Having a freezer clean-out week can be a great way to minimize food waste, organize your freezer, and make room for new items.
Whether you have regular freezer in your refrigerator, or a deep freezer for storage, a clean-out week can help you use up forgotten ingredients, reduce clutter, and rediscover items you may have overlooked.
Here are some steps for a successful freezer clean-out week!
Take Inventory
Start by taking inventory of the items in your freezer. Go through all of your freezer items, checking for expiration dates, freezer burn, and any items that you no longer want or need.
Make a list of the items you plan to keep and any ingredients you want to use up during your clean-out week.
Organize Your Freezer
Once you’ve sorted through the items in your freezer, organize them into categories such as meats, vegetables, fruits, prepared meals, and baked goods. Use storage containers, baskets, or bins to keep similar items together and make it easier to find what you need.
Also organize according to expiration dates, or even create a dedicated area for foods that are near their expiration, so that you can work on getting rid of those first.
Plan Your Meals
Use the ingredients you found in your freezer to plan your meals for the week.
Get creative, use meal planning tools, and think of ways to incorporate different items into your meals, such as using frozen vegetables in soups, or adding meat to stir fry. Frozen peas can be used in rice or chana masala, frozen broccoli can be used for cheddar-broccoli soup.
A good strategy is to use those ingredients in a way so that you can have noticeable savings on your grocery bill.
Prepare homemade sauces, stocks, or marinades and freeze them in ice cube trays or small containers for easy portioning.
Cook in bulk
Consider cooking in batches during your clean-out week to make the most of your ingredients and save time in the kitchen. Prepare large batches of soups, stews, casseroles, or other freezer-friendly meals that you can portion out and freeze for later use. This is a great way to plan ahead for busy weeknights or be able to bring meals to work for lunch.
No Eating Out
Your freezer clean out week should include a spending freeze on no eating out for the week! Your grocery bill should also be much lower.
Rotate Items
After your freezer clean-out week, make an effort to regularly rotate the items in your freezer to ensure that nothing gets forgotten or wasted. Use a first-in, first-out system to prioritize older items and prevent them from becoming freezer burnt or expired.
Consider creating a meal plan or inventory list to help you keep track of what’s in your freezer and plan meals accordingly.
By following these steps, you can have a successful freezer clean-out week and make the most of the ingredients you have on hand. With a little planning and creativity, you can reduce food waste, organize your freezer, and enjoy delicious meals made with items from your freezer stash.
I need to do this. Our freezer is pretty full right now. I do need to plan my meals better.
I really need to organize mine. These are great tips that I will do when I have the free time to organize my freezer.
I really need to do this but I’ve been putting it off. Cooking in bulk is a great suggestion.
It’s such a relief to have a plan for minimizing food waste and making the most of what we have. I’m definitely going to take inventory and get creative
These are really good ideas for cleaning out the freezer. Cleaning out the freezer and refrigerator is not my favorite thing, but this post encourages me to get the freezer done.
I need to do more organizing, and we do eat from our freezer, plus we plan meals as well and we change it up as well. Thanks for sharing these tips
Freezer clean out weeks are great for the reasons listed! Especially to take inventory of what you already have.
These are great tips. I always rotate my freezer items to ensure everything stays fresh.
I really need to clean out my freezer. It’s been so long. I shudder to think of what might be in there!
I was just saying to my husband earlier today that our freezer needs a good clean and sort out. Will have to do it soon
This is fantastic advice, thank you! A freezer clean-out is honestly something I’ve been putting off for too long. I like the idea of making it a week-long activity and using up those forgotten ingredients. It feels like a fun challenge to try and create meals with what I find.
I really need to go through my deep freezer. I know i had some very old food in there. Maybe next week before trash day I’ll do this painful task. I hate throwing stuff out but it’s been in there way too long.
I clean out my freezer about once per quarter, especially as hurricane season approaches. Thanks for the tips about how to do it.
i do this once in a few weeks as well for the freezer (and more often for the fridge…)
My friend just did this the other day and took a few items that were expired. Great and informative post about freezer cleaning. Thank you for sharing!
I am definitely going to do this. I agree with you about cooking in bulk in that way we can use as much ingredients as we can and start clearing out our freezer. Thank you fo reminding us that no eating out and to add – no food deliveries too!
Thanks for the nudge. I need to clean my freezer. It’s pretty full right now, and lately, I have been very ad hoc about my meals. I need to plan my meals better.