It's time.
You guys, this is the current state of my kitchen freezer.
This is ridiculous.
Especially because I have a chest freezer in my laundry room.
It's slightly tempting to just dump all of this in the chest freezer, but I'm scared that if I do that, I'll never manage to get to it all!
It's time to bring this ridiculousness to an end, so I'm challenging myself to use up all of this food in the next two weeks.
I know many bloggers do pantry challenges, where they try to buy nothing new and just eat up what they have in the house. And maybe if I lived on my own, I could pull that off.
But I think there might be some mutiny in my family if I try to serve up meals based solely off of what's in the house.
So, I'm doing the sensible thing and allowing myself to buy whatever ingredients I need in order to use up the things that are residing in my freezer.
(I think some of you have done pantry challenges this way, right?)
Of course, I have things in my chest freezer that really need to be eaten as well, but I'm just gonna tackle the smaller freezer first, and then I'll think about the large one.
(Gotta keep this manageable.)
Part of the problem is some very poor organization, so today my plan is to pull out all of the food so I know what I've got, and then I'll put it back in a neat, accessible fashion.
I'll share the inventory tomorrow.
Wish me well! And if your freezer is a little out of hand, join me. We can cheer each other on. 😉
LOL, mine doesn't look that discombobulated, but it does need a good cleanse. But just imagine all the treasures you might find amidst the rubble! 🙂
Very funny timing. I just said to myself a couple of days ago....I need to use all of this up. So I have already planned a couple of meals out of what is there and will try for the rest too!
Ok this will require some creativity on my part. My problem is, I have some good stuff in my freezer, but there's never QUITE enough to make another whole meal. ( there's one pork chop in a ziploc, 1/4 lb ground turkey, etc)
If that's the case, could you buy more of that item just to make a meal? Like maybe you could buy a smallish package of pork chops and throw the other one in.
Or if you're grilling chicken, maybe throw the pork chop on the grill too.
I think it's time for tapas or smorgasbord. You could make a small batch of turkey meatballs, slice the cooked pork chop thinly, serve it alongside vegetables, crackers, cheese... 🙂
This is what I was thinking. Or make the small things for someone's bag lunch.
Such great ideas, thank you all!
Casseroles (or hot-dish as we call it in the midwest). A little bit of this...and that... Or shepherds pie. Tacos.
Usually with those kinds of things a little bit can go a long way. Just beef up on something else like pasta or veggies!
I second the casseroles recommendation. Or soups or skillet dishes. One pork chop would be perfect for making some green chili!
1/4# ground turkey, mix with ground beef & make meat loaf.
make a small stuffing with the 1/4# of turkey, place in small pan
brown the pork chop slightly & lay on top of stuffing
cover with tin foil & bake.
I was forced to do this a couple weeks ago when my fridge/freezer suddenly dropped in temp and we had to live out of coolers for a couple days while hubby used his skills. I was so thankful for the deep freeze, but I also realized this was the perfect time to do a cleanse: use it up or toss it out! (Though we, too, supplemented with fresh veggies/fruits - my family could probably handle a pantry/freezer only meal, but I would revolt!)
A few years ago I started keeping a list of what was is my upstairs and downstairs freezers. I keep it on one of those magnetic lists that attaches to the fridge. I write everything in pencil so I can erase when I use something. I don't always remember to write down what I put in the freezer but it is helpful to glance at my list and see what I have on hand before menu planning.
I hv a Pantry & Freezer List on my IPod /IPad in my Notes. which Transfers to each other thro icloud so when I go to the Store I hv a list on me to know what I have. This has made shopping alittle easier that I don't come home w- Dups.
That set-up sounds lovely.
I soooooo need to do this!!! Thanks for the encouragement. Hopefully I can get to it this weekend! I have a business trip next week and need to leave good meal-planning ideas for my husband/toddler while I'm gone. This will help me create meals to use up what's there and just shop for essentials. Good luck to you too!!!
Funny, this is how I cook and most of the time. 🙂 I usually base my next meal plan on what I have in the fridge/freezer/pantry. We don't currently have a lot of space for storing extra food anyway so it helps keep things organized and avoid waste.
I don't like to drop uninvited links in but I wanted to show you in pictures the difference in our freezers.
http://simplybeingmum.com/2014/08/15/food-waste-friday-i-dropped-a-watermelon/
Now, this isn't a 'look how organised' my freezer is - rather I'm showcasing the size I have to work with - 3 drawers. There isn't really opportunity to fill it with food, or forget about frozen food, or not see what it contains! 😉 I guess you fill the space you have. Of which I have none! Well not a lot anyways.
