Last weekend, while organizing my freezer, I found a bag of frozen dumplings in the back of the drawer that I couldn't even remember putting in there.

When I checked the date, I realized I had bought them almost a year ago and just left them there, but it turns out I'm not the only one experiencing this.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 30 to 40 percent of the total food supply in the U.S. is simply wasted, and the loss rate at the retail and consumer levels is as high as 31 percent.

When calculated per household annually, the average cost of food that is thrown away amounts to about $1,500, which means over $100 a month is essentially being tossed in the trash.

At this point, it makes carrying a tumbler to save on coffee seem pointless.

However, a research team from Ohio State University found some interesting results after surveying over a thousand households in the U.S.

Households that regularly freeze food had significantly less overall food waste.

But the catch is that simply putting food in the freezer doesn't automatically solve the problem.

In the same study, frozen foods accounted for 6 percent of total household food waste.

Among those, vegetables made up 22 percent, meat 20 percent, and potatoes and grains each accounted for 15 percent.

This suggests that the most common issue is forgetting about the food once it's frozen, leading to missed expiration dates.

The freezer is a classic example of a space that disappears from our minds when it's out of sight, so if it's not organized, it's hard to even know what's inside.

When you can't keep track, you end up buying the same ingredients at the store again, and the items that were already there get pushed further back into the drawer, creating a vicious cycle.

Additionally, if the packaging is loose, freezer burn can occur, which significantly diminishes taste and texture, commonly referred to as freezer burn.

Once that happens, people are reluctant to eat it, and the original purpose of freezing it is lost.

By simply removing as much air as possible and sealing items in zip bags, you can significantly slow down the rate of freezer burn.

On the other hand, dividing sections and just adding a date sticker can make it easy to see what you have and ensure that you use older items first.

In fact, 85 percent of American households buy frozen foods, and among them, 55 percent reported that they purchase frozen foods to reduce food waste.

The awareness that freezing helps prevent waste is already widespread, but it seems that not many people are actually organizing their freezers.

I've frozen cherry tomatoes and basil from my garden in the summer, but since I didn't organize them, I ended up not being able to find them.

Many households buy kimchi, side dishes, and dumplings in bulk from Korean markets and freeze them, but these ingredients are more likely to get buried if not organized.

Personally, I think that just buying a few clear bins to separate meat, vegetables, and prepared foods can have a significant impact.

If you also write the date with a marker, it becomes much easier to keep track of inventory and naturally decide what to cook first.

Creating a routine to check the freezer once a month can noticeably reduce the chances of throwing away expired items.

It's much more beneficial to check what frozen vegetables or meats you already have instead of buying new ones because you can't find them.

Even if the cost of bins and label stickers adds up to just a few dollars, if it can significantly reduce your monthly food expenses, there's no reason not to do it.

If it were me, instead of splurging on a new organizer, I would recycle the airtight containers and zip bags I already have and start this weekend.

Organizing your freezer may seem trivial, but once you do it, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner because the benefits will be immediately noticeable.