Chris Tropea
Chris Tropea Associate Editor
8/13/24 9:55 a.m.

Last night I was digging through our chest freezer looking for something and realized that there has to be a better way to organize it than just a giant pile of stuff that I have to dig though every time. Our freezer came with one hanging basket that works for smaller stuff but are there any stacking bins or similar to organize other items in one of these freezers? I have seen some wire baskets on amazon but they seem pricey for what they are. How do you organize your freezer or am I just over thinking it and the pile is the best method? 

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/13/24 10:08 a.m.

Ha, I had the same thought last night while putting away some groceries. 

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
8/13/24 10:32 a.m.

Hooker parts on the left

EDIT: edible hooker parts in front, souvenir hooker parts in back.

Mndsm
Mndsm MegaDork
8/13/24 10:42 a.m.

I got mad at ours, so I gave it away. Next time, fridge style one. 

wae
wae UltimaDork
8/13/24 10:51 a.m.

Mine's organized chronologically with a slice of chaos theory.  Oldest stuff on the bottom, newer stuff piled on top.

 

Following in hopes that there's a freezer organizing messiah of whom I can become a disciple.

 

RevRico
RevRico MegaDork
8/13/24 10:53 a.m.

I have a fridge style one for stuff I access a lot 

The chest freezer is reserved for long term storage and seasonal things. Bones on the right on the shorter section, turkeys bottom left, pork butts on top of those, ribs and frozen veggies where they fit. Only about half full, but the fridge style one is packed, so I like leaving room for overflow 

Chris Tropea
Chris Tropea Associate Editor
8/13/24 1:01 p.m.

In reply to wae :

This is the same problem I have. Stuff just ends up in the abyss at the bottom of the freezer. 

cghstang_chris
cghstang_chris Dork
8/13/24 1:06 p.m.

We don't really have a system per se, but I do keep a pair of gloves next to the freezer to make digging to the bottom/ taking everything out/ restacking the jenga towers as painless as possible.

Toyman!
Toyman! MegaDork
8/13/24 1:19 p.m.

I gave our chest freezer away and bought an upright with the thought that nothing would get lost in the bottom for years. 

Now things get lost in the back but we have the added benefit of it puking things out on the floor when you open it. 

Kind of like, "What's for dinner?"

Opens the freezer.

Freezer, "Here's some broccoli you don't want to put back in here."

hobiercr
hobiercr UberDork
8/13/24 3:30 p.m.

While we don't have one, my oldest sister does. She swears by using multiple cloth/reuseable grocery store bags to group like items. Pretty sure she does poultry/beef/fish in different colored totes so she can easily grab the one she wants. I'm sure you could add ice cream/cold packs/frozen veggies/etc. for whatever you needed.

Chris Tropea
Chris Tropea Associate Editor
8/13/24 4:21 p.m.

In reply to hobiercr :

Ohh, I like the idea of using the reusable grocery bags. Most of the time they sit in the house when I forget to bring them to the store anyway. I might give that a try and see how it works out. 

Peabody
Peabody MegaDork
8/13/24 4:44 p.m.

I'm all about organization, and PW fights it every step of the way.

I initially wanted to use totes, but couldn't find any that fit without taking up too much space. I settled on boxes. We buy our bacon from the butcher.  Our freezer came with plastic separators, and the bacon comes in 5lb boxes that fit in the freezer compartments perfectly. Each of the bacon boxes is marked with what's inside, and we keep meats in the right rear, fruit and veggies in the right front, frozen prepared foods in the left rear, misc in the right front and big things like bread in the middle. I bought a 15lb pork belly on the weekend, we cut it in thirds, put it in a reusable grocery bag and put it in the middle with the bread and other big stuff.

Our freezer is currently full. So much so that a local store had chicken wings on for a couple bucks a pound today and we didn't get any

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