42 Freezer Essentials

42 Freezer Essentials

Can you believe that 42 Freezer Essentials is the 10th in this ongoing series?  I started this project several months ago for myself and decided that since I’m doing it for myself anyway, why not share it on our blog!  After all, I’m not the only one who wants to be more prepared in the event of a disaster!  Having lived through the loss of our home in a wildfire, I know the value of having your home inventoried ahead of time!

If you’ve missed previous lists in this series, here are links:

1. 42 Kitchen Basics for Your New Home
2. 42 Grilling Accessories and Supplies for Outdoor Grilling
3. 42 Cooking Essentials for a Well-stocked Kitchen
4. 42 Must Have Kitchen Utensils
5. 42 Baking Essentials
6. 42 Nice-to-Have Kitchen Supplies and Equipment
7. 42 Spices to Have on Hand
8. 42 Pantry Essentials
9. 42 Refrigerator Essentials

In addition to these lists, check out my Emergency Planning Checklist and my post, What’s in Your First Aid Kit?  Since the month of September is National Preparedness Month, why not start these projects now!  Each of these checklists include FREE printables for readers.  Just print them and place them in a 3-ring binder and you are already 50% more prepared that 95% of Americans!

When I was young and on my own (or living with room mates), I had an apartment-sized refrigerator/freezer.  It came with the apartment, as most do, so when I moved into my first purchased house, we (my sister and I) bought a house that came with a refrigerator/freezer, so we didn’t have to buy one.

When I married Charlie many years ago, he already had a refrigerator/freezer in his kitchen plus another freezer in his laundry room!  Since that time, we’ve always had a “back-up” refrigerator/freezer and its now in our garage.

We have the second refrigerator/freezer in the garage because we live in the country and it was supposed to lessen our trips to town.  But, in reality, I shop for groceries every week, anyway, because we buy a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables!  And, our extra refrigerator/freezer has become stocked to the gills over time; we stock way more food that we need!

But, I digress.

The extra refrigerator/freezer has come in handy on several occasions:

• Parties – always need extra space for party food!
• Equipment malfunctions – one time, recently, we woke up to a small puddle in our kitchen.  Our 4-year old refrigerator/freezer decided to kick the bucket.  Well, we had a warranty on the refrigerator/freezer, so we called the dealer.  They sent a technician right away, but he had to order parts.  The parts came in a week later and the technician came out and installed them and the refrigerator/freezer still didn’t work!  So, they ordered more parts and we had to wait another week.  Same story.  New parts installed – still didn’t work.  So, they called in the big boss and he came out and looked at it.  He deemed it unfixable and decided it was time to call the manufacturer.  The manufacturer replaced it with no problem, but all-in-all, we were displaced from using this refrigerator/freezer for an entire month!

I was very, very glad we had the back-up in the garage!  No fast food around these parts!

Anyway, here’s the list of 42 Freezer Essentials:

1. Chicken:  whole, parts
2. Beef:  ground, roasts, steaks, ribs
3. Pork:  sausage, bacon, roasts, ribs, chops, ham, hot dogs
4. Turkey:  ground, whole, parts
5. Seafood:  shellfish, fillets, steaks
6. Other specialty meats
7. Deli meats
8. Grated cheese:  various
9. Fruit:  strawberries, blueberries, bananas, mixed berries
10. Frozen juice & mixers
11. Sandwich bread
12. Bread loaves, garlic bread
13. Dinner rolls, biscuits
14. Bagels, English muffins
15. Tortillas and wraps
16. Hamburger and hot dog buns
17. Pie crust, tart shells
18. Muffins, doughnuts
19. Bread dough, pizza dough
20. Puff pastry, pastry shells
21. Cinnamon rolls, sweet rolls
22. Soups, stews and broths
23. Ice cream, popsicles, bars, yogurt
24. Whipped cream, non-dairy whipped topping, frosting
25. Frozen kids’ dinners
26. Frozen snacks, appetizers
27. Cakes, pies, desserts, candy’
28. Cookies and cookie dough
29. Potatoes:  hash browns, fries
30. Vegetables:  peas, corn, spinach, beans, broccoli, carrots, etc.
31. Frozen breakfast items
32. Frozen side dishes
33. Frozen dinners, pizzas
34. Frozen sandwiches, burritos
35. Butter and margarine
36. Nuts:  whole, chopped
37. Family-sized pasta casseroles
38. Coffee:  ground, beans
39. Your pre-made casseroles, dinners
40. Ice and ice packs
41. Leftover bones for soup
42. Leftovers

I know it must seem silly to list leftover bones and leftovers.  But, they have insurable value, too!  So, if you have to use my lists to submit an insurance claim, these lists will help jog your memory of the stuff you have in your freezer!

Here’s your FREE printable of the above list:  TS4T Checklist – 42 Freezer Essentials

Stay tuned for more lists!

Tootles,

Related Posts

(other posts about the wildfire and emergency planning)

• 14 Human Needs
• Any Way the Wind Blows
• Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
• The Backup Plan
• The Fire Drill
• The Valley That Time Forgot