My freezer doesn't shut!!

rozmister

I used to try very hard to be OS moneysaving but then I got a graduate job and started working long hours and my good intentions fell to the wayside.

However because of this our freezer barely shuts!! We've got so much food in the cupboards and yet we still do a weekly shop and I've decided enough is enough. We need to eat up those cupboards/freezer drawers and start afresh.

I'm hoping if we eat them all up it will save us some money too which is something I could do with at the moment! I work two jobs but I am about to start a better paid main job and plan to leave my second job which will be great for free time but means I must tighten my belt as there will be no mid month top up from my second wages anymore. I want to get into the habit of eating what's there instead of whimsically buying things on impulse because I fancy them leaving stuff stored away uneaten.

Has anybody got any kind words of wisdom to help me with this? My only plan so far is...make a list of what's in there??

honeythewitch

I often overdo the reduced supermarket bargains so I make a list of each food group and work out the meals from that, using the bulkier items first, and as soon as there is room in the freezer I arrange it in the same way so I dont have to wrestle it all back in every day.

pigpen

I open the door.. drag out the first thing I touch and plan a meal around that for the next day.. I usually decide I don't want to eat what I have planned by the time it comes to meal time so often improvise.. I always have loads of veg/potatoes/pasta/rice etc so it is easy enough to chop and change. A good store of herbs and spices and stuff is vital.. so it might be worth you stocking up on these rather than freezer stuffings.

I have sausages, chicken breasts and steak defrosted and looking like potential meals tonight..

madnotstupid

In the last few months I've tried making a meal plan for the month, trying to take into account what we are doing that day, and gearing the easiest meals to the busiest days. Then I batch cook and we eat from the freezer.
Each week we have at least one mince/beef-, chicken-, fish-, veggie-, pork/sausages-, etc based main meal so that we're not left with three days worth of chilli con carne at the end of the month and only supernoodles to go with it! Sometimes it feels a bit OTT and it takes a fair bit of planning, but it cuts down the number of visits to the shops. Also I'm not averse to changing, as long as I can swap one day's meals for another.

Might work just until you use things up.

bargainbetty

On the basis that my thought when doing a forced use-up of everything was 'I can't face this, I'm going to have a Chinese', don't try to do it all at once.

Set yourself one draw, or shelf or bag-load and just work your way through that. If you try to do everything at once, you'll go nuts.

Another hint is to go through and use up any ready-meal stuff first. I found that I was taking out a packet of mince and putting four or five portions of something back in. If you are already full to bursting, just take out bits that you can throw through pasta or on a baked spud, or eat as a whole meal and clear those first. Don't think you have to have the same thing for dinner as your OH - if you only have enough for one meal of something, he can cook something else for himself or vice-versa.

Try new recipes, exotic combinations and substitute things rather than buy ingredients.

Good luck

rozmister

Thanks for your advice guys I'm going to look for some new recipes tonight!

We have lots of herbs and spices already, I am a good cook it's just that my imagination has run away with me and what's planned for dinner has often ended up in the freezer!! I'm also a big fan of the yellow stickers and buy stuff that I have no real idea how I'll use. Now I have a freezer full and my imagination just looks in and goes :O holy crap!!

I would like a chinese for dinner tonight but instead I think I'll eat the 5 mini duck spring rolls I know are lurking in my freezer. And maybe an ice lolly for pudding.

If I defrost meat how long do I have to eat it in? There's a joint of lamb with a pomegranate rub on it that I want to use up but I'm worried that I'll take it out too early and it'll go off.

Emm-in-a-pickle

I have a similar problem OP. Every time I make a little freezer space I find something to fill it with. It`s willpower that`s needed!

unimaginative_user_name

When was the last time you defrosted your freezer? Whenever I defrost mine I list everything in it and plan meals based around the meat and fish. I keep my list on the freezer door and cross things off as I use them. I also find regular defrosting creates more space in my freezer and helps me to organise it more effectively.

I also have one shelf just for leftovers and occasionally we have a leftovers night where I bake some potatoes or cook some rice and everyone in the family gets to choose something to go with it!

pigpen

rozmister wrote: »

If I defrost meat how long do I have to eat it in? There's a joint of lamb with a pomegranate rub on it that I want to use up but I'm worried that I'll take it out too early and it'll go off.

I'd get joints out 2 days before I wanted them and defrost in the fridge..

lumps of meat (pork steaks for example) I get out the day before.

Stuff takes forever to defrost in my fridge so I usually put them in the fridge for the first 24 hours then stand in the slowcooker to finish off.. only to stop the cats eating it!

I sometimes just get stuff out of the freezer and leave it in the SC to defrost overnight and cook in the sc from about noon.

sweetilemon

unimaginative_user_name wrote: »

I also have one shelf just for leftovers and occasionally we have a leftovers night where I bake some potatoes or cook some rice and everyone in the family gets to choose something to go with it!

Just out of interest, do you deliberately make too much so there is left overs or is it a case of made more than needed shall freeze. TBH we very rarely have leftovers & if we did it would be worth freezing ie a bit of Naan bread/ something off someones plate. I just always see 'leftover' tips and wonder if its a deliberate thing like when I made a double batch & freeze.

Sorry, back to the OP, I had read this and thought 'oh mine doesnt either, the handles broken, i just wedge it in the door and it shuts' then I realised your problem. At least its freezer food which will keep. We have a tiny fridge freezer and although I'd love a big fridge / freezer (no room), that reason does put me off as I know I go through strange phases of things I buy, at least with a fridge I eat it within a week. Goodluck!

unimaginative_user_name

sweetilemon wrote: »

Just out of interest, do you deliberately make too much so there is left overs or is it a case of made more than needed shall freeze. TBH we very rarely have leftovers & if we did it would be worth freezing ie a bit of Naan bread/ something off someones plate. I just always see 'leftover' tips and wonder if its a deliberate thing like when I made a double batch & freeze.

Sorry, back to the OP, I had read this and thought 'oh mine doesnt either, the handles broken, i just wedge it in the door and it shuts' then I realised your problem. At least its freezer food which will keep. We have a tiny fridge freezer and although I'd love a big fridge / freezer (no room), that reason does put me off as I know I go through strange phases of things I buy, at least with a fridge I eat it within a week. Goodluck!

We're a family of three and recipes in books often serve four so for us there's an extra portion. Supermarket pre packaged meats are often aimed at four people eg. eight sausages in a pack, or at two,rarely at three.

I also try to stretch things like a 500g pack of mince to make two meals as it's more economical than making something from 250g. It also means that on busy nights there are leftovers in the freezer that can be used up or on days when DD and I are away and DH can just reheat something.