I needed to find something in our chest freezer the other day. As chest freezers tend to be, it was quite disorganized. I knew the item I needed was located waaaaay down at the bottom, so I was prepared for a deep dive.
But as I moved things aside, I realize just how much in the freezer came from our own efforts. I pushed aside dozens of packages of beef (cube steaks, tenderloin, ground beef), sliced strawberries, diced garlic waiting to be canned, homemade ricotta pizza sauce made from our own milk, bags of frozen green onions, bags of blueberries also waiting to be canned, and rolls of butter.
What a blessing to live on a homestead.
Amen.
ReplyDeleteIt is the same way in our freezers. Home raised beef, home grown cabbage, green beans, carrots, lard rendered from our pig (in glass jars - prevents rendition during storage), blackberries, peaches, wild plums waiting to be made into jam/jelly - good eating and money saved (the price of beef!) I freeze flour for 2 weeks before putting it in a container to use, to eliminate the possibility of any bugs too.
ReplyDeleteOhhhhhh my, oh my.
ReplyDeleteDo I feel your pain indeed… LOL
I don’t have a “Homestead” per-say, but I do LOVE my Abundant Garden and the Preparedness Lifestyle. Yes “Lifestyle” not a fad “thing to do”.
But I regress.
As far as finding “stuff” in the bottom of a Chest Freezer, here’s my trick.
Now before anyone says “Oh but you lose room, yes, I do, but guess what, accessing the goods without removing 90% of what in the freezer is worth the slight loss.
So, scrounge up a few “Milk Crates” (I like the Plastic Ones) that will fit and stack well in the freezer, end to end, and/or side by side. Work out how to set them in the freezer with as little loss in space as possible.
AND if you have an open slot at one end that’s not a problem, there is always a way to utilize that space.
Now the hard part, remembering in which crate you placed XYZ. If it’s in one of the bottom crates, then simply pull off the top crate and there you go.
And yes, you can pack a create rather tight with any-everything you want. I try to sore the “stuff” in each crate to similar items, say, Bacon and Sausage in one, Frozen Fruit in another. You will be surprised how much you can put into a single crate.
PS: I know some will try to use Carboard Boxes, have tried that myself…. Nope, after a short while they seem to self-destruct and dump everything out just as you’re holding it in midair heading for the table/bench.
Go on, ask me how I know LOLOL