BREAKING: Freezer Purge Begins Across the Shire — Residents Enter ‘Mystery Meal Season’ Ahead of Christmas Storage Crisis

Finn Seabrook | Local Correspondent | Sutherland Shire Gazette

15 November 2025

It’s November 15, and that means one thing: the official start of the Great Shire Freezer Purge - the annual, unsanctioned community movement where residents across the region unite to eat their way through forgotten frostbitten meals in preparation for Christmas and the end-of-year exodus.

What began as innocent batch cooking back in February - Nagi’s spaghetti bolognese, protein-packed meatballs, “rescue dinners” for soccer nights - has now reached critical mass. With the festive season approaching, freezers from Gymea to Grays Point are officially full, and the only way out is through.

“I pulled out a Tupperware container that looked like chicken korma but turned out to be apricot steel-cut oats from March,” said one Sylvania mum. “I ate it anyway. I just can’t risk wasting freezer real estate this close to Christmas.”

Experts say the annual purge typically starts mid-November, once people realise there’s nowhere left to store Christmas ham, prawns, or the mandatory Sara Lee cheesecake. “It’s a race against time,” said local dietitian Mel Fry. “We’re seeing households averaging four to six mystery dinners a week.”

Council has already issued a friendly reminder about proper waste disposal after reports of multiple residents defrosting their way into existential crisis. “If it can’t be identified within 30 seconds, it’s not dinner — it’s archaeology,” a spokesperson said.

By late December, the entire Shire is expected to be operating at peak freezer efficiency - just in time for the post-holiday fridge purge, when locals depart for two weeks and no one trusts a single item left behind.

As one pragmatic Como dad told The Shire Gazette: “You can tell Christmas is coming when every meal tastes like freezer burn and regret.”