Who Knew? Time to Organize your Fridge & Freezer

Great tips for organizing your fridge and freezer from guest blogger, Janna Lufkin.

Whoopie! Did you know that November is National Clean out Your Fridge Month? Me either… until Elizabeth informed me that I was ahead of the game (I cleaned mine last month)! Seriously? A whole month dedicated to the discovery of the icky, the sticky, the gooey and the furry? Yep.

Stuffing the turkey takes on a whole new meaning when you’re trying to make room for it in your over-stuffed fridge, so November is the perfect time to tackle this task.

I not only cleaned out my fridge, I went ahead and did the freezer too. Might as well, right? And I did something I’ve been meaning to do for years, create a Freezer Inventory Log so I know what I have and when I bought it. Now, I go to my “log” before I make my weekly grocery list. Brilliant!

My freezer log started out as nothing fancy. A small, re-purposed three-ring binder. I added a couple of dividers (I have an old fridge/freezer in my garage too), then divided the binder into Inside and Outside categories.

Next, I made a list of the items in each freezer and divided it up alphabetically and by the types of foods and added the date it was purchased. Note: Keep a marker by your fridge/freezer and write the date purchased on the item.

The Freezer Inventory Log is as simple as this:

INSIDE
Date: October 2009

Baking:
1 pkg. Pie Crust (9/09)
1 pkg. Puff Pastry (7/09)

Bread/Crackers:
1 Baguette (10/09)
2 Wheat Sandwich Bread (10/09)

Fruit:
1 pkg. (1lb) strawberries (8/09)

Beef:
1 pkg. Flank Steak (7/09)
2 Skirt Steaks (7/09)

Pork:
1 Tenderloin (9/09)

and so on….

Oh, and another discovery…once I did my binder I quickly realized I could just keep the list on my computer desktop (remember I’m older than Elizabeth, I did not grow up with technology). It’s easily updated and right there for quick reference.

Honestly, for someone who is perceived as being “so organized”, this one task had slipped by me for years. I can’t tell you how much food we’ve managed to eat up in the past month. Diver scallops – yum!

-Janna