Works for Me Wednesday: Keeping Track of What's in Your Garage Freezer

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Phil and I have said for years that when we finally bought a house we'd have a freezer in the garage. My mom has had the same freezer for almost 30 years. I've seen how it helps her save money by buying in bulk. We wanted to be able to do the same.

We've been looking for a skinny upright freezer for ages but never found one we liked. We didn't want to get a chest freezer because we knew something would get buried on the bottom and get totally petrified and we'd have to throw it away, defeating the purpose of cost savings.

When we got our tax refund I threw in the towel on an upright and we bought a small chest freezer from Wal Mart. It took me awhile but I thought of a way that I can keep track of what's inside without having to open it and root around.

I had some leftover 3M picture hooks from Christmas (the kind with the non-permanent backing) and I stuck one to the outside of the freezer. I got a piece of paper, a pen, Sharpie and a sheet protector.


Whenever I go shopping, as I unload the groceries I write down exactly what I'm putting into the freezer along with a date and the quantity. When I take something out, I cross it off the list. Now, if I want to thaw something, say chicken breast, I can look at the list hanging on the side of the freezer and see if I have any chicken breasts and how many.


When I went to my mom's for Easter we went to Costco and split several items. I'm going to ask if any of my neighbors want to split a Costco run, an order from Omaha Steaks (their burgers are SO good!) or maybe a session at Dream Dinners (used to go all the time).

It's been really helpful to have a complete list, and with it hanging on the outside, I save energy not having to open the freezer to search in vain for something I thought was there but isn't.

For other things that work, head over to We Are THAT Family.

9 comments:

  1. i really want to do this, too!!! what a great idea to keep the list right on the freezer!

    i'm not sure if it would be economical enough just for me and my daughter, though... still waiting to make that decision!! :)

    i want one this size, though!!

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  2. @MissMelissa- There's only three of us. That's why splitting the costs work so well, lots of food but not enough that it goes to waste.

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  3. What a great idea. I need to start doing that.

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  4. I completely love this and was recently wanting to get a freezer so thanks for the heads up as to where to purchase..!!

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  5. I have really been wanting to get a freezer too. We just haven't been able to figure out where to keep it.

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  6. I've always wanted to have a garage freezer. I think it would really help for preparing meals in bulk.

    And I LOVE Dream Dinners. I need to plan another session. It's soooo nice to just be able to pull meals out of the freezer/refrigerator on days when things are a little too hectic to prep a home-cooked meal.

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  7. I love this! Have you checked out any of the freezer cooking concepts? Might be worth your time.

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  8. Mel, this is such a great idea! I've been wanting a deep freezer for such a long time, but haven't been willing to sacrifice the storage space yet.

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