Organizing your freezer can help you keep track of what you have and use it in a timely manner, avoiding waste.
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Having a deep freeze can be a great way to save time and money in the kitchen. Not only can you stock up on items on sale, but you can also practice freezer cooking where you store in the freezer a number of meals for later use.
Freezer meals have saved my bacon on any number of occasions.
Keeping your frozen assets organized can help you use them up before they go bad.
There are two types of freezer: upright and chest. There are pros and cons to both kinds of freezer.
We have had the same chest freezer for the last 12 years. While it is a little bit of a pain to defrost periodically, the Pantry Challenge helps me do that AND make the most of what we have.
It’s also been a little tough to keep organized. Until now.
Last weekend I strategized with hubs as to the best way to put some order in my freezer chaos. We agreed that bins would work. He preferred metal baskets — at twenty bucks a pop. I favored plastic — for well, cheaper.
An hour later I came home from Target with these babies:
The green plastic baskets are from the dollar section at Target, for, well, a dollar. The black stackable bins were $5. So, I spent $25 to get our freezer in shape. I suppose that sounds expensive, but not compared to the $100 I might have spent at Home Depot. And seeing as I spent $200 to buy this baby in 1999/2000, I think we’re good.
Now, since I’m in the middle of the Pantry Challenge, I did not empty and defrost the freezer. I didn’t wipe up the spill I found on the bottom of the freezer. But, I did put things in order.
Each basket contains a different kind of item: beef, pork, chicken, fish, bacon/sausage, baked goods, vegetables, sauces, etc. I just started filling the baskets and it was all categorized in a matter of minutes! I did leave “freezer meals” on the shelf of the freezer since those are fairly varied and stack well. Thankfully, they were labeled!
When I add items to the freezer, I just need to sort them into the appropriate bin or basket. Here’s the Beef Fin.
Hubs is not convinced that the plastic will hold up for very long in the freezer. I admit, I am taking a risk. But, I’m guessing that all 9 of them won’t break at the same time, so I will be able to repurpose the remaining baskets if one does prove that they aren’t freezer friendly.
In the meantime?
I’m good.
Freezer Friendly Recipes
What do you think?
Let’s chat in the comments!
Bethany
We have a chest freezer. We’ve also purchased 1/2 pig and 1/4 cow. I use the reusable grocery bags to keep things organized. Green bags have pork, red bags have beef. I have a couple of odd color bags that hold chicken and veg. It works great because the bags are flexible and have handles. When we empty a bag, I just fold it up and put it bag in the freezer for the next fill up.
peggy
@Bethany,
WOW I really like your color coding GREAT IDEA and the flexiblity would be another great PLUS for those non conforming and odd sized items!! thanks for posting
Emily @ Random Recycling
Someday I want to have my freezer look this pretty…this is still one of my favorite “Pins”.
http://pinterest.com/pin/67202219409373514/
Jessica
@Emily @ Random Recycling, that IS pretty.
peggy
Oh and just for hub… the trays in my freezer are “plastic” came that way and have lasted 10 years so far with only a crack in one and that was my own fault.. however good ole duck tape fixed that 🙂
Thanks for posting your ideas … as being organized helps use up things that are in the bottom and also helps our teens put away as they have a “visual”
Jessica
@peggy, well, I’m wondering if there is freezer-safe plastic and not-freezer safe? I dunno.
peggy
I have been doing this for years however I am CHEAP and use heavy cardboard boxes.. plus I am lucky enough to have a lot larger chest freezer so it has 4 sliding trays 1 for veges, 1 for poultry, 1 for beef, and one for pork and hot dogs … I even have a box for breads and one small end corner is reserved for “frozen ice containers” for the coolers. then down below are the french fries, pizza, large bags of fozen item. The shelf is where I stack tv dinners, corndogs etc 🙂 all my sauces, ckn broth and berries etc are in the upstairs freezer… lucky have a side by side
Susan
I agree with your husband that the plastic won’t hold up. I use those fabric grocery sacks (that I’ve collected for free) to organize my meats in the freezer. While the sides aren’t firm at least it helps me know where to look when I want chicken, beef or pork.
