Hi Beccy, thanks for your response.
I like being able to have beers in the fridge as a sign of my strength. To see it and totally reject it on a daily basis, rather than hide it/get rid of it/not think about it. The same as I have a pack of (now very old) cigarettes in the drawer, even though I haven't smoked in years. I can see how avoiding these things can help though.
You are spot on about coping strategies. I have skipped from one drug, to the next, to the next, over my life but never really been "sober" for much of the time. I've been approached by AA in my area, some parts of the organization run contrary to my belief systems so it was hard for me to really commit to this group.
How to unlearn a lifetime of this behavior is a little scary for me. But I'm prepared to do it.