The Challenge – Inventory- The Freezer

OK, so now I have publicly committed to not going to the grocery store for at least a month and I  know I can do it. But it is important to plan ahead. Before I decided to do it, on the advice of a friend, I did an inventory of what I have here at the house. I canned a lot of tomatoes and I have winter squash everywhere but I really had lost track of what I had in my freezer. So I defrosted it a few days ago and did an inventory. Even if you aren’t trying to live off what you already have it is an important thing to do once in awhile. I got out a notebook and after all the ice had been scraped out and I was putting stuff back I listed it all.  Fact is I had more of some stuff than I remembered. Less of other stuff, too. Freezing foods is a very safe method to preserve food and to take advantage of sales but not if you don’t use the food eventually. Frozen foods are safe for a very long time but they lose quality after time. No sense in buying something to just toss it out later. After I scribbled all my freezer contents down I organized the list. It is now posted on the freezer with a magnet. Every time I take something out I put a little mark next to it. This way I can keep track of what I have used and I’ll know what I still have. Saves time searching for stuff, too.

I know now where I stand at least as far as the freezer goes. I have plenty of protein and more blueberries than I thought- which is a good thing. Tomorrow I’ll tackle the pantry.  🙂