Kitchen: A Cheesy Solution

Cheese can be very expensive, and so I stock up on it when it is on sale...some cheeses freeze more readily than others.  
I like to purchase shredded cheeses in 8 oz packages...no more than 16 oz packages.  The pre-paks tend to thaw and remain shredded, not clumped up.
American cheese (not the cheese food) was the one I was having the biggest problem with.  We liked a certain brand that was sold in 5 pound bricks!  While the cheese would stay "good" for a long period of time, it eventually would get a crusty film on it.  It was still "good", not spoiled, but the texture was not so good.  Beside that, the amount of space a 5 pound brick of American cheese takes up is quite a lot in a small side by side refrigerator/freezer.
I tried dividing up the cheese into manageable half-pound packages and freezing...but there was a problem at the time of thawing...frost crystals had built up on the surface of the cheese and as it thawed in the refrigerator that moisture would make the exposed surface areas soggy.  
To prevent that from happening, I found that wrapping an absorbent paper towel around the cheese just prior to placing it in the fridge to thaw--all the moisture was absorbed into the toweling and no surface "sog" happened.
I suppose I could invest in one of those vacuum sealers, but I don't want to bring in any more equipment into my already inundated kitchen--let alone the expense of the bags themselves.
A simple, inexpensive solution, using common sense. 

Kitchen: CHEST FREEZER ORGANIZATION SOLUTION

My chest type freezer is a huge money saving asset, but it is an older one and there is only one small basket, with no dividers…creating havoc for ever FINDING anything when you want it. 
Things get lost in that great cavern of cold.  I have tried crates and boxes and systems, with no great results. 
If you are short, (like me),  trying to reach things on the bottom can result in basically standing on your head and extending your arm beyond it’s normal reach. 
I have been pondering how to solve these situations--and I THINK I am on my way.

Mesh Laundry or Stow bags!!

I had been in a dollar store a few weeks ago and noticed a large selection of various colored mesh laundry bags.  I needed to replace my husbands stow bags for camping, so I bought two in a dark green.  He told me he only needed one, so I had an “extra”.
I thought I would just put it back for later use, as it only cost a dollar.

Shortly thereafter, I was standing on my head, trying to locate a roast I wanted to get out of the freezer…but had to keep taking out stuff--which kept falling over in the way--
I was uncomfortable, letting all the cold air out, and generally frustrated!

Suddenly, the idea of using that extra mesh bag came to mind.  I retrieved that extra bag and placed all the pork products in it.  Hmmm……that seems like it might work.  The store had offered a wide variety of bags when I was there last, so I decided to purchase based on color coding.  Orange for cheese, pink for pork, light green for frozen veggies….etc.

Well, I waited too long, I guess, as when I returned to make my purchase, there were only one orange and one more dark green, and quite a few white mesh bags.  I was disappointed in the lack of colors, but sorting the items in the freezer was of the utmost importance, so I brought home what they had.

All the chicken went in one bag, all the ground beef in another, game meats in yet another.  The bright orange for the cheese was very helpful.  I will watch to see if the dollar store gets in some more colored mesh bags, so I can use the color code system.

When the freezer is less full, crates can be placed upside down, to raise the bottom of the freezer.

Even if you have a newer freezer, with all those great dividers, you still have to stand on your head and remove all the stuff to get at the things on the bottom, so this would help in that case too.
 
My mother has an up right freezer, but still things would get lost or buried in there.
She is using some mesh bags made for use in suitcases that have zippers, to organize her freezer.  Those small little packages don’t hide from her anymore!

Both of us are working on a system of recording what is in each bag--something that doesn’t require a written list, but that can be changed easily as things are purchased or used.

I’m thinking about some sort of plastic tags identifying what is in the freezer:

• hamburger
• roast
• steak
• whole chicken
• chicken breast
• fish
• etc.

Whatever I end up with has to be easily done--both for putting into, and taking out of, the system; so I don’t end up having another kitchen chore that I get “behind” on and then makes no sense.  I want to be able to take advantage of sales, but don’t want to “over-buy” something either.

I could make some tags using plastic from milk or water jugs, write on them with waterproof marker, and hang them on a shower curtain ring and attach them to each bag…OR I may put the info on a card and keep it in a file box…but will I keep that up?
Not sure…will have to keep thinking about this…and try a few of the ideas…throwing out what doesn’t work.

So this is my “work in progress” solution for organizing my chest freezer…I’ll let you know how things proceed from here!