Chris wrote:

> "~patches~" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Nine trays of lasagne various sizes waiting to be sealed for freezing.
>>http://tinypic.com/f57gi0.jpg
>
>
>
> Patches, you must have one humongous freezer!! :-) How do you keep
> track of what's in there and where?
>
> Chris
>
>
Actually, I have 3 freezers - an 18 cf, 8 cf, and the freezer
compartment of the side-by-side fridge. I have a fairly rigid system
for the freezers. All have freezer content lists to keep them organized
and the food rotating on a regular basis. A good site to get an idea of
the content check lists is organizedhome.com but there are others. I
use Excel to make my own checklists. The check list for the two chest
freezers are taped to the inside of the top. The large freezer contains
bulk purchased beef, pork, poultry, and fish. These are always put in a
certain order so I know right where they are and the check lists help to
let me know when I'm getting low on something. I seldom buy meats or
fish at the grocery store. The large freezer also contains meals I
prepare ahead during bulk cooking sessions like the lasagne session and
some veggies. The small chest freezer contains mainly home frozen
veggies and provides extra room for any overflow from the largest
freezer. The freezer compartment of the side-by-side has 5 shelves, a
basket, and the door shelves. Each shelf holds a specific item e.g. top
shelf holds ice cube trays, second shelf holds ready made meals, etc.
Food from the large freezers is rotated to the appropriate shelf for the
week. When done properly by the end of the week this freezer is
relatively bare with the exception of herbs, juices, and ice cubes. I
restock this freezer on Saturdays.

BTW, I use the same type of check lists for dried foods, misc. foods,
condiments, and dried herbs & spices. I don't need a check list for
home canned goods as they are all on a rack in rows of 5 where I can
monitor what I have and what I need.

A note on my system: I keep at least a year's supply of food & supplies
on hand at all times. We have a large family and while the kids are on
their own they do help themselves to any food we have, no questions
asked. We supplement a couple on a regular weekly basis. I *do not*
grocery shop with the exception of dairy, juices, and veggies during the
winter months. The health food store actually gets more of our money
than the grocery stores do! I have a large garden and preserve a lot of
those veggies. I get all the free tomatoes I want so preserve to my
heart's content just about every tomato product you can imagine. We
live in an area where produce is very cheap so we preserve to take
advantage of that and last from season to season. We also live in a
rural area which means sometimes during the winter we can't get to the
stores for several days and we have to drive a distance to get groceries
something I prefer *not* to do. I used to like it when we had milk
delivery but they stopped delivery about 5 yrs ago. I still get my eggs
delivered to the house I *do not* buy meats or fish at the grocery
store unless I want to experiment with a dish so only need a small
amount of a certain meat. The local m&p grocery is good for this but it
has just changed ownership so that may not be the case anymore after
mid-Nov. Beef & pork is bought from the farmers and I have to allow
time for this to be ready which is one reason. For example, when I
start getting low on beef, I call the farmer then might have to wait
upwards of 6 weeks before the beef is ready to go to the abbitoir and
another couple of days before it is cut to my specification, then I have
to go pick it up. So careful monitoring of my food stock is important.
We don't have a root cellar for things like apples, squashes, and root
veggies. DH rigged up an insulated closet type thing in the garage for
storage of these things. It keeps any rodents out and helps get us
through the winter months. Fish is either purchased in bulk from the
local fishery, traded for with a neighbour, or caught by ourselves. We
eat a lot of fish.

Our method for food is certainly not everyone's cup of tea. I'd rather
spend my time in the garden, fishing, or in the kitchen instead of in
some brightly lit grocery store full of frankenfoods blaring horrid
music while kids scream, mothers beg then threaten, little old ladies
chat & block the ailses, etc. The grocery store is just not a pleasant
experience for me.