Marie Kondo doesn’t say anything specific about freezer organization but that doesn’t mean we can’t apply the KonMari™ to sort it out.
- Get everything out, don’t cherry pick
- Sort like with like
- Do you love it? Does it Spark Joy? Keep it. If not, let it go.
- Get rid of bulky packaging
- Store like with like
My new organized freezer approach is working a treat! By Nikki Prelogar
- “Gone are the days spent rummaging through the drawers of my freezer first thing in the morning looking for some inspiration for supper!Or trying to ram a large carton of mince into a freezer drawer alongside the other 2 frozen solid in there!
- Bought a nice little notebook
- Bought zip up freezer bags in all sizes
- Emptied everything out of the freezer drawers… wear gloves!Swopped bulky packaging for bags and sorted everything using drawer divers/baskets
- 1 drawer for anything chicken
- Fish
- Meat
- ½ for desserts & ½ for frozen vegetables
- Wrote contents and date on each package
- Listed the contents in my notebook
Now in the morning over a cup of tea I leisurely review my list and choose what’s for supper.
I cross it off when it’s taken out, consult my freezer list before writing my weekly shopping list and update my notebook when I add anything new to the freezer.
It’s not a big job and saves oodles of time in the long run!
There’s a bonus!
I love a bargain …. if I see something in the reduced aisle I now know if I have room in my freezer to buy now – eat later!
I cook double portions all the time and now have space in my organized freezer to store the extra in bags for a busy day!”
I love Nikki’s tips but as I’m not a freezer-lover I have to add a bit of realism to my organization:
How often and what do you cook from the freezer, be honest
In our house we should only ever freeze ice-cream & cubes, peas, chicken breasts and salmon pieces; that’s all we use on a regular basis. Bits of left-overs, baked goods and odd pieces of meat/fish is more often than not binned as they never seem to appeal to us and then linger too long.
It’s only a bargain if you use it
Nikki is a brilliant bargain hunter but how many of us are? We see a supermarket offer, freeze it and a year later realise it’s well be its best date. ‘Shop’ from your freezer before you head to the shops.
Change the freezer lay-out if you don’t love it
Remove a shelf, get rid of a basket or add smaller baskets. Use colour coding, fancy clips or pretty labels. Try a storing things differently – if you still can’t see or find what you need, try something else. The KonMari Method™ teaches us to recognise what Sparks Joy and take action if it doesn’t.
Keep air out
Nobody likes their chicken with freezer-burn. Use strong quality freezer bags and take care to squeeze the air out.
Freeze in portions
Wrap individual chicken breasts and salmon pieces in film before putting them in the freezer bag.
And keep a pair gloves near the freezer, it’s a game changer.
