How to organize my chest freezer.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Help.  I've neglected this issue for too long and I found some really old food in the bottom of my chest freezer.  I want to start freezing bone broth in Mason jars, but, due to the chaos in said freezer, I am concerned they will break when someone is rummaging though the contents looking for something for dinner  So, I thought I'd look into organizer baskets.  But, our freezer is an older model and it only came with one basket.  I meant to look when we first got it, but life intervened.  I think I an get another basket like it, but I'd like to figure out how to organize the rest of it.  It is 48 x 28 and I think it is 48 inches high.  Any ideas that don't cost a fortune?  But that will stay neat (like not cardboard boxes.) 

[Um_2_4]

I am looking to buy one (but a bit smaller than that) and had wondered if using those HUGE ziploc storage bags would work. Like one for chicken (each indivually bagged of course), 1 for ground beef, 1 for other beef cuts, 1 for fish, 1 for veges and line the bottom with bread.

Like These: https://smile.amazon.com/Ziploc-Double-Zipper-X-Large-4-Count/dp/B003U6A3EY/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1476487814&sr=8-1&keywords=jumbo+ziploc+bags

 

Of course first you would have to freeze flat the serving size packages, then put them into the larger bag. But it would be easy to pull out.

[Miss Tick]

Plastic or wire? I have wire. I think I lose a fair amount if usable space around the edges, but it is so, so much easier to sort through. Even if you just had a few. I got mine at an office supply store.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Plastic or wire? I have wire. I think I lose a fair amount if usable space around the edges, but it is so, so much easier to sort through. Even if you just had a few. I got mine at an office supply store.

 

Links, maybe?  I lose a fair amount of food due to it falling to the bottom (and I can't reach it ... I'm 5'8" and I can't reach all the way into the bottom without almost falling in. )  I really do not know what is down there:). 

 

[nd293]

I wanted to describe my dream storage for the deep freezer - stackable baskets with long handles - and decided to actually look, and it does exist!

 

http://bemyguestwithdenise.com/deep-freezer-organization/

[Jenn in FL]

Last year we bought inexpensive chest freezers for two college apartments for our daughters and their roommates to share.  In short order, the expected freezer chaos reigned supreme.   :lol:  Subsequently in an effort to restore law and order, I purchased several different basket type containers and returned them all for one reason or another.  

 

Then one day when doing a quick WalMart run, I saw the most interesting reusable grocery bags right by the check out counters on an end cap type display.  The bags actually have collapsable "walls" built into them and unfold into the shape of a square.  They have handles and are easily stacked and moved about.  They were about $5.99 each at WalMart and were available in either black, blue, or red I believe.  Work like a champ! :hurray:

 

They looked very similar (if not identical) to these:

 

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019EGP6Q8/ref=twister_B019EGP2CQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[Baseball mom]

I saw on somewhere where the person used milk crates.  Stack & move easy.

[Artichoke]

I wanted to describe my dream storage for the deep freezer - stackable baskets with long handles - and decided to actually look, and it does exist!

 

http://bemyguestwithdenise.com/deep-freezer-organization/

 

 

This is how our freezer is organized.  I waited for a sale at the Container Store and bought them then.  

[EmilyGF]

What I've done is just put my food in bags by category (cheeses, tortillas, chicken, beef, sausage, frozen veggies). About 6 big bags fit in my freezer. Things don't fall to the bottom and all I have to do is peek inside a bag. Worst comes to worst, I only have to take things out.

 

I started this because I had a bunch of food in bags from Aldi that I had sorted at the store and was in a rush, so I just put them in. When I went to find something, I realized it was super easy. I'm very happy with it and it cost me $0.42. :-)

 

Emily

[Liz CA]

I keep things I need daily or often in the basket on the top and store roasts and other things I don't need as often in bottom.

One note of warning: I have broken mason jars with precious chicken stock in it in the freezer. I now use a large, commercial kitchen type storage container. It looks like this except mine has a lid as well:

https://www.katom.com/028-3088513.html?zmam=29342707&zmas=1&zmac=32&zmap=028-3088513&utm_source=google&utm_medium=adwords&utm_campaