...and dinner's in the crockpot.
On Sunday, I cleaned out the chest freezer and the one on the kitchen frig. I also had to defrost our older model chest freezer. It wasn't too full, so it seemed like a good time for the job. I pulled its plug, and sorted its contents, getting rid of the insanely old. We propped a fan to blow into the chest, and it was defrosted in a couple of hours.
A side note - I always kind of know what I have purchased and put into the freezer. But then, my inlaws clean out their freezers, and pass along their castoffs. We eat what doesn't look too old and frostbitten, but unfortunately, most of the food should have been thrown. To my inlaws though, someone should get to use it, even if they can't, and no one else should. Oh well, we're just that extra step to the garbage sometimes- what the inlaws don't know, doesn't hurt them!
A side note to the side note - the inlaws do this with 'things' too. I cringe when I hear they are cleaning out the corners in their house. They invite our girls to help, which is great, but then they send home lots of 'too good to throw' things. That's another long story... They mean well, and we do respect that a lot, and deal with it all (things and food) accordingly.
Anyway, back to my clean freezers. They look wonderful, if I may say so myself. I also wrote a quick tally of what are in them, and making plans for meals, so I don't pass along too old frozen food to my children - you know,once they move out and are on their own and all. (Boy, didn't know how much planning went into keeping insanely old frozen food! I should really give my inlaws credit in ths feat.)
Yesterday, I put a close to too old beef roast in the crockpot, and cooked it until shreddable for sandwiches. Today, with a bit of cooler, rainier weather, I'm putting on my favorite crockpot minestrone.
I'm relishing my clean freezer time - once the kids start rummaging around in there, well, it never lasts too long, does it?!
Take care!
Cleaned the Freezers...
August 12th, 2008 at 01:49 pm
August 12th, 2008 at 02:11 pm 1218550317
August 12th, 2008 at 02:41 pm 1218552073
August 12th, 2008 at 03:11 pm 1218553908
I too think it's a bit of guilt at having bought so much stuff through the years, and then not needing it anymore. I figure if it helps them clean out on their own, I'm ok being the go-between of their stuff. When my mom couldn't live on her own anymore, due to early-onset Alzheimer's/dementia, and we cleaned out her house...well, all I can say is that I appreciate my inlaws' efforts.
It also makes me all the more aware of what I keep. I find the experience with our parents, plus a small house, helps keep a limit on it all.