the container you have a risk of introducing contaminants, especially jars of creams such as moisturizers.

Every time you open the container you have a risk of introducing
contaminants, especially jars of creams such as moisturizers.

And, I might add, toothpaste as it comes in contact multiple times a day with one of the germiest items in your toiletries bag.

Posted by jeanm

Every time you open the container you have a risk of
introducing contaminants, especially jars of creams such as
moisturizers.

True.

This is why I bought some little scoops/spatulas for the face creams/lotions that I keep in a contact lens case instead of squirting out of a tube on my freshly washed finger. I can wash the spatula or bring enough to throw away. There are some potions that I keep in their original container instead of transferring "just enough" to a contact lens case. I've also started using a cosmetic spatula at home for things not in a squirt bottle or tube. Good for getting that last bit out.

Toothpaste? What do you do at home? If it worries you, there are toothpaste tabs.

Or sanitize your toothbrush after each use.

LiZinPA--I often do that as well, but then found an app called Magnify. It is great, when I remember it, lol.

On an iPhone, open the camera and press/hold on the shutter button for a couple of seconds. It turns your camera into a magnifying glass. Pinch to zoom.

ETA: Oops, never mind. My friend showed me this years ago and I just tried it for the first time in a while. Doesn't do what it used to. I think it's old iPhone functionality. Google says to triple-click the side button to activate the Magnifier app, so that's the way to do it now.

I am a stickler on throwing out old sunscreen. I’ve gotten some significant sunburns from using year old expired sunscreens.

Thanks for all of your responses!!! I remember reading a few years ago that you should also be careful about leaving sunscreen in a hot car because it kills the spf. Years ago I left my bag in a sealed car on a hot day and my very expensive bite guard melted just enough to be unusable

Somewhere in the above conversation about topping off the refillables I wondered about another continum, our personal anxiety about scarcity. I rented a small guest cottage last week and left the housekeeper a note as I checked out with the coffee canister and the bathroom hand soap pump, both of which i thought needed to be topped off "and of course, TP"

I'm justifying that note by saying that the housekeeper might not check all of the pantry items close enough to realize what a hit I'd placed on the coffee in 4 days. (Hmm, pour over)
But what constitutes an adequately filled hand soap? If it wasn't a clear container I would probably not even formed an opinion

Is scarcity anxiety behind many of us carrying our first aid kits and 100 advil?