Here we are, at Day 5 of the No Spend Declutter Challenge! How are things going for you so far?

Download and print the No Spend Declutter Checklist here. Check off your completed decluttering tasks and color in a square each time you successfully have a No Spend Day.

Day 5 Declutter Task:

Today we tackle the fridge and freezer! Good thing because I’m sure I have some old things that need to be tossed. Plus, I’m sure I’ll probably find a few meal ideas!

Normally I would try to defrost our deep freezer, but it’s actually not too bad at the moment so I’m going to leave it today.  As for the organization of the freezer, I’m still pretty clueless on how to make it work well. But I can find things so I guess that’s a good thing!

For the rest of my day, I’ll be tackling the fridge and fridge freezer. (Won’t take too long, but the drawers really need a wipe!)

I have a couple of things that may help you today:

How often do you clean out your fridge?  How often do you defrost your deep freezer if you have one?

Day 5 No Spend Task:

To go along with our kitchen endeavors, yesterday in the pantry and today in the fridge/freezers, we’re going to brainstorm meal ideas! I’m sure you have discovered a bunch of things that you have forgotten about! This is also a useful task to do several times a year since food is a huge area of the budget. Using what you already have will save you a bundle.

Here’s how to brainstorm meal ideas:

First of all, take a quick inventory of what you have on hand already by taking a look at your pantry inventory sheet from yesterday and your fridge/freezer sheet from today. 

Next, with your inventory sheets in hand, think of one meal that corresponds with each ingredient. For example, if tomato sauce is on your list, you could write spaghetti, sloppy joes or lasagna. Or if you have an abundance of oats, you could make baked oatmeal, granola bars or oatmeal pancakes.

Finally, find more inspiring ideas by taking a look though cookbooks, magazines or browsing the web!  Pinterest is a great way to find recipes as well.

Here is a free meal ideas printable to help you brainstorm:

No spend meal ideas

I’d love it if you left a comment listing at least one meal idea from the list you just made!

I will be posting each task in the Simply Frugal No Spend Declutter Challenge Facebook Group. This is where most of the discussion will be happening.

I will also be posting random progress reports throughout the challenge over at Instagram! Follow me on Instagram @simplyfrugal and use the hashtag #nospenddeclutter to get updates and see what others are up to during the challenge!

If you do not use social media, I would love to read your comments on each task, right here, below each challenge post on SimplyFrugal.ca!