Hi, so I’m 7 days sober, and one thing I really struggle with is all the stuff we have around the house going to waste if I really am done. We always have beverages on hand because we drink very regularly. It’s such a habit. It’s literally hundreds of dollars worth, and I know sobriety is priceless, I get that…but maybe I don’t have much faith I’ll stick to it? Has anyone else dealt with thinking about this stupid crap? I feel like I’ve been here before and decided I’d stop after we went through what we had but then I lose my conviction and we keep buying and it’s always there.
Welcome to the forum! I guarantee you that 99.9% of the drinkers in recovery on this forum have gone through that. “Well, I still have a six pack, might as well wait until tomorrow.” “Well, I have a nice bottle of white, I shouldn’t ‘waste’ it.” You name it, we’ve probably thought it, dealt with it, still deal with it.
Box it up. Give it to a “normie.” Or, better yet, burn the ships and pour it all out in one dramatic statement of commitment.
Glad you’re here! (By the way, your life is worth far more than several hundred dollars.)
This is the first thing I think of when it comes to looking at tossing it as a waste. Besides the pricelessness of sobriety, I know if I pick that stuff up again it’ll only get more expensive when I want more.
It’s one drink away from being an expensive restocking trip at the store, yeah? Maybe imagine instead the relief of just having it gone!
Even though alcohol is not my DOC, I gave away the bottle of tequila I had (because drinking almost always leads to smoking for me) and I threw away my weed vaporizer that cost over $200 at the time of purchase as well as my grinder. The weight that lifted off of me after dumping that stuff was worth more than what I paid for it. You can get money back, you can’t get back time or years on your life.
Great points made above. I also wanted to note that in my three plus years of sobriety, I am just about to pass $30,000 in savings. You might be tossing out a few hundred dollars, but you’re gaining back your life, your health, and a crapload of money in the end.
That’s another good one, can see it on the Sober Time counter. Also at $20k+ saved after over two years. I included average weekly costs of stuff at home, going out, tipping, etc. Insane. Not to mention whatever major consequences that can strike while drinking (think DUI, etc).
$1k is nothing compared to how much I was pouring down the drain on the regular. I didn’t believe the counter till I noticed my bank account magically inflating. And that was just from not drinking.
How I even made rent in the years before I’ll never know.
I just boxed up all the alcohol we have in our apartment. I am struggling mostly with getting rid of a bottle that was a gift to my husband and I on our first wedding anniversary. I don’t know just for how long I plan to be sober – I am taking it one day at a time just so that I don’t get overwhelmed. I was thinking I might put everything in external storage, and out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of thing. I definitely won’t be buying anything additional. Good luck to you!
Is there someone you can ask to hold onto that special bottle for you? We have some vodka that we got overseas when we adopted our kids, it’s in a special cabinet of other keepsakes. I wouldn’t get rid of that even if I do get rid of the rest of it.
I highly recommend dumping it down the drain. If you drink it you aren’t doing yourself any favors and if you give it away you’re just giving someone a toxic substance.
Plus pouring it down the drain is sooo empowering, you wont know till you try it.
If you keep it you are just putting yourself at risk of drinking it in the future.
I’m not sure. My closest girlfriend lives across the street, but she is sort of having the same issue and doesn’t want alcohol to be kept in her apartment. We do have locked storage cabinets in front of each of our vehicles that can be difficult to get to. I wonder if stashing it there would work.
That would be a fun way, but social anxiety is a big part of my problem. I’m a drinking makes me brave so I can have fun type of person. 
