6 VERY Simple Habits to Maintain Fridge Freezer Organisation
once you’ve Decluttered.
Well done, you did it.
That Fridge Freezer looks amazing – Now that you have done the hard work, you
will definitely want to keep it that way, right? So, I will give you some simple habits to
stop and make sure that the fridge doesn’t descend into chaos again.
These are very simple habits - I really do mean very simple
ones and they don't take up much of your time at all. Here's a list of things I
suggest you begin doing (if you're not already) to maintain your fridge/freezer
organisation.
Be Mindful of Your Leftovers
If are intending to eat the leftovers you’ve put in the
fridge - make sure you include them in your meal plan for the day or by planning
to eat them for lunch the following day.
Have a designated area in your fridge for leftovers. This will help you to be mindful of what
you've got. Once your family becomes used to looking in a certain place for the
leftovers, they will be able to quickly be able to spot what they want and eat
it so it doesn't go to waste. – It’s important that you keep the leftovers in
the same spot.
Try to place all leftovers in see-through containers, so
your family knows what it is, without having to open the container. Unless you are
using food storage labels on the leftover containers (labelling the date or
contents helps the family make an informed choice about what they want to eat).
On the flip side, if you know that you won't actually eat
the leftovers later, don't save them! To save money, just cook less so you
don't have leftovers. You know you.
Think about Reality You vs Fantasy You. Yes, Fantasy Dawn wants to keep the
leftovers and make a wonderful meal with them the day after, Reality Dawn
knows she has never ever done that, and probably never will.
Discard any Leftovers and Old Food every week
Do you make a shopping list or a Weekly meal plan? If so, this is the perfect time for Discarding
any spoiled food. This allows you to make a quick mental inventory of what
you've got in your fridge, so you:
a) Use it up – before it goes bad
b) Make room in the fridge for new food when you go shopping
c) Make sure you don’t buy any duplicate products whilst you're shopping or don’t forget that item that you actually went shopping for – Is it just me?
If, like me, you’re a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of
gal, and don’t make a shopping list or do a meal plan - why not try linking this
with the habit you have of taking out the rubbish.
Linking is a fantastic way to ensure that a new habit is
formed. For (a non-kitchen related) example: If you wanted to remember to put
your lipstick on every day – then you link it up with your already established the habit of brushing your teeth, so each day you would brush your teeth and then
put your lipstick on. After 30 days –
you have formed a new habit.
First In, First Out Rule (FIFO)
In The 30 Days to an Organised Kitchen Challenge, I discussed
the FIFO rule. The same principle applies
here. Use up the older milk before opening a new bottle, or the open packet of frozen
waffles before opening a new one. This helps ensure you don't wait so long to
eat something that it goes off – before you get around to eating it.
When stocking your refrigerator and freezer make it easy for
yourself to follow the rule by placing newer items in the back, or bottom of
the freezer, with older items up front or on top so they're easy to grab when
you need them.
Have a Shop your own Fridge Freezer Week
Even though something is in your freezer, it doesn’t last
forever – so you have to eat what's in your freezer, especially if you are a bulk-buyer,
a stocker-upper or if the item is on sale (no judgement here – I love looking
at the opps aisles. But if you don’t actually eat any of those bargains, and
they just get thrown away – because they have expired, got freezer burn, or you
have changed your diet - are they really a bargain?
One of the things my family does is try to make as many
meals during a week that uses up all the items in the freezer that are coming
up to their use-by date. Not only does
it:
· Cut down on the food wastage
· Saves us money during the week
· Clears space ready for new items coming in.
We like to do this a week or so before we go on holiday – so
if there is a problem without the electricity supply when we are away, we do not lose
all of our food. (Yes, we are covered on the house insurance, but that doesn’t cover
the stench of unfrozen week-old meat – Yuck)
This is also a good tip if you have an older freezer that
needs regular defrosting to keep it at its optimum performance.
Update Your Freezer Inventory as you use or add Food
I have been seeing these freezer inventory loads on Pinterest –
this is not something that I used to do.
However – since I started – it’s been a game changer – let me tell you
that. When you use it properly and consistently,
it really does help you to not only shop smarter but definitely does cut out
the wastage.
I created myself one - so I thought you might like it too - download your FREE Freezer inventory. It matches every other Printable I have created. I really hate it when you download mismatching worksheets - It's a pet peeve of mine ☹
Label EVERYTHING That Goes into Your Freezer
When I first started my Decluttering and Organising journey, my husband John, my kids and even my parent thought I had lost the plot – I was containerizing everything– and everything had its own label. (containerizing – is that even a word?) But working with my new system – I do believe they have come over to the “Dark Side” of organising. Even John has started containerising and labelling. I when I watch him doing it, I can’t help but have a smug smile – knowing how much he would skit me for it in the beginning.
But labelling certainly came into its own when I started
doing it in the freezer. It may seem a
little needlessly time-consuming, but it has saved us so much money, and the
potential for food poisoning 😊
Get into the habit of labelling the food that you put in
the freezer (both commercial and homemade frozen food). Have you ever pulled out your chicken breasts
and thought how long have they actually been in there? I know I have. Well once you get into the habit of labelling
you know exactly how old that breast is when you get it out (that sounded rude). Labels also come in handy if you have leftovers you can label them up with the contents and the date you put them in, so
you don’t have to try and guess what it was you made and when.
You should write on your freezer labels:
· Type of food that is in the container or bag
· Approximate servings of food in the container; and
· Date you placed it in the freezer
You don’t have to have labels as you can use a permanent
marker to write on many containers, however, I do worry about it rubbing off,
then you are no better off than if you hadn’t done it.
You can even use labels for condiments that are open – just mark
on the date it was opened, and then you will be able to tell when it is due to
be discarded and replaced.