Please help!!! Tips for organizing your chest freezer contents!!! Save my marriage:)

[wannabefree]

Okay it's not exactly THAT bad but I should have known not to send dh to get something out of the freezer yesterday but IT HAPPENED!!!! He said "don't you buy anything else that has to be frozen, there's so much stuff in there and you can't find anything and ......."


So I agree that I need some kind of system. I only have one basket that hangs from the top and I put small items in that. But when it comes to looking for that one thing, like a bag of hash browns....it always seems to have sunk to the bottom.



Thanks!

[Wolfie1991]

If I had a package of Steamfresh for every time my husband said that...

[brixtonrileightaylor]

I know how you feel.. My freezer is PACKED to the gills and i can't find didly squat in it..LOL it's mostly packed with gg steamers and everything else has kinda ended up at the bottom..It's a pain in the rear to find anything!

[wannabefree]

Thanks for the laughs and commiserating and all but you're not helping me much!

Here's what I'm thinkin'......Target bags are stronger than the other grocery bags that keep ripping when I move them around in there. I think I'm going to use a Target bag and mark it with veggies, MSF, raw meat, miscellaneous....etc and see if that helps. Of course things fit in and around the bags better when it's loose but it might be a start.

I know some of the accountant types on here prolly have a list on the freezer and cross it off each time they use something....but mostly I remember what is in there...it's just finding it ......I sometimes wear gloves and pull 50 things out to find the one container of spaghetti sauce or soup that I KNOW is in there.

More ideas????? I'm listening.........................

[angiechel]

lol, thinkin', and prayin'

[sbp]

We used to have a really big chest freezer (it had come out of an ice cream restaurant) and that too came with the nightmare of trying to find anything without yanking everything out.

Finally I put 5 or 6 milkcrates in the bottom of the freezer and then put all the frozen veggies in one, beef stuff in another, chicken stuff in another, etc. We had 3 of those suspended baskety things in there too, so we didn't have a huge amount of space to fill in between the milk crates and the bottom of the baskets and of course there was some stuff just floating around on top of the crates, but at least I had a general idea of where to find stuff and not have to empty the entire thing every time.

[wannabefree]

Thanks Lesley, that DOES sound like a good idea. Milk crates are pretty square so they wouldn't take up precious space with the corners like rubbermaid containers would.
My freezer is pretty small but the concept could still work if I use smaller containers. I also have stuff like frozen water jugs (in case of power failure to keep things frozen) and flour, corn meal etc that just glugs up the bottom of the freezer. I could keep those things under the one hanging basket.

I'm going to give it a try and see.....

[Lmnde]

That is what I have in mine too, in addition to the 3 hanging baskets. I can fit 4 the long way into my big chest freezer, and 2 on top of each other. So I have a total of 8 in there right now, packed with different things. One is for margarine, 4 hold various brands of frozen veggies [this will help with the rotating as well, new stuff goes into the bottom bins and what is on top gets eaten first]. Two usually have frozen coldcuts, ham + bacon, sausage + hotdogs, and cheese in it, and the last one is a catch all for smaller meat packages. I have meat in the front of the crates [the crates are along the back wall] - kind of sorted by variety, but also depending on how it was packaged. In the top wire baskets I have frozen yoghurts, ice cream [unless it needs hiding], pies etc. and more coldcuts stuff; bread usually gets stuffed somewhere in between and then the bugger is full.

When I turn on the smaller of the chest freezers in addition to the big one, it's usually for bargain stock-up stuff or extra good meat deals. I sometimes buy chicken direct from the chicken factory [for both ppl as well as the dogs] and the 40# boxes fit perfectly into the smaller of the freezers.

[pyxiwulf]

well, I only have 5.5 cubic foot, so I didn't want to give up any space to milk crates. so I basically have sections. I still have to pull tons out all the time, but I know where to pull from. back left corner is meats, back right is prepared sides, front left bottom is breads, front right and top of front left is veggies. Small stuff goes in baskets and randoms like the odd dessert (I don't seem to get deals on those) fill gaps.

The biggest issue I tend to have is rotating. I am never in the mood to pull it all out to put the new stuff in when I get home from the store, so I try to deal with it about once a month and throughout the month, I try to be disciplined enough to not be lazy & pull from the top.

And NEVER let the hubs get in it!

[Grandma Lewis]

Originally Posted by wannabefree I know some of the accountant types on here prolly have a list on the freezer and cross it off each time they use something

Are you kidding, do you know how long that list would be????

No I don't go that far, but I do have two freezers. One is for veggies, potatoes, cheese and a small selection of meat. This is the upright and the one we get into most often. Each shelf has it own designation for items. Top shelf is veggies, second shelf is Stouffers and breads. Third shelf is chicken and beef. The bottom basket contains potatoes and corn on the cob.

I also use the second shelf for freezing loafs of bread before I toss them into the deep freeze.

The deep freeze is used for long term storage and is not opened that often. I filled the bottom with large briskets and roasts. After the loafs of bread are frozen, they go on top of the meat. The 50 zillion packages of Oscar Mayer weiners and the Wholly Guacamole are stacked on the ledge that covers the motor. The baskets contain the cans of crescents and french loaf, marshmallows and pepperoni. The loafs of bread hide the goodies that I am hiding.

I have purchased small plastic square crates (I think they are for DVD storage) and I have found they are the perfect size for 1 lb chubs of hamburger and sausage. And it keeps them from rolling over around knocking over my neatly stacked packages of meat. The also help keep them off my toes when the roll off the shelf.