http://www.bhg.com/kitchen/storage/organization/savvy-ways-to-store-food/#page=15
Anyway you slice the cake, you need to keep an inventory of what you have squirled away. Otherwise, you forget about it and your time-saving efforts are now wasted. In the Better Homes article the author recommended keeping a list of what was in the freezer on the door. When you take something out, erase that item. She used a mini whiteboard and kept pens and labels in the magnetic box.
I started using a different method this summer which is really working for me. I printed off a blank calender and wrote down on various days what was frozen. For example, if I froze three containers of Zucchini Meatballs, I wrote one on August 31st, September 27th, and October 4th. This way I am not only eating my inventory, I am meal planning at the same time. As my freezer fills, my month of meals fills also. Since menu planning for the week saves money at the grocery store, I assume planning for the month will save even more money because I know how many times next month I will need ground chicken and can therefore watch the sales.
Between canning and freezing this summer, I have the entire months of August, September, October, and November and half of December planned out and prepared.
Here is a picture of October. You now know everything my family will be eating that month:
