Deep freezer organization, the frugal way.

Would you like to see how I organize my deep freezer? My freezer and extra fridge are out in the garage of death, so I'm not showing you a picture of that. I'll draw you one:





{Click on it to make it larger. I'm very excited because I got a scanner on freecycle -- yes, free! -- and it works very well. I had to get a USB cord, and they are not very cheap, but still... this is fun!}

My freezer is one of the smaller models, but the principle of organizing it is the same as it was when I had a super large one. I'm going to show you what to do.



First, note in my schematic that a shelf or table next to your freezer is awfully handy. I don't know what I'd do without mine (which is a yardsale freebie). Any old thing will do.

But you need a place to put things as you are stocking, restocking, and finding things.

Next, you need some very sturdy cardboard boxes. The kind that berries come in at the supermarket are perfect. And now is getting to be the time to snag them!


 
Just be there when the guy is setting out the blueberries, strawberries, and bananas, and kindly ask him for a couple of boxes (I have three). He will be more than happy to give them to you, and they are fabulous: sturdy, deep, and with hand-holds! (The shallower wider ones aren't as handy, I think, but try it!)

What more could you ask!




Just stack them in the freezer with your stuff loosely organized in them. I have one that I keep frozen veggies in, one for stuff I've already prepared (like stew, casseroles, soup, etc), and one for raw meat. (See the sidebar post about Save a Step Cooking for more ideas!)

Ignore the frost in my pictures! My goal is to use up most of the things and then someday, when it's actually warm out, do the defrosting.

A chest freezer that doesn't have automatic defrost is the most cost-effective to run, so that's the one I got when the old (free, enormous, also non-frost-free) one died.

What's scary about a chest freezer is the idea that you would ever get to the bottom of it in order to

a) know what's in it and

b) defrost it.

But with my handy method, you can do it.




I have found that there is no way to avoid frequently moving things around in the freezer. It's much easier to do when you can remove a bunch of things in one go, putting them on the handy shelf that's right there next to you:




By all means make use of the basket that comes with it. I keep breakfast meats and other little items in mine, and bread and rolls underneath.


 

I must say I had been put off by the thought of a large chest of food with everything all tumbled in there, covered in frost, unidentifiable, only trackable by the use of a clipboard and inventory.

I'm very visual, so the extra step of recording was annoying me. This way, every week or so, as I'm making my menus and grocery list, I lift out my boxes to see what's in there (it's easy if you remember to label, which is easier if you have a sharpie handy in the kitchen).

To me, that's simpler than keeping up a written inventory.




When things are first put in there, they should be put in random, separate places to freeze quickly. Obviously if you stack a bunch of raw meat near the top, it won't freeze very well. It's actually not very safe to do it that way.

So the day after you stock up, you need to go out there and reorganize the now-frozen items.




Like I said, mine is nearly empty at the moment, but even when it's full, I have no trouble knowing what's what, nor did I when the freezer was almost twice this size.

{How many times can I say "handy" in one post? :) }

Thanks to Ann Kroeker for the link!