Spare room clearout - yikes!
 

Clearing out my entire house so the interior walls can be renovated. My wife’s out the country, so it seemed a good time. She doesn’t drink but uses wine for cooking on occasions.

So what have I found?

A small bottle of red wine and lots of miniature bottles of whisky.

I was never into whisky so no danger there. I’ll give it away. The red wine, though, is a problem. I’m busting my gut disassembling furniture and carrying it downstairs, etc. It’d be very unlikely I’d drink that wine later on today, but the risk is there. I’ve never poured alcohol down the sink, so this will be the first time. Going down the sink now 🙂

Some of us can manage with alcohol in the house, but if not, get rid.

A few days ago on my regular walk through a forest reserve I found two unopened cans of a popular alcoholic beverage. Just lying there in the cold air, with dew all over them. I moved them with my foot and they were intact. That was a jarring reaction I had. In the woods. Beautiful day. No one around. Full cold cans. Two wouldn't hurt me. I left them, thinking someone would be back and drink them. After all they weren't mine and people do all kinds of geo-caching and other things these days. What do I know?

A couple days later they were still there and then I saw them as litter. Dangerous litter that some little kid might find. I used the pointed end of my umbrella and poked holes in them (maybe a bit too forcefully!) The first one kind of exploded and I could smell it.

I made sure they were drained. The next day I returned with a trash bag. I didn't want to touch them or smell them so I picked them up with a stick. Garbage deposited in bin. Take that, stoopid AV.

That could’ve been a cruel twist of fate, Bimini. How odd. Yes, the smell is not pleasant. I took a sniff of the red wine, and it was awful. I remember as a small kid having a sip of beer and wondering how anyone could stomach such a foul smelling liquid. I wish I’d stayed like that. I’m sure the unpleasant smell would be brushed aside if we drank again, but that wine just now smelled awful.

Well to me they smelled pretty yummy. I wish I had the aversion reaction instead. That citrus-y sharp sweet smell...ugh. It was a slippery situation for me - even at eight years sober. I was surprised. I'm glad it is over and that I made the right choice, but that little, "No one would know, two won't hurt me, they're FREE," thing.

Sneaky.

Interesting Hodd. Were the mini bottles of whisky and the wine yours that you had hidden and forgotten about??

About 3 months after I quit, I got around to deep cleaning my house for the first time in many years. I was shocked at how many bottles I had hidden during a blackout and promptly forgotten about. It is yet another great reminder how shockingly stupid it all was. I probably suffered a thousand nights having run out of booze too soon, and in my compromised cognitive state, I couldn't remember that there was at least a gallon of vodka in various bottles hidden throughout my very small house.

I was never into whisky or any spirits. My wife doesn’t drink at all or once every few years. I guess the miniatures were presents she’d been given or was planning to give. I’ve been eavesdropping the guys doing the renovation work (industrial language 🤣) and they seem to enjoy alcohol (I hope for their sakes in moderation), so I’ll offer them the little bottles. Some people may disapprove of me giving alcohol away, and it is slightly two-faced of me to do so I guess.

As for my drinking, I think in logistics jargon, I operated on the just in time idea. I’d buy wine/beer, drink it and repeat. I never got to the hoarding stage.

I think it is fine to give alcohol to others. Normies don't think of alcohol in any different terms than they think about any other gift. On occasion I'll get a gift bottle of whine or whisky sent my way and I happily drive that over to my ex-wife's house for she and her friends to enjoy.

Hodd, I don't keep alcohol in the house either. It just simplifies life.

Bim & Hodd, your examples are a great reminder of how we have to be prepared for an unexpected trigger. Good job to both of you.

Hi Surrender, thanks. I’ve had abuse (from a lesser forum) about giving a bottle of wine to someone as a thank you. It’s a convenient and tradeable item. I wouldn’t be offended in the least if a stranger gave me a one-off bottle of wine. I might end up pouring it down the sink if I couldn’t offload it.

Thanks Anna, I don’t get to stay in posh hotels a lot, but when I have, there’s always been a mini bar. In the unlikely event of me being in a nice hotel ever again, I reckon I’d empty the contents of the mini bar into a bag and leave it with reception 🙂

After three years of not drinking, I reckon I’m getting more cautious as I’d have more to lose if I did relapse.

To continue my mundane diary 🤣

So today I’ve cleared out two bedrooms on my own, disassembled all the furniture, beds, etc. , and carried everything downstairs and in my car (many times) to a storage depot. That little bottle of red wine would’ve been calling out to me now without a doubt. I would’ve drunk the lot (187 ml or about 6 oz) in under 30 seconds and then …

It’s unlikely I would’ve succumb but who knows? The local booze shops are a minute’s walk away, and that was enough of a barrier in the early days. Even after three years, having a bottle of wine in the house is a no no. It’s intriguing I’m not at all concerned about the whisky. It was never my thing.

I made a ceremonial ritual out of pouring the leftovers down the sink. A month into sobriety, I found an unopened pint of whisky under the seat of my car. I have no recollection how it got there. I poured it out as soon as I found it. I don't keep alcohol in the house either. Not so much because of the danger it poses, but there's just no point in it.