Covid Lockdown: Time to Excavate the Deep Freeze

As we all play hide and seek with Corona-19, what better way to occupy mind and body than excavating an overloaded deep freeze.

Yes, I cleaned out my deep freeze this week. Don’t get me wrong. This wasn’t some noble undertaking on my part. It all happened because I could no longer get the freezer drawer closed without some effort.

It took about an hour to get everything removed, sorted, and back in again. During my scavenger hunt, I uncovered a few vintage items, that went back to 2015. Unlike wine, they had not improved with age.

Anything that was suffering from frostbite, had turned gray, or was unidentifiable, I pitched. My green trash bag was half full when I finished the inventory.

My “before” and “after” photos weren’t that different. It seemed like the remaining items just relaxed and stretched to fill the extra space.

Warning!

If you’re considering such a task, be forewarned that your home freezer will never look as tidy as those in the frozen food aisle.

But from all my shuffling and pitching, I regained the use of my ice cube tray, that had been overrun with packaging. I now have everything better labeled and dated. But as Miss. Rose, my old grade school teacher once noted on my report card, “Some improvement shown, but more needed.”

Attempt at Logic

I put the beef and chicken in the upper tray, the pork items in the lower, and everything else in the space next to it. The logic of my layout isn’t immediately apparent to others, but so far it’s working for me.

I may even label the pullout trays. Perhaps that would discourage my tendency to carelessly toss things into the frosty abyss without regard for where they might land.

Pride of Accomplishment

I also made a written inventory, so I no longer have to plunder through the frosty contents to see if I have a parmesan rind for a pot of soup or pecans for a batch of cookies.

My heart pounded with pride as I rubbed my icy finger tips. I felt better all over—like I’d performed a purification rite.

This may well be the most worthwhile activity I’ve engaged in during these last 7 months of COVID detention.