Jessica
@Susan, now if I had thought to use color coded ones, that might have worked. Great idea!
Jane
I have an upright freezer (too short for the chest…had one and couldn’t reach anything on the bottom). Top shelf is frozen burritos (DH snack of choice), frozen pizza, ice cream and other “snacks”. Middles shelf is “meals” that are frozen. Bottom shelf is meat. On the right is beef and left is chicken with bacon/pork in between. The door holds ground beef packs from Trader Joes, Sausage, frozen bagged veggies, butter, etc. There is a big basket thing on the bottom that hold extra bags of ice & frozen fruit.
Becky
@Jane, I have an upright, too, and I’m trying to keep things sorted by shelves. One shelf = baking stuff (cornmeal, masa, milk, etc.). Another = meats & broths. Another = veggies & cheeses. Bottom = bananas (I always buy the marked-down ones at the store to use for muffins & other snacky foods) & some misc (homemade cream soups, cooked beans, etc.). The door shelves hold pasta sauce and random bits that either don’t seem to belong anywhere else or don’t fit anywhere else.
The freezer side of my kitchen fridge is in serious need of some organization. It’s really narrow and ends up being awkward. Leftover pizza (hooray for Friday Homemade Pizza Nights!) always goes on the top shelf, but bread, muffins, partial bags of veggies, tortillas, etc. just end up crammed in every which way. Your post and the comments reminded me that I have some small metal bins in a closet that might be better used in the freezer. Yay! Thanks, Jessica!
Tami
We have a small upright freezer. Since I am vegetarian it holds veggies I grow and freeze during the summer. I use small plastic shoe box size containers( $1 each) without the lids to organize the quart size bags of frozen veggies. Keeps them from sliding all over the place and they have held up just fine.
P Reis
Brilliant! I love the idea of baskets in the freezer. I think your hubs is right about the plastic not holding up too long in the freezer. That was my first thought when I saw it. BUT you didn’t spend that much on the baskets, and now you’re going to figure out if this system works for you. If it works, you can always spring for pricier baskets. If it doesn’t work, then you didn’t waste much.
We recently bought a new refrigerator, so the old fridge (and of course attached freezer) is in the garage, and I’m finding that stuff just gets tossed in there and I’m having a hard time keeping track of what we have. A couple of weeks ago I retired a dry erase board from my fridge inside and immediately thought to put it on the fridge outside — so we (since my husband puts stuff in there too) could write down what’s in the freezer! We’ll see how it goes. Thanks as always for the great ideas.
Jessica
@P Reis, that sounds like a great idea. I hope it works!
Tabitha (a.k.a. Penny)
I posted about organizing my freezer this week too. I used the bottoms of empty wipes containers and cardboard diaper boxes. Might not be as pretty but they were free! 🙂
peggy
@Tabitha (a.k.a. Penny),
So like me yep anything free that works..I was lucky to have some pretty sturdy cardboard boxes and over time you find just the right “sizes”
Becky
@Tabitha (a.k.a. Penny), *Gasp!* I have several diaper boxes and empty wipes containers that I’ve just been waiting to have a use for! Thank you for the idea!
BethB
I bought the smaller version of those baskets to stack and organize my spices! We have some in the pantry for snacks and misc. stuff too.
We have an upright freezer that came with the house. It’s not that hard to organize and in terms of how the space is used I prefer that to a chest freezer. However, when we have to replace it I’m not sure I’d be willing to shell out the extra cash for another upright. So I may be doing the basket thing some day too.
Jessica
@BethB, when we thought ours was dying, we priced them out. I don’t know that I could stomach paying for a chest freezer! They are all so expensive.
Annie
I do exactly the same thing and like Ann above, I’ve had my plastic bins for a long time without breakage. I keep proteins in the deep freeze and frozen whole tomatoes (because I have no where else to freeze them). Fruit, veggies, breads, freezer meals, ice cream, etc., all go in the freezer above our fridge or in the freezer side of our spare fridge in the garage. I use smaller bins in those freezers, too.
Mamie
We also have a chest freezer, and also organize using bins/baskets. The freezer came with one hanging bin, which we use for small things – the last of a package of hot dogs, etc. I have two of the metal baskets that I acquired somewhere, and several plastic ones that I got at Target YEARS ago. We’ve been using the plastic ones in the freezer for about three years, and they have held up just fine. We categorize items by type: Poultry, beef, pork, vegetables, fruits, etc. It works great! The baskets stack and can be easily shifted to get to the layers below.
Kelli
I don’t know if you enjoy thrift shopping, but wire baskets appropriate for the freezer are at my local thrift shop frequently. I outfitted my freezer with wire baskets for under $15–I didn’t find them all at once, but probably in a span of a few months.
Jessica
@Kelli, unfortunately, I am a thrift store dropout.
Ann M
This is exactly how my freezer is organized. Eight plastic bins labeled by protein. Tell hubs my plastic bins are 4 years old and still going strong 🙂
Jessica
@Ann M, hehe. 😉
Steph (The Cheapskate Cook)
Great idea! I’d always wondered how on earth you could keep a deep freeze organized. I like the stackable bins idea – please keep us posted on how they hold up.
Alisha
My deep freeze is usually slam packed with food. Since we ranch we always have beef and we butcher a hog about once a year. The easiest way I have found to organize is beef on one side, hog on the other and everything else in between. If I keep the beef in the huge plastic bags it comes in it is easier to find what I’m looking for whether it be hamburger, roasts, or steaks. I use my freezer above my fridge for my stockpile of frozen veggies, cheese, and other things. My freezer meals are usually stacked in my deep freeze on top of my supply of meat. I love not having to buy meat at the store (I don’t even buy chicken, we are blessed with being able to trade beef for fresh chickens with a family!) however the only time I get to see the bottom of my freezer is when we get another beef and I have to do the rotation! I love how you organized with the baskets, I think I need to figure out a way to insert dividers in my mess!
Jessica
@Alisha, I think you could make some dividers with tension rods and mesh netting. Could be interesting.
Crystal
@Jessica,
Would lids from plastic tubs work for dividers? I have used them on shelves before. I’ve used all sizes depending on the shelf.
Jessica
I imagine so.
Cheri A
Great idea! I do not have an upright freezer, but I could use some small bins to organize some things.
Marcee
I too was very inspired. I have 3 freezers. We feed 14 people 3x day. So, one upright freezer holds all the bread and related baking and bread things, with butter in the door. The other upright holds all our freezer meals and components. Now the chest freezer, thats a beast! So taking your queue, I “aquired” 4 black milk crates . One for each meat type. They stack so nicely and now kiddos can put stuff away too. I have 2 hanging baskets for other baking goods as well. Now if I can just keep the 7yo from falling in to reach something… just kidding. No child was harmed while putting the frozens away.
Jessica
@Marcee, I cannot imagine keeping track of THREE freezers! And I thought we had a lot. 😉
Rebekah
Milk crates! What an awesome idea! I have a couple lying around…. I was going to toss them, but not anymore!
DawnJoy
That organized freezer is a beautiful thing. Wow, thanks for the inspiration. I’m aiming to get the freezers in both of my refrigerators inventoried and organized today. Your post has reminded me to take the before pictures while it’s not too late.
Averiesmom
THANK YOU! I just purchased a freezer similar to yours and was trying to get it organized, but could foresee a problem of not being able to see what was at the bottom. This is a timely post and a great solution! I’ve off to the dollar store today!