My freezer is always a mess. It's small, so there really isn't that much we could do with it, but everything is always jumbled and tangled together.
We try to not be wasteful, so there are always containers and freezer bags with random buns and bread ends, cooked meats or stews, soups that no one liked much but I saved anyway.
I can never keep track of what we buy or use, so I try to keep an inventory list.
An inventory list that The Mister never updates when he takes stuff out, that I
forget to update when I put stuff in, that gets chucked in the recycling bin after a
few weeks when I get frustrated that it's no longer up to date.
But I persist.
I have no motivation for menu planning and cooking any more, so knowing what I
have to work with is more important than ever.
This time I tried a slightly different method than my usual handwritten list - I made a "spreadsheet". (I use quotes because people who actually use spreadsheets would
laugh at what I call one, but whatevs.)
I started with my usual handwritten, illegible, unorganized list.
Then I put the information into a computer, and tried to group it by categories that seemed helpful - meats, breads, potatos....
When it came to items that I had multiples of - like ground beef and turkey, instead of writing the number 3 to show I had 3 packs, I did 3 lines, apart, so in theory if I take one out of the freezer, I just cross off one line and that shows I have 2 left, and that should be correct. In theory.
The printed copy hangs in my kitchen.
So far, so good!
