apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What a fantastic idea! Thanks!

this is great. i especially need this for my crisper drawers, where i often find forgotten limp veggies and lettuce. thank you!

Great idea. Thank you so much!

this is such a simple idea, but so helpful! how many times have we all forgotten about thos brussels sprouts in the bottom of the produce drawer until it was too late or reached for the same old pasta instead of the lentils or wheat berries right behind it? less waste and a better balanced diet!

I'm not sure I will use this (though I love the idea) but I'd love a way of remembering when each leftover was cooked. Things in my fridge seem to sit and when I discover them again I'm not sure if it's been 2 days or 2 weeks since I cooked it. Ideas?

I thought it would be a good idea to chop and freeze some of the veggies that come in my veg box so that I didn't have to rush to use them all up before going bad. But in the freezer they are out of sight and out of mind so I keep forgetting to use them. This is a great way to remind myself.

This is pretty neat but I would feel bad /forget to print a new copy every week. It would be nice if you could make it into a magnetized dry erase board instead. Or even just get a dry erase board and write the outlines in permanent marker and the changing items in erasable stuff.

Mejdu,

I was thinking of printing it once on thicker paper and having it laminated. Then using a dry erase marker. Then you wouldn't have to repeatedly print it.

I used to have a white board in the kitchen where I wrote down all the perishable I bought (meat, veggies, fruits) each week.

That way, with a quick glance I could think of something to do (shrimp and leeks, add some cheese, egg and cream and make a gratin or sautee the leeks with boiled shrimps). Once I really got into it, I found that most stuff was being used.

if on top of that, I was putting together a set of recipe I wanted to do during the week, seeing the weird items on the list reminded me to try them (I didn't usually have duck or chorizo in my fridge every week unless there was a good reason).

CallieKoch,
That's a great idea! I do like the design so it'll be nice to keep that. Thanks for the tip!

CallieKoch, thanks for the chop 'n' freeze idea... it just never occurred to me.

Knock Knock makes a great grocery list with check-boxes. I believe it's called the "All Out Of" pad and it has a magnet on the back to stick to the fridge. Very reasonably priced (

This is a great idea and never thought of it (could have use it this week! LOL). I also like the ideas of creating this on a white board.

Very useful post. I linked to it in my 30 Quick, Green and Frugal Meal Planning Resources list.

Eliza -- re "how old are these leftovers? --
A china marker, aka wax pencil, is indispensable in the kitchen. Most of our leftovers end up in plastic Nancy's Yogurt containers, labeled and dated with the china marker. It's durable but washes off with hot enough water and a bit of rubbing. If your leftovers are covered with Saran wrap, use a Sharpie.
We also invest in a pack of half-inch round colored stickers from the office supply store, a new color each year. These go onto canned goods etc. as they are shelved. A "color code" on the fridge tells us just how old that bottle of hoisin sauce is!