I've never regretted purchasing the upright freezer that we have in the basement.  It's big enough that I can store my hugest batch of homemade spaghetti sauce with meatballs, in containers the right size for family meals.  Plus, I've got the room to stock up on meat, ice cream, and frozen vegetables--and let's not forget the tater tots.  Those are a must!

I didn't get a chest freezer because I'm short vertically challenged, and I was afraid that one day I'd tip right into the freezer when I was reaching for the Oven Stuffer at the very bottom.  But the upright freezer, even with 3 shelves, one drawer and several small shelves in the door section, gets disorganized very quickly.

Last week I was rummaging around in the freezer trying to find something I could make for dinner when I decided it was really time to clean the whole thing out.  Some of those containers of spaghetti sauce are practically welded to the shelves with the frost that has built up, and there are a few other containers that could be holding chili, enchilada sauce, or soup.  I don't know exactly what's in there because the frost has crawled up the sides of the containers and covered the spot where I mark (with a Sharpie) what's inside.

So I pulled it all out, made a list, and discovered that I have about 35 days' worth of food in there.  I think it's time to stop buying frozen foods and just eat up what we have.  Then I can defrost the freezer, start over, and maybe actually keep up with a list of what's inside the freezer.

The next five weeks are going to be interesting.  We've got enough chicken for 17 out of 35 dinners.  It's time to get creative.

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