To save space and make extra room in my freezer, I remove the supermarket packaging. I cut out the label, and place the product and label, into a clear "snap lock" type sealed bag. The label tells me the item and date. The bag replaced the packaging which I have found to take up about 30-40% of the space.
Also I separate bulk items into portion packs, each portion is separately bagged. By using the labeled bag last I always know content details of the separated bags.
By Krossova from Melbourne, Australia
I've found a way to keep my freezer organized that saves me both time and money. I have plastic bins that fit on the shelves and are labeled as to contents: chicken, beef, fish. I have 2 other bins labeled "prepared food" and "prepped ingredients".
When your bags of frozen foods start getting really tiny, they tend to get crumpled and lost in your freezer, leading to food waste and stale freezer odors. Use binder clips to hang your bags of frozen foods on the rack shelf. Just fold up the bags and clip on the rack from the top.
I was sick of things sliding off each other so I spent about 45 minutes doing this.
I use small meal size containers for berries to go with pancakes or deserts. The first trick is to turn over every second container, so that it's lid rim is down.
Do you have stuff in your freezer that's taking up a lot of room, making you unable to get to the things that you need right away? Do you forget what you have in your freezer because you can't see it? If so, then it's time to organize!
When you freeze leftovers, keep a notepad by the freezer and write down what you have got in there. When you have a "don't know what to cook" moment, you will have inspiration.
I saw this tip on Thrifty Fun last year and it has really been a big help for me in keeping the food in my chest type freezer separated and organized. I purchased several cloth bags from the grocery store and use them for stacking the vegetables and fruits.
We hang a cork board by the freezer to organize the meat in our freezer. List each type of meat along one side of the board, such as Beef, Chicken, Pork.
One great tip I've found very useful is to make a list of what I put in my freezer and place it on the front of my refrigerator with a magnet.
This is a page about freezer organization with plastic shoe boxes. Freezers, both refrigerator and chest styles, can quickly become a jumbled mess which can result in waste. One way to organize your frozen food is by using plastic shoe boxes.
I've used shoe boxes and small basins, three on each shelf, to divide my freezer. This still leaves room above the boxes to slide in frozen dishes and pizza.
I always try to have frozen veggies on hand, and often use less than a full bag at a time. To keep from losing these partial bags, I keep a plastic crate in the freezer.
The main thing that I have done for my freezers is go to an office store or dollar store and get 'paper' holders. Then I put each filled with separated plastic bags; hamburger, chicken, pork chops, etc. I have done this for many years.
Ideas for organizing an upright freezer. Post your ideas.
It can be challenging to use all the space in an upright freezer. I use inexpensive rectangular plastic dishpans as bins in order to get more on each shelf. I label the dishpans vegetables, meats, etc. This also works well in refrigerator freezers. When I am looking for something, I can pull out the entire container and go through it without having bunches of frozen foods falling out and bouncing off my toes.
By Lynn
I use the shelf helpers and this allows me to more shelf space.