Nancy Leson says she's not the kind to clip coupons from the paper, "But I swear by that thing called the Chinook Book." I was surprised to learn that you have to buy these coupon books, but Nancy says "You have to pay money to save money."
All very well, but if those two-for-one pork chops you stocked up on are consigned to freezer limbo, never to be seen again, you've spent money to waste money. My totebag system of freezer filing prevents that and many of the other thousand natural shocks that frozen flesh is heir to.
I've organized my freezer with tote bags. As you can see in the top shot, I've got one for meat, one for perishable baking supplies and one labeled "Meals" for those large batch leftovers I plan to nuke up on days when I don't cook. Soon I'll add one for stock-making supplies like bones and shrimp shells and another dedicated to poultry. With this system, I can simply lift out the appropriate bag and find what I'm looking for without having to rummage through stacks of avalanche-prone, unrecognizable frozen debris.
Compare that with...
Nancy's Frightening Freezer
Note the items in original packaging, far more susceptible to frost and freezer burn. I always re-pack in freezer Ziplocs with the air squeezed out of them. I do that by sealing the bag 9/10ths of the way and then immersing it in water right up to, but not over, the little corner still left open. That forces almost all the air from the bag, and you can then seal it the rest of the way. It's easier and cheaper than a vacuum sealer. I label those bags with Sharpie on strips of blue tape.
The tote bag freezer filing system works for chest and upright models. Any totebag will do, just not the KNKX totebag. Find out why in this week's episode.
Nancy Leson was willing to admit "That is brilliant!" adding, "You're such a neatnik, Stein. It's one of the things I'm sure the Lovely and Talented Cheryl DeGroot loves about you."
Actually, it's one of the things about me that drives her crazy.
"Without minute neatness of execution the sublime cannot exist." – William Blake
