Cleaning Out The Freezer

It's July first and the weather is beautiful! Perfect for working out on the back porch and getting something done.

We've got two freezers out there. The bigger one is the one that we bought before moving to Liberal and had a family of eight; the smaller one is the one that my dad blessed us with a year or so ago. He had bought it brand new thinking that it was something that he would use, then discovered that, even though it was the smallest one available at the Home Depot, that it was still too much for what he needed, so he turned around and gave it to us. At the time, I thought, "This is great! Now that there are just the three of us (my husband, myself, and our youngest son), we'll switch out the food we've got in the big freezer, unplug it, and just use the little one!"

Shortly thereafter I bought two 50# bags of flour to run us through the winter, along with a bunch of other stuff, and guess where I had to store everything? In the big freezer...along with all our other stuff that was still in there from before...AND the little freezer! Now, all this time has passed and both freezers have remained, for the most part, full.

With the marriage of our youngest son in May, now there are just my husband and myself in the home, and the thought of running two freezers around the clock is driving me crazy. And, I'll admit, I think a lot of the problem that I've had...all the procrastination and lack of control in this area...centers around holdovers from the past.

Number one, my dad was grew up during the Great Depression in western Kansas and he suffered real hunger as a child. As a result, when I was growing up, and even though I was an only child (there were only my parents and I in the home) the focus on having an overabundance of food in the home was always a top priority.

Secondly, after buying food for, and cooking for, a family of eight for so many years...stocking up when things are on sale and cooking huge amounts of food...it's been really hard for me to adjust to buying food for, and cooking for, only two or three people. In fact, I don't think there's ever been a time in my life when I ever even SAW portion-controlled cooking for only two or three people. I don't think I really even know what that looks like!

In addition to this, multiple times I have tried to use up the food on hand before shopping again and, due to the fact that I couldn't get past the "I've GOT to have a full freezer and pantry" feeling, I have failed every time.

BUT! With the Lord's leading and help, I am FINALLY breaking this stronghold in my life and getting a handle on things! While we've still got a long way to go, over the past few weeks we have used up a LOT of what food is on hand. My goal is to get all the food on hand used up, then plan weekly menus based on what my husband and I want in the line of good, fresh, healthy foods, and to purchase them based on servings for TWO...not four, or six, or eight people. This in turn will promote better health and weight-loss due to the fact that there shouldn't be a lot of excess amounts of food sitting in the freezer and fridge to be cleaned up at all times.

Of course, I will still be buying staples (flour, oats, oat bran, etc.) in bulk at the Mennonite store (but in smaller quantities than in times past), and I will continue to store those in the little freezer, along with what little meat we buy (mostly turkey and chicken).

Now that I've got the little freezer cleaned out, it should be getting cold enough to transfer food back to it from the big freezer. As I do, I am going to write everything down that I decide to save, and menu plan for the month of July around that. I have a feeling that, once I get down to the bottom of the big freezer, there will be a lot stuff that I can get rid of from there, too (old vegetables, frozen water bottles, etc.). I might even be able to unplug the big freezer tonight! What a blessing that will be!

Well, Ladies, you all have a great Monday afternoon and evening, and I'll be with you again soon! God bless all here!

All My Love,
~Rebecca <3