M's Freezer-Only Challenge

The freezer, complete with ominous lighting.

Last night when I went down to pull out meat from our upright freezer for the next few days' dinners, I got a surprise. Frozen meat and fruit came flying from the selves, attacking me as I tried to wrestle a small package from the freezer's icy grip. The meat I'd found on sale the past few weeks had led the freezer with organized stacks to become one where it was a danger to remove anything. I'd also noticed our credit card bill (unrelated to the meat buying) was higher than the budget allows. The freezer is an organizational and budget pitfall for many of us.

Suddenly, a light bulb (along with the alarm letting me know the freezer had been open too long) went on. I could solve two problems at once-- save money and clear out the freezer some. It would also mean a fun challenge to set for myself.

Thus, the Freezer-Only Challenge was born. What is this challenge you ask? Why, to only cook with meat pulled from the freezers (we have two) the next month. No buying more to freeze or use fresh. My month started January 23, the day of my last shopping trip. I'm not including fruit and other frozen items in this no-buy challenge as we don't have much of those.

Over these next weeks, I'll resist the temptation of grabbing meat at the grocery store that's a great price. That's hard for me as with soaring meat prices, sales are so important to keep the family fed without going broke. I'll just have to remind myself that really, there's no more room. That and I'll just be under attack again if I keep filling the freezer. Trust me, a bag of frozen chicken falling on your head as beef falls on your foot isn't fun at all. My goal is to end the month with a more manageable freezer that I can organize, and keep organized going forward, and a lower credit card bill.

I invite you to join me on this freezer-clearing, money-saving challenge. I'll be posting a few updates on how it's going and would love to hear about your experience (or why you don't want to take the challenge). Let me know by leaving a comment here or posting on our Facebook page.

Read the wrap up for this challenge.