Keeping track of the freezer.

Mark picked up our half-hog order from the farm yesterday and stowed it in the basement freezer.  I went down there this morning for a pork steak from the fridge and, as long as I was there, I unpacked all the individually wrapped cuts and counted them,  then restocked them in some semblance of order.

Right now I know everything that's in there, but come March or April I'll be digging through the bottom of the chest freezer, wondering, "Have I already used all the ham hocks?"  I've tried, other times, making a list of the cuts that are in there, posting it on the wall, and crossing them off as each is removed.  It never seems to work for very long.  Mostly, I think, because I generally don't carry a pencil downstairs with me when I go to the pantry (and don't tell me to tie one to the wall, I promise you the kids will find a way to run off with it).

So I had an idea today.  This would work for all you people who have a giant freezer or pantry full of stuff they need to keep track of, whether it's cuts of meat, once-a-month-cooking casseroles, or homemade preserves.

Here's my list on the wall above the freezer:

But I don't need to bring a pen down to cross stuff off, because I took a cue from the flyers on the coffee-shop bulletin board I was looking at yesterday:

See -- now all I have to do when I get a cut of pork out of the freezer is tear off one of the corresponding strips.  What's left on the list is what's left in the freezer.

Tonight we had one of the pork steaks, thinly sliced, over a spinach salad with white beans and red onions, tossed in a dijon-cider dressing.  Homemade wheat rolls on the side.  Two kids opted for PB&J, so one pound of meat easily fed the whole family.  I have decided it's a good idea to let them choose a meatless protein alternative -- as long as it isn't too complicated -- whenever they want.

Comments

[RealMom4Life]

Great idea! We've been getting pork and beef for over 15 years and every time we get it - I make a list. But, I was NEVER very good at crossing the items off. I can actually see your plan working at our house. Thanks

[Amy F]

Brilliant!! I too have had the only-up-to-date-for-a-month chest freezer problem and that looks like a great solution, at least for big things like the 1/4 beef we picked up last month. I could probably add my frozen fruit too, since that's done for the season. I suspect things I restock more often would be left off or forgotten, but if I at least knew the beef and fruit, I could handle hunting down the rest. Thanks so much!

[bearing]

Yes, this method isn't going to work for things you restock weekly. It would work for anything where you put a bunch of stuff in the freezer (or pantry) all at once, or at least you could do it right after you count what's in there. For instance -

- once a month cooking
- a bunch of meals made up in preparation for a new baby
- all your home-canned, home-frozen produce
- bulk deliveries from a frozen entree service
- a large warehouse purchase

or,

- right after having inventoried the freezer so that you can use up old things before defrosting it

You could maybe adapt it a little bit by including some blank strips that you could write on later. I wouldn't bother with frozen groceries, but if I freeze an unexpectedly large batch of leftovers, I could use a reminder that they're in there so that I actually use them instead of letting them get buried.

[Barbara C.]

How long before one of the kids starts pulling things off for fun? ;-)

[bearing]

Barbara, they'd have to pick a lock AND climb on the chest freezer.