Saturday got off to an auspicious start when Meghan discovered a half-eaten slice of pizza lying amongst the baby clothes at a church rummage sale.

Little did we know that this piece of abandoned food would set a theme for the day. And not in our usual “yum, baked goods” way! It was old food, spotted at estate sale after estate sale. We’re talking food that came from another time, but which remained uneaten, festering in cabinets, basements and closets for decades … becoming the unwanted, the uneaten, the food of the damned.

Like this cabinet of horrors. Some of this stuff could be of recent vintage, but look a little closer. Don’t some of those logos seem a little dated?

I know C&H hasn’t used this packaging in a while, and that Parade sugar looks ancient too.

We tried to date this box of hash brown potatoes. All I can tell you is that it’s from before whenever it was that expiration dates become required.

And how about these spices of yesteryear? Need some MSG to go with your elegant salad?

We found a box containing a brief history of boxed dessert mixes (and related products like “Sparkle Mixture”).

Then there was the can of popcorn from 1943.

And the massive stockpile of after-dinner mints.

We also saw a cabinet full of old booze (including a jug of Bloody Mary Mix that was now a light, clear pink). This sign was posted nearby.

With all that food floating around, do you think there might also be some handy food prep gadgets in the house? You would be right. Bonus points if you guessed they were never taken out of their packages.

This Chex calendar from 1981 had also been saved.

Probably because the recipes were so great … or maybe just for the decorating ideas.

Even some of the dishes kept the food theme going.

Although food wasn’t the only thing that had been hoarded …

… or the only thing that was horrifying.

Despite what the pictures might lead you to believe, we did make some purchases. No trunk photo, though … we’ve got something a little different planned this time. Stay tuned!