How long do you keep frozen foods?

[TastyReuben]

Going through my freezer this morning, I started wondering...how long do you all keep various food items in the freezer before using/tossing out?

The USDA/FDA give recommendations as follows (specifying that frozen food lasts indefinitely as far as safety goes, so their guidelines are more about quality/taste preservation):
Bacon/Sausage/Lunchmeat - 1-2 months
Frozen meals - 3-4 months
Uncooked roasts/steaks/chops - 4-12 months
Uncooked ground meat - 3-4 months
Cooked meat - 2-3 months
Soups/Stews - 2-3 months

That's just a few of the more common items.

Since I got a vacuum sealer a couple of years ago, I've been following the recommendations that the Foodsaver folks put out, which seem to (more or less) double the times listed above.

I'm pretty diligent in going through my freezer periodically and getting an idea of what I need to cook, and since I got the sealer, I've thrown a lot less out.

How long do you all let stuff hang around in the freezer? How do you keep track of what's in there? Are you good about using things up, or are you just as likely to pitch something out after a certain amount of time?

 

[Windigo]

I use roughly the same time schedule as you do, and I keep all my meats in the freezer so that's why there are so many. We eat mostly food from the freezer because it's cheaper to find organic frozen produce here than fresh and by buying frozen food I can plan ahead pretty well.
I honestly prefer a lot of frozen food to fresh, because most frozen food is processed faster than fresh food that travelled quite a distance to get here. For example, I use frozen mango cubes frozen in India, while 'fresh' mangos from india are either over - ripe or underripe when they get here because they got picked too early to make sure they don't spoil on their way.

 

[Morning Glory]

Going through my freezer this morning, I started wondering...how long do you all keep various food items in the freezer before using/tossing out?

The USDA/FDA give recommendations as follows (specifying that frozen food lasts indefinitely as far as safety goes, so their guidelines are more about quality/taste preservation):
Bacon/Sausage/Lunchmeat - 1-2 months
Frozen meals - 3-4 months
Uncooked roasts/steaks/chops - 4-12 months
Uncooked ground meat - 3-4 months
Cooked meat - 2-3 months
Soups/Stews - 2-3 months

That's just a few of the more common items.

I've absolutely no idea how long most things have been there (unless its stuff I've bought with a date stamp and then frozen). Many things have been there for more than 2 years...

The only thing I've noticed significantly deteriorating in taste/quality is fish.

 

[pocofan]

6 months

 

[JAS_OH1]

A year, sometimes more. So far no issues.

 

[Yorky]

I guess 12 months for most stuff. However, if I find some meat (uncooked) in there and cannot remember when it was bought, I'll likely throw it out.