Talking about Mutiny, pretty sure I'd be walking the plank if I tried feeding my family of 4 with just it's contents.
So looking forward to seeing what you conjure up from your freezers contents. You'll do great. With imagination and energy (of which you have an abundance of both) it'll soon be looking much more in shape.
That is so true, isn't it? A larger space does tend to invite waste and clutter!
Now that I've mostly emptied out my chest freezer, I find I have the urge to buy A LOT, because of course it needs to be full, right? Am making myself wait for either bulk meat purchase, or great deals.
I'm in. I am having some construction done in the kitchen next month and I decided that I wanted to use the freezer down to almost nothing in case the workers accidentally left the fridge unplugged for too long. I wonder what odd combinations I will end up with?
Well you can get rid of the ice tray - It's not summer anymore!!
I've been in this situation before and it's ALWAYS the bottom draw for us.
We end up with some right random stuff, even things from the fridge which have somehow fallen down and into the bottom shelf!!
Jon
http://www.themoneyshed.co.uk
Jon...it has been over a hundred for the last two weeks...we can't make enough ice to keep up.....send some of your cool weather this way please:).
We lost power a few weeks ago for some time so that cleaned my inside freezer by default. I do have a ton of food in my chest freezer in our shed that I need to take inventory of though.
I was having similar thoughts last weekend as I tried to find places to cram food into my freezer. I have occasionally thought it would be nice to have a chest freezer, but I already forget about so much food in my fridge attached freezer. I think after we get back from an upcoming vacation I will focus on trying to clean out the freezer a bit.
That's exactly how I clean out my freezer - make the grocery list based on what I already have to complete the week's menus. Our freezer is tiny, and I don't have a chest freezer. That's probably a good thing though - having a small one forces me to stay on top of it. Good Luck! Be sure to post what you did and what you made!
I will! And of course I'll take photos. 😉
I got started already. Noticed a lot of stuff that was taking up room I needed to freeze shredded squash from my garden. Pulled out a container of chicken soup base and some mashed potatoes and made a great meal by adding egg noodles from the store. I do my freezer clean outs like you do- buy what's needed to make a meal the family will eat. On to the rest of it!
I'm Working on My Freezer Too 🙂 We have a side by side Fridge/Freezer.
We use to have a Big Upright Freezer in the Garage until 2011. Then my Hub hooked up a meter thingy telling us How much it was costing us each month to run it..... $30 we were paying $30 a Month to Store Food in the Freezer 🙁
That's like making Payments on food U already have :/ that's Crazy, so we got rid of the freezer. & use our side by side only now. I would rather put that $30 a month to a Nice Dinner out 🙂
It can depend on how old and what style of freezer u have. Old ones suck much more energy than newer energy saver models, uprights cost more to run than chest styles, and it makes a freezer work harder to be kept in an uninsulated garage. We lost our chest freezer last year when our basement flooded. Our new chest freezer costs less than $30 a year to run when it is full. I save that buying sale chicken and freezing home grown produce which is basically free.
HA! good luck, i dont even want to go near my fridge much less my freezer.
I'm with ya! I was doing inventory on our freezers yesterday! I need to plow through the fish stashes before winter hits and all I want to cook is crockpot meals. (I don't like fish in a crock!)
I just cleaned out my refrigerator freezer last night! I am going to be using up things in there also. It sure looks nice after it is organized!! I did throw some old (3 years) stuff away. Love your blog!
YAY! This makes me smile because it's real and because I like the challenge! I have to occasionally clean out my upstairs fridge freezer and put the stuff into my (okay, one of my) downstairs freezer(s). When it goes into the dwnsts freezer, it is written on a list down there. One list says "leftovers" and I have another weird list called "Bits and Pieces." It's all usable food that I refuse to just throw away. I'm going to see how much I can get used up of those lists (and supplement with "real" groceries, like you) before my parents visit on the 30th. I am sometimes embarrassed when other people see my weird freezer items, so a good incentive and a fun challenge, I I think. Thanks for the idea!
Our freezer is full too and I have to organized it again after 3 months I had that motivation.I'm trying to use everything we have and clean it out but it's not happening in our household.
That is how I eat down my freezer as well - base meals on what I have but don't make meals from only what I have. It takes longer but I'm much happier with my meals. For example, tonight's dinner is a greek shrimp dish. The shrimp is from the freezer, the feta I bought for the occasion.
I'm working on the deep freezer now, and it's getting hard. Until I separate out the stuff that I won't eat down (such as the butter stash and the spice hoard) from what I will, it's hard to say how close I am.
Too funny, I've been putting this exact project off at my house!!! It needs to be done, I just don't want to be the one to do it...
Good luck with yours :0)
I am up to the challenge! I truly need to do some serious freezer cleaning at my house too. The fridge is under control and I feel so good about it but um....not the freezer! So this is just what I needed! Thanks Kristen! I will do it too!!
I am glad to hear I am not the only one with a disorganized freezer. We have a fridge freezer and a small upright. They both need to be cleaned out....has been on my "to do" list for 2 weeks now! Maybe this week.....
I love this! I made turkey broth last week and turkey soup last night simply because a turkey carcass fell out of my indoor freezer and onto my foot. (It hasn't been in the small freezer the whole time; it was moved there from the deep freeze a couple months back so I would make broth. It still took 2 months!) So, the Thanksgiving 2013 turkey is history. And the soup was/is great! And, bonus! there is more room in my freezer. Now for the ham bones. But I don't think I have the guts to work through it all systematically. One bone at a time....
First, I want to say that I love your blog! It gives me so many tips and ideas on how to get by on less.
It's funny you should post about this as I have been on a "grocery challenge" of my own which includes using up freezer and pantry items that I've been squirreling away. My freezer looked so similar to yours that I decided for the entire month of September that I would use up what I had in the house and only buy perishable items. I've been blogging about my journey so far and can happily say that I'm finding it quite easy to clear out my freezer and only buy produce and dairy to compliment it all.
It's crazy how much we can put in the freezer thinking "I'll use this soon" and then it sits for months! My family of three (me, my husband, and my toddler) will easily make it through an entire month using only what I've had in the freezer and pantry - we'll probably still have some things left!
I look forward to hearing how your challenge goes! 🙂
Mine are full too. I keep on saying that I'm not going to buy any meat or anything that can be frozen until I used up what we have but every week I come across awesome deals on meat (as in 50% clearance or, like this morning, packs of JustBare chicken drumsticks for $0.98 after coupon). Plus, I participated in the class action lawsuit against Alexia over a year ago and in compensation they sent me 19 coupons for $3.25 one item each. So I have 12 bags of Alexia fries in my freezer (I didn't use 3 of the coupons because I ran out of room, I gave 4 of them to my college son, and some of them we have eaten already). But I got them for pennies or free! I cannot turn down free. So whatever space gets freed one week, gets refilled the following week. The freezers use less energy if they're full anyway.
I shall join you!
That is what I do too, and I do live alone. I'm always up for a pantry or freezer challenge, just not torture lol. As a matter of fact, I think I am going to play along 🙂
I'm doing this same thing! I am tired of looking at the mess in my freezers and I'm trying to do a pantry challenge to use things up. My problem is that some of the things in my freezers haven't been labeled. I am making a guess to what things are and have my husband look at/smell things to see if he agrees. Had some homemade chicken soup tonight and banana cake for dessert. Tomorrow, shredded chicken with Buffalo Wing sauce served on rolls, both found in the freezer. Probably a tossed salad to go along with it. This is making me happy!
I did this task a couple of days ago after not being able to find anything I wanted. I found lots of food in there that I am using up this fortnight as our funds are a bit low at the moment. I look forward to hearing your tips for keeping your freezer organised 🙂
OMG I am doing the exact same thing with my side by side freezer
However the put back in organized manner failed slightly
I have the same objective but unfortunately some items should be in
my (34 yr old) 20 cu ft chest freezer in the garage
Mind you, we also have a refrigerator with freezer in the garage.
New plan of attack is to replace the chest freezer with same size standup freezer. Ouch how to do so when chest freezer is full to the top.
Just completed canning & freezing for the winter surplus plus holding some items for my daughter to take.
Anxious to hear how your plan works.
My freezer is similar - and I share it with my housemate and my stuff keeps falling into her section.
I'm under-employed at the moment (working one day a week but for an awesome hourly rate), so am trying to use that as a reason to eat up what I have in the house! I think I could go quite a while only buying fresh fruit and veggies.
Good luck with your challenge!
Wow! That is a crazy mess and looks exactly like my crazy freezer. I have been hosting freezer meal swaps and have nowhere to put the meals anymore. I am going to use this as inspiration to clean out my own freezer!
My update is hilarious! As I pushed myself to use up all the little bits up for things like soups and casseroles, etc., I made many lovely huge and double meals. Thus I filled my freezer up with even more larger items for future meals (ie freezer meals for future). Not frustrating as it's all useful and no waste; but so funny!
OMG I really need to do this! Thanks for the idea! Sometimes I buy food just because I don't feel like defrosting it but I have to change my bad habits with baby #2 on the way.