I have a standard freezer along with a deep freezer, and I am always forgetting about things on the bottom of the freezer - sometimes to the point where by the time I realize that they are there, they can no longer be safely eaten.
Wasted food equals to wasted money - and let's face it.... Wasting money sucks.
I began with emptying everything out of my freezer and lining it up on every inch of available space in my kitchen. Then, I scraped off all the ice that had accumulated on the inside walls of the freezer, and gave it all a good cleaning.
My main purpose here was to keep track of what is inside of my freezer so making an inventory system was a must. What I did was print out the free freezer inventory printable that can be found here. I wanted to be able to reuse the same sheet over and over - and edit it as needed without having to print it out again. So, I took my printable sheet over to Staples and had them laminate it for me. While I was there, I bought a pack of wet erase markers - not be to be confused with dry erase markers! Wet erase markers can only be erased with a damp cloth while dry erase markers can be erased with a dry cloth.
As I put each item back into my freezer, I wrote down what the item was on my inventory sheet until everything was processed and put back inside. Afterwards, I taped the sheet onto the top of my freezer for easy access. When items get taken out, I just use a baby wipe and get rid of that item - and when items get added to the freezer, they get inventoried on my little sheet.
Now, I know exactly what is located inside my freezer - and there will be no more forgotten food.
