Tag Archives: Organize

Freezer Baskets

Using Baskets in the Freezer

We have a freezer that is at the top of the refrigerator. This is all the freezer room that we have. Our freezer was one of those nightmares that every time you went into the freezer something would fall out. Or that the door to the freezer would not close or stay closed.

So, last week I found 3 freezer baskets (they are 7 ½ inches wide X 15 inches long X 5 ½ inches deep) that are plastic coated wire baskets. I took everything out of the freezer and started putting things into the baskets according to meats, veggies, fruits, etc. I now can close my freezer and nothing falls out when I open it. I did get one more basket and am looking for 2 more that are shorter (only 9 inches long) than the others because of the way the freezer is made. The freezer is still full, but because of the baskets the items don’t slip and slide anymore. And, I can get more in the freezer, and use the available space, than before without the door not closing.

And, if I want to see what type of meat I have I can pull the whole basket out and see just what I have. Because it is just the 2 of us, when we cut up onions or peppers, we put them in snack size plastic bags and place them into the freezer and that is just enough for a meal. We also package up hamburger meat in 1 pound sizes and place in sandwich size plastic bags and then each sandwich bag gets placed in a gallon size bag then place in the freezer. Also, when I put things like hamburger meat in plastic bags, I try to make them flat and freeze them this way. It takes up less space than just a round blob. Things like chicken or pork chops or steaks get put individually in a sandwich bag and then into a gallon size bag. When we get a roast we either get a smaller one or we will divide it up into portions for 1 or 2 meals and put it in a quart size plastic bag and then into a gallon size plastic bag. These gallon size bags are marked with what kind of meat is in the smaller bags. So when you pull out one of the gallon size bags out of the basket you have all of that kind of meat that is in the freezer. Personally, I don’t like to freeze meat in the container that I bought it in because of the extra room the packaging takes. So, that is why I place them in plastic bags when I get home from the store.

I have taken hamburger meat and browned it first and then package it up, that way when you fix a meal it is quicker than having to brown the meat first before you add it to whatever you are cooking. The same goes with onion you can brown a couple of onions first and then freeze them. You could even go ahead and brown your hamburger, onion and peppers together and then freeze. This way if you are behind getting dinner ready you will have more fast food at home in the freezer ready to go.

The baskets in the freezer sure have made my life easier. And because of this I am looking at other ways to use baskets or plastic containers for the refrigerator and cabinets.

Organize your family

To start the New Year off right, get 1 calendar that will hold all the birthdays, appointments, events, holidays, etc on it. [This would come under the heading of daily Survival. ]

If you use more than 1 calendar, you take the chance on getting two appointments at the same time, so it is best if you only use the 1 calendar for all family events.

First thing to do is to write all holidays and birthdays that you need to remember, school days off, and anything else that is already scheduled. Write your times in that you will do your journaling and when you will post your spending for the day or week and any reading that you do daily and anything else that you do every day or week like exercise time and the time that you do it. If it is on the calendar just like an appointment then you are more likely to do those things that are recorded with a time.  Once everything that is already scheduled is placed on the calendar then when you start making Doctor, Dentist, etc appointments or any meetings that you need to schedule will be placed on the calendar as soon as you get home or after the phone call there will not be any conflicting times.

Once this calendar is done, if family members want their own calendar then they can copy what is on the family calendar as long as they remember that every event goes onto the family calendar as soon as it is known.

You can decide on different color markers for each family member so that you can tell at a glance who has what appointment. But whatever you decide on the colors of the markers make sure that the markers stay with the calendar for the entire year.  Do not allow anyone to take the markers and use them on something else.  You can purchase calendars that have stickers that go onto birthdays, anniversary, school vacations, etc. You can also go onto the computer and pull up calendars for the year and print them out.

For the calendar to work, it has to be hung up in its own place where everyone can get to it and whatever you use (pencil, pens, markers, stickers) are all in the same place at all times.

Once a week, usually on Sunday it is best that everyone sit down and calendar. In this case ‘calendar’ is a verb, for everyone to get and stay on the same sheet of music.  This is the time to write down any special needs like birthday cake, invitations, etc basically the logistics of the activities. Go over the calendar for the next month so that everyone is aware of what is coming up. I have heard of some people that say if there is an event that is not placed onto the calendar then it will not be acknowledged (such as an event from school that the child does not let the parent know about until the night before).  This will prevent emergency matters that you have to go out late one night so that someone has something for the next day for that activity. Get the kids started young that they need to let everyone know about events from school ahead of time.

With our families being as busy as they are now days, this is one of the best ways to keep everyone organized so appointments and events are not missed.

Prepare by planning ahead to Survive and Thrive.