Once upon a time, the freezer was my nemesis. I mean, I loved freezing thingsâthere are few things more satisfying than having a quart-sized container of homemade tomato sauce and meatballs
I tried stacking all the meat on one side, but every time I tried to pull a package of chicken breasts out, the whole stack would start to tilt and shift, threatening to pummel me with frozen poultry parts. I put store-bought freezer foods in another pile, sticking boxes in at increasingly inadvisable angles to help prop up the column of slippery meat. And in this way, a method best described as “the Shove-and-Pray,” I was usually able to get all of my frozen bananasAmy’s pizzas
The problem, of course, was getting anything out. Like a Jenga tower, or a suspension bridge, the equilibrium of the freezer depended on the shelves being stuffed to capacity. The removal of just one support beam (i.e. a bag of chicken gyoza
But then Pinterest
So when my coworker Adina mentioned that her freezer was in dire need of a makeover, I offered to bring my beloved label-maker over to her house and help her wrangle that freezer into shape. Here are some of the tips I gave her as we sorted through the mystery soup, Cornish game hens
Some people rely on their freezer to store heat-and-eat dishes that they can get on the table in minutes. Other people might want easy access to their stockpile of ice cream sandwiches. Adina’s freezer contained a lot of interesting, unusual ingredients, like dried mushrooms or Polish dumplings, many of which she had brought back from her travels. She needed to be able to see and find these ingredients, so she’d remember to use and enjoy them before they went bad.
Before you start organizing, it’s time to go full Marie Kondo and throw away any food that doesn’t “spark joy.” Don’t know what it is or how long it’s been in there? No joy in that; toss it. Don’t feel guiltyâit’s time for a fresh, food poisoningâfree start.
