What's that clump of ice in the freezer?


This is a re-run from July for this week's Works for Me Wednesday. I have found this tool to be one of my most useful when it comes to shopping, meal planning and just flat out knowing what is in my freezer. I hope it works for you, too! For more great hints, check out this week's Works for Me Wedenesday at We are THAT family!

I'm like most of you reading this, I have the need for a second freezer to keep up with my family's ever growing appetite. The problem is, half the time I forget what is in the freezer; especially as new things are added to the stockpile.

I needed to come up with an easy to use way of keeping track of what I had in there. Both to keep me from buying duplicates and to keep things from going to waste. But what?

Finally it hit me. I needed a simple checklist.



I had been reading and following The 30 Day Gourmet for awhile, so I adapted one of theirs to work for me. The first set of columns uses a slash to show how many I have of an item. When I take one out to use, I make the slash into an "X" so I know it's gone. Now, there's no guessing. The checklist stays in a clear plastic pouch on the front of my freezer with a pencil attached so it's always ready to use. Problem solved!




Comments

Debbie said…
Now, if that isn't just the cleverest thing! Love that idea.
Dropped by from SITS.
SugarandSpice said…
I really love the new stuff you come up with! So organized:)
Brilliant. I've been trying to figure out an easy way to keep track of stuff without having to rewrite my list when I make subtractions/additions. The slash turning to an x is the solution. Thank you!
Sheryl said…
My main problem with the freezer is that our 2nd one is in the garage and doesn't always get shut all of the way. It's unbelievable how much frost can build up.

Let me know if your list works.
Jingle said…
This is a great idea! Thanks for stopping by my blog yesterday!
Amanda said…
What a great idea. Right now I have a master list on my computer that I print out and post on the fridge. Then we cross out stuff when it is used, write it in when we buy new stuff, and once it is a big mess, type up the changes and re-print. I like the x out idea though, so we may be changing our system. :)
Buffie said…
I love this idea. When I finally get my freezer I'm going to have to try it out. Thanks.
Fabulous idea friend. Thanks for sharing. Thanks also for your support during this awful fire. I really appreciate your kindness.
Anonymous said…
nice post. thanks.