Ugh, what a waste!

I despise, I mean despise, cleaning out the freezer or the fridge.  Hate it.  Hate, hate, hate, hate it.

I cleaned out our freezer tonight, which is really what got me feeling grumpy.

First of all, it's gross unearthing something Tim swore he was going to eat that is now green and hairy and not even close to it's original smell- yes, one or two things in our freezer were so old and freezer burnt they were now green.  No, I didn't smell them, I can only imagine that horror.

I hate thinking about how much money we wasted.  Chicken, beef tips, bananas (for the rabbits), yogurt (I'm a freak, I only eat it frozen), odds and ends of bacon and sausage- even a pair of steaks that were epically freezer burnt. 

I found a container of brunswick stew from a church fundraiser (so double what it's worth and that's what we paid) that was so disgusting I threw the container out as well, rather than deal with it.  That's a lot of money in the trash can outside right now.

Yes, I could have boiled the chicken and cooked up the hamburger and given it to the dogs in small pieces- but that means I have to remember to do that. Not only that, I have to take the time and effort to do it and really, I just wasn't feeling it.  I also don't want to foster picky-eating tendencies in my animals.

What has really helped me cut down on how much waste we have in the fridge is actually to have less food in there.  If I keep on top of tossing out that last quarter cup of milk, the 2 ounces of leftover orange juice, etc. I am better able to see what I have.  I can also keep track of just how long that package of cheese has been in there.

I'm hoping I can do the same with the freezer. It's now very organized (though I'm expecting that to last only until Tim rummages around in there for the first time).  

Hey though, at least we won't need to buy chicken or steak for a while!

-Kristen