Back to School Survival: to make your freezer work for you

Back to school season is busy and a bit rough on everyone. Let's set up your freezer organization with a few tips and hacks to work for you this season and take a bit of stress off the busy month!

Summer is coming to an end. Summer vacations are over and all you are left with is a pile of laundry. Routines come back, and you have enough on your plate as everyone transitions back to routine.

Spend a bit of time in these last few weeks of summer to prep your freezer and I promise, the back to school survival mom inside you will be so grateful.

Back to School Survival Tip 1

Check out your grocery store's frozen section and even the aisles to see what kind of kits they have.

Dinner kit ideas I have seen that are great options that your future self will thank you for stocking up on:

Donair and poutine kits ( I am in Canada)
Thai soups, curries, and Pad Thai ( I buy from local maker Thai Manna)
Pizza kits
Taco & Burrito kits (stock up on the ground beef)
Skillet Kits (M&M Meats is great for these)
Frozen, already made Butter Chicken, Korma, and other Curries.

Pro Tip - local farmers markets are a great place to stock up on a variety of options from a variety of local makers. Bonus, you are supporting your local community, too.

Back to School Survival Tip 2

Blueberries, strawberries, and broccoli frozen in silicone bags in freezer door. — The bags shown here are **stasher silicone stand up bags** (small) ,the large size, and the **mega size**

End of the summer is prime harvest season for so many varieties of produce.

Here in Alberta, I can buy cases of blueberries at rock bottom prices. Snag them now and freeze them for future smoothies - or better yet, make smoothie kits - here is how.

Back to School Survival Tip 3

Roasted and minced garlic prepped and frozen in bags and in a bin in a freezer.

I use a ton of minced garlic and I don't like the pre minced jar stuff. It is not the same at all!

Prep your garlic this easy way, and have it at your finger tips ready to go and cut out time consuming steps when making dinner.

You don't think you need roasted garlic on hand, but let me tell you, once you have it in "mounds" ready to go in the freezer, you will add it to everything and your family will thank you. Here is how I prep and freeze roasted garlic.

Back to School Survival Tip 4

Souper cube meals frozen and in bags lined up in a freezer — To store Souper Cube meals, use gallon size freezer bags and label with a sharpie

Prep ahead lunches doesn't have to mean making one recipe and eating it every day for 4 days!

Using Souper Cube trays, I can freeze so many freezer friendly meals for lunches.

Always in my freezer:

For even more ideas you can see all the ways I use my Souper Cube trays to store meals.

Don't have these trays? That is ok too. You can freeze soups in mason jars, and you can freeze your meals in plastic containers or in glass containers (my fav containers are here)

Back to School Survival Tip 5

Bulk ground beef packages in a milk crate in a freezer. — Milk crates are an easy way to organize bulk meat purchases. I get mine at Home Depot

If you have the opportunity and up front funds to purchase your most used meat proteins in bulk, it is far more cost effective over the long term.

But, storing it all can be a challenge. If you have a small chest freezer, I show you how to gain control of organizing it here.

Once all of your bulk proteins are organized, you can base your meal plans on what you have on hand, and not buy meat every week, while you forget about what is at the bottom of your already purchased meat at the bottom of your freezer.