Leftovers and Use-Up Planner

Who this is for

A fridge-door sheet for food that needs eating. Leftovers and opened ingredients each get a line with where they are, the date they were cooked or opened, the use-by and the meal they are meant for. A second table collects meals that use up several things at once and what should go in the freezer today.

Households that throw away more food than they would like, cooks who make too much on purpose, and anyone who opens the fridge and finds three half-used jars of the same thing.

What this helps you track

• What leftovers and opened ingredients are in the fridge and freezer
• When each one was cooked or opened, and its use-by
• The meal and day each item is planned for
• Meals that use up several items at once
• What to freeze today rather than risk losing

How to use it

1. Write the week beginning at the top and stick the sheet on the fridge door.
2. Each time something is left over or opened, give it a line with where it is and the date.
3. Write the use-by date you are working to and plan a meal and day for it.
4. Use the use-up meals box when several items could go into one dish, such as a soup, frittata or stir-fry.
5. Anything you will not reach in time goes in the freeze today box, then into the freezer.
6. Tick each line as it is eaten; the browser version saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How long can leftovers be kept?

The sheet does not say, because it depends on the food and how it was cooled and stored. Follow the food safety guidance where you live, and write the date you settle on in the use-by column.

What goes on this sheet and what goes on a freezer list?

This sheet is for this week: things in the fridge that need a plan. Once food goes into the freezer, move it to the freezer inventory, where it can wait longer without being forgotten.

Why plan a day for each item?

Because a leftover without a day tends to stay a leftover. Writing the day next to it turns it into part of the week's meals rather than something to remember.

Does it help to record what still got thrown away?

Yes, if you want to see a pattern. The household food waste log records what was binned and why, which shows which leftovers keep going to waste.