In the Kitchen - Solving the Freezer Inventory Problem

A week or so ago I wrote a blog about using the foods I had prepared for the freezer and pantry.  Since then we have had blackberry cobbler, used some frozen cauliflower, other frozen vegetables, and some of the frozen meat.  I feel like I am making headway on that freezer stockpile finally.

One problem I seem to have is remembering what is in that deep freeze.  Even the small upright freezer which sits in the garage contains food wrapped such that it is hard to identify unless I stand in the open door, letting all the cold out, and rummage.  I seem to do that entirely too much!  I was thinking about a list on the outside of the freezer that I could keep up to date but did not like the idea of having to keep that list up as I added and removed foods from there.

Then I ran across an old whiteboard that I found in the back of the hall closet.  Do you have one of those closets that is a catch-all for everything you don't know what to do with?  That is our hall closet.  I was in there cleaning it out last week so I could take inventory on coats, boots, mittens and scarves with cold weather approaching, when I found that little whiteboard in the back.  I parked it in the kitchen thinking I could write notes to myself or keep a grocery list going.  Mike quickly reminded me that it would be tough to tote that whiteboard to the store with my grocery list on it, and he was right...  so we quickly went back to a paper grocery list and continued looking for a good use for that whiteboard. 

I have a history with whiteboard utilization.  I think perhaps I have always been on the hunt for the perfect fool-proof way to stay organized and remember all that I am supposed to do.  I remember about 10 years ago, when I had a desk job and was required to run back and forth to meetings all day.  My to-do list was long and forever changing.  I tried little notebooks to keep notes in but lost them easily.  So I tried a little whiteboard to keep notes on.  I thought I was very smart when I thought of that.  I would not lose a whiteboard and I could keep the list current without creating a lot of new lists.  That worked well for a few days until I was walking down the hall one day with the whiteboard sitting on top of a stack of books I was carrying.  When I got to the meeting and sat down, everyone noticed 2 things right away.  One was that there was a large portion of the writing on the whiteboard smeared and erased (I had lost some critical information, I was sure, but could not remember what had been written there).  The other noticeable thing (and something I have never lived down) was that the wipe-off marker was ALL OVER my white shirt.. right on the left...ummm... how do I say this(?)...  chest area.  I had to wear that shirt the rest of the day and obviously quit walking around with a whiteboard!! 

Sorry to digress from my freezer story but I thought you should know my sordid whiteboard history.  A thought was forming in my mind that this whiteboard might solve my freezer problems.  I took a quick inventory of the outside freezer once again, and made notes on the whiteboard.  That was a couple of days ago and it has come in very handy.  The board sits on top of the freezer (so I don't accidentally wipe out my inventory list) and today I pulled a pork roast out and updated the whiteboard.  I don't have to stare inside the freezer and move stuff around anymore to know what is in there and the list stays handy and updated easily. 

I think I have the solution!!  I may one day fasten that whiteboard to the front of the freezer so it is handier but for now it lays on top. 

This list gives me some comfort as well as being practical.  It makes it like a menu in a restaurant when I am looking to plan a meal.  I really like it.