# How do you keep up with food storage?



## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

I think this falls under organizing...

This past year my DH bought me a huge freezer. I told him it was way too big and I would never be able to fill it. Well, it's full as well as both fridge freezers. LOL I've got an idea about what's in there, but I'd like to have an exact count so I know what I don't need to buy. For example, I keep buying whole chickens because I think we don't have any. Now I have _at least_ four in two different freezers. I've made a freezer inventory sheet and I'm hoping I can keep up with it. Does anyone use anything like this, if so do you keep it up to date? 

Also, what about the other stuff. I have several cabinets of food in my basement. I don't try to keep count of the home canned items, I always have more than we can eat in a year anyway so I don't even think of buying more. I tried once to make an inventory, but we have too many different items and it was several pages long. However, if y'all think it would work I have no problem making another one. 

I prefer to laminate these so I can reuse them. Maybe I should just make blank lists and write in what we have.  I like to hang my inventories and such on the side of my fridge so laminating helps keep them clean too. Okay, now I'm just rambling... 

:help:

P.S. Just so you know this all started because I'm trying to plan our meals a month at a time, using what I already have. I try to pick up next month's meats when they are marked down or on a deep sale at my local grocery. TIA


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## themamahen (Jun 26, 2005)

Very good question I need help as well so ill be watching this thread. I have a stand up freeser and 3 sheves so I group my things into piles lol the canned goods are a mess! i dont worry about things like tomatoes and such but things like chili beans and pork n beans i think im always out! Maybe if you group your meats in you freezer section of your fridge would be a good place to start, I am moving back to KY this year YEAHHH for me


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

This summer we emptied out the freezer anticipating that we were getting a quarter of beef and wanted to make sure we were not wasting food... we totally emptied it out- as we were we wrote everything down- when it was emptied we cleaned it out...
the next day I made a paper with sections for meat/veggies/misc/frozen those kinda things - and numbers besides them so that we knew how much we had....we placed the paper on the freezer and put a pen on the near it.. I had everyone cross out the number and minus one everytime we took one out...


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## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

themamahen said:


> Maybe if you group your meats in you freezer section of your fridge would be a good place to start, I am moving back to KY this year YEAHHH for me


When I first got the freezer I had a shelf for each meat; beef, pork and poultry. The bottom "basket" is full of corn. Then my brother gave me a whole deer. Umm, beef? LOL 

:bouncy: Congrats on moving back. What area, if you don't mind me asking?



Becka03 said:


> This summer we emptied out the freezer anticipating that we were getting a quarter of beef and wanted to make sure we were not wasting food... we totally emptied it out- as we were we wrote everything down- when it was emptied we cleaned it out...
> the next day I made a paper with sections for meat/veggies/misc/frozen those kinda things - and numbers besides them so that we knew how much we had....we placed the paper on the freezer and put a pen on the near it.. I had everyone cross out the number and minus one everytime we took one out...


I probably should empty and start over with my inventory. But it's cold in my basement and add to that standing in front of the freezer and handling the cold food. Brrrr! I guess it is time to move a heater down there.


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## Guest (Jan 10, 2012)

I don't keep any kind of inventory recorded. I just keep like items together, which helps me keep a pretty good idea in my head of what I've got. I almost never run out of anything.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

KyMama said:


> When I first got the freezer I had a shelf for each meat; beef, pork and poultry. The bottom "basket" is full of corn. Then my brother gave me a whole deer. Umm, beef? LOL
> 
> :bouncy: Congrats on moving back. What area, if you don't mind me asking?
> 
> ...



LOL- yea ours is too! we did it in August during a heat wave - 2 birds with one stone- cooled off handling the frozen food and cleaned the freezer!
I used gloves though - even in the heat- cause the food is so cold!


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## Oak Leaf (Sep 14, 2011)

If you basement is chilly, dress in outside clothes. Put on a jacket and gloves when handling frozen food. That's how they do it in the store.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

We purchased metal utility shelves such as they use in garages. They are not lined up flat against the wall but rather like library shelves set in the open with a narrow aisle between. They have to be bolted to the floor though otherwise you could end up with a domino fall of shelves. I have a note book for each shelving unit and have all similar items grouped on one shelf or unit. I record what I put in and subtract what I take out.


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## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

My kids would think I had lost my mind if I got dressed in my coat and gloves then went to the basement. LOL I will definitely have to dress warmer though. I have a small space heater that I will probably take down just to take the chill out of the air. 

I'd love to have more metal shelves. I only have a small one down there down that has my canners and such on it. Maybe with out tax refund I can get some more and arrange them the way you described. Do you hang the notebook on the shelf?


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## MontanaKJ (Aug 10, 2009)

Here is how we organized 3 freezers, a pantry closet and the new root cellar:

1) In the root cellar all items are sorted "case lot" style. I keep the boxes that the jars came in and reuse to stack in the root cellar on Gorrilla metal shelves. Home canned items are assigned a "barcode". 

2) For the freezer, I bought storage containers with lids and handles. All of my meat is bought in large quantaties and then vaccuum sealed into smaller bags. Each storage container is labeled "Chicken Breast", "Ribeye" etc. - Each of these items is assigned a "barcode". 

3) No more than 6 of each item is allowed in the pantry (canned goods, boxed items). This should be a month supply for every item with rotation. All extra is stored in the root cellar.

4) Downloaded the app "out of milk" for the smartphone (there is also a thread on HT for the program to do this on your computer), but I like the portability. "Out of milk" allows you to scan/upload barcodes for all the items in your pantry/freezer and the # of each item that you have.

5) As an item is removed from the pantry/freezer, scan the barcode with you smart phone to remove the item from your inventory.(or manually delete if using the computer program). Once that item reaches "0", the app automatically moves the item over to the shopping list function. 

This process is not full proof, but did wonders for organizing and making more room in the freezer. Good luck with the organization!!


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## Charleen (May 12, 2002)

We have a white-board on the door of each freezer. Much easier to use than paper & pen.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

Once a year, DH empties the freezer and cleans it. In fact, he'd going it this Saturday. He then writes and inventory of what we have which I enter on the computer.

Every time something is added or subtracted from the freezer, it's written on a white board which is on the front of the refrigerator.

An example is: +1 1/2 # bread which means I added a loaf of bread to the freezer.

After there are a few additions and subtractions on the board, it goes on the inventory.


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## nancy237 (May 29, 2008)

Another whiteboard user here (if that is what I call a dry erase board)
Its attached to the side of the freezer and easy to mark/add/subtract ect.
Mine is long and I divide it like the shelves of the freezer.


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## equinecpa (Mar 21, 2011)

I love the ideas here. Organizing my freezer is on my to do list for this year. I'm moving in May so that'll be a good time to start from scratch. 

I bought my freezer to house my dogs raw food but they are kind enough to share with me. It's a small chest freezer and I'm always rummaging to find things. Of late when I buy beef for them I put it into daily portions, then ziplocs and then I just put it into a large recycled plastic bag. It's amazing how much easier it is to find their food now. One bag is beef, the other is chicken.

I want to get rid of the ziplocs though...I recycle them but after a couple of uses they hit the trash. Anyone have good freezer storage containers for meat?

When I clean out the freezer, I'll try a white board for the rest of the stuff.


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## mabeane (Jun 5, 2010)

Hmm? Hadn't thought of a white board. I have inventoried but then don't use the list??? I guess I'm always addled...haha.


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## wagvan (Jan 29, 2011)

What I have heard people do is they don't even bother with a whiteboard. They just use a wipe off marker and write directly on the fridge or freezer door. If you have a black one, you can use a neon one or a chalk marker. Works great!


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

wagvan said:


> What I have heard people do is they don't even bother with a whiteboard. They just use a wipe off marker and write directly on the fridge or freezer door. If you have a black one, you can use a neon one or a chalk marker. Works great!


Unfortunately, the wipe off marker sometimes leaves a stain! It did on my white refrigerator.

For awhile, I had 3# hamb written on the front! :smack


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