Shrink wrapped is not the same as vacuum sealed. Store chickens in trays are shrink wrapped and that's not good for freezing. I wouldn't want to keep them 12 months unless they were vacuum sealed and a good hard freeze and they'll probably still degrade a bit so it depends on how much you'll accept. They will not be like fresh. And to try to keep them that long, I'd also either wrap in foil or an extra freezer bag. Make sure your freezer is at a proper freezer temp.

I have a huge walk-up attic and it's too easy to keep things. I also have the junk brought back from college in random boxes of books and dish towels, or bath caddies packed with notebooks & spatulas. Lots to go through. And I don't have 36 lamps, but whenever I upgrade one of my lamps I've been putting the old one up there for the "kid's apartments". Well, turns out that my kids don't want my old lamps, so I've been ditching them little by little. This summer I had to get a new refrigerator. I had the old one 12 years, and I bought it used then, so it was time. My stove has also been slowly dying (oven sometimes acts possessed, the burners need to be lit and have low flames), and I came across a great deal on a new Viking, so even though the stove is still hanging in, I'm replacing it before it's an emergency. I feel just a little bit wasteful, though, since the old one is still working. I bought leather couches 10 years ago and while it would be nice to have something new and different, they are in great condition and I can't justify replacing them. They can go to one of the kids, but who knows I might have a move sometime in my future and I'd rather get new stuff then.

PammyFay asked, Lindsey: Do you use an Excel spreadsheet, too? Or some other method? I write a physical check maybe twice a year. Of course, expenditures made with a debit card, or ATM withdrawals should/would also be written in a check register, to keep an accurate running balance. But, I don't write those down, either. (I don't make purchases with my ATM/debit card other than at the grocery store.) If I purchase something "in person" or purchase something online, I use a credit card. I pay my monthly bills (credit cards, cell phone, car payment, etc.) via my bank's online Bill Pay system. That system will also generate and send a physical check (and they cover the postage!). When the money electronically leaves my account and goes to the payee, the deduction shows up in my online account. I don't receive a physical/paper statement each month -- I can view my statement online. I do download the PDFs of the statements to my computer, where they are organized by bank, then account (checking/savings/credit card) then by year, then by month. Paperwork for major purchases, etc., goes into a file folder for that purchase, and stored in the file drawer with other similar folders. When I do write a physical check, the bank does not return the canceled check to me. They quit doing that many years ago, even when I was still receiving a monthly paper statement. I can go into my account online and view both sides of the check, and download a copy of the images, which I do. My PC is backed up to a 2TB portable drive. Every time I make a change to an existing file, or add a new file, it is backed up. And, no, I don't worry about my running balance. I know how much money is direct-deposited to my account each month, and I know how much I have left each month after I pay my bills. Since I use my credit cards more than my debit card, I don't need to know my balance. (I'm 67 years old and haven't overdrawn my checking account since I was 19.)

Thanks, plllog! Throw in the freezer today (Thurs), take out and thaw in fridge tomorrow (Fri) and heat-n-serve on Saturday. Better to be safe than sorry!! Sure wish I could have squeeeeeezed one more day out of this so I wouldn't have to do the freeze/thaw stuff.