After spending all that time this summer freezing food, I was determined to USE it this year. In the past, I would freeze something with the best intentions but end up throwing it out five years later after it was forgotten in the freezer. Such a waste of time and food. So, I had to find a system that would work so things didn't get forgotten. I've used whiteboards in the past and for some reason I just couldn't keep them updated. So this time, at the end of fall, Jason and I went through and did an inventory of all the (three) freezer spaces in the house. I then had to figure out how to organize it to be useful. I came up with this below:
So my thoughts were to put the quantities in the boxes and then just cross them off as things were used. So far this has been working well. I think the secret was to wait to collect the inventory when all the freezing was finished as in the past I think the hard part was remembering what to record before it went into the freezer. Here's a doc if you want to recreate.
Like I said, it's been working very well. I was quite happy last week. It was a freezer week. I only needed to get milk, bread and some fresh fruit. All the other meal components were straight from the freezer (or canned) to feed us for the entire week. Pork, soups, vegetables, pre-made casserole, muffins for breakfasts (the kids couldn't eat them fast enough), etc. This has made me be able to stretch out my weekly grocery shopping to once every three weeks (with the exception of milk, bread and fresh fruit). More time with my kiddos and less time in my own personal hell, Woodmans!
Steal my technique if you need!! Mommies have to stick together!!
Older Working Mom posts below!
