Have you ever had one of those moments in homemaking where you think “Why have I never thought of this?!” I’ve had several but the latest one is too good not to share.
But before I do let me give you some background on all of this.
I hate wasting food. By that I mean groceries that were bought, paid for and forgot about in the refrigerator. I hate it but it happens. Does it ever happen to you? It certainly happens to me.
My mind works in a very “out of sight out of mind” kind of way so I tend to forget the things I don’t see constanty, never mind the downstairs freezer because all too often it’s like, oh right we have a downstairs freezer. Yeah, it’s that’s bad.
When we moved here there was a very large side by side refrigerator/freezer in the garage and none in the kitchen. The refrigerator apparently did not fit in the kitchen and we knew running up and down the steps (it’s a bi-level house) wasn’t going to work so we bought a smaller fridge for the kitchen. It’s a standard sized fridge but probably small by a lot of people’s standards today. We kept the one already in the garage . . . in the garage. We figured hey, we’re a big group and certainly we could use a second refrigerator! But, as the weeks went by I found that having two refrigerators was worse than one for me in terms of my forgetfulness.
Add to that we prefer to eat as fresh as we can (a habit we picked up in Germny years ago and one that I know doesn’t work for everyone but as we are close to several good stores, farmer’s markets and farms it does indeed work for us) and the idea of storing things in the fridge long term doesn’t really fit never mind that was getting expensive!
So we sold the fridge in the garage, bartered it actually to a local friend for some electrical work, and because I do buy milk every week, 4 gallons at a time, I got a small dorm sized fridge on Craig’s List to keep in the garage. It sits on top of the small but handy half sized upright freezer.
If I told you that having a smaller refrigerator solved my forgetfulness problem I’d be lying. It helps but there are still those times when we load it up and I end up missing those things that are on the bottom shelf and have been pushed to the back.
Back in March when I started making homemade mayonaise I also found, on the same site, a FABULOUS cookbook called Well Fed Paleo Recipes for People who Love to Eat . The recipes are really good and I highly recommend them if you are trying to eat healthier. They truly are very good, BUT there was something else in that cookbook that became a total “ah ha!” moment for me.
It was a picture of a list on the front of her refrigerator. A list of what was IN the fridge for that week! Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of this before?? OK, I figure I am probably the only one who never thought of this but seriously isn’t this something I should have learned in home ec class?
Here’s the picture:
It’s simple, easy (it’s written on a brown bag –love that!) and it works! What a great way to make sure what in there gets eaten before it spoils plus it’s an easy and fast way to plan dinner for those days you didn’t. Something gets used or finished? Cross it off. Simple. Love it!
So last night hubby and I went grocery shopping (yes he goes grocery shopping with me but –brace yourself– he usually does it FOR me. I know.) and we loaded up on fresh meat and veggies and the first thing I did when got home was make a list and put it on the front of the fridge! It was fast, easy and now I have an at a glance reminder of what’s in there. This afternoon I had an idea to replicate the list here at my computer on a Sticky Note so I can quickly view it on my desktop when I look up from Facebook er, working and realize I haven’t planned anything for dinner yet. Not that that ever happens. 
So, tell me honestly, am I the only one who didn’t know this trick??
I’ll be back later to see if anyone comments on my stupidity brilliance. Right now I have to go plant the heirloom tomatoes plants and lettuce I picked up at the Amish store this afternoon for $3!! It never ceases to amaze me that even when I am behind on my plans God provides for my needs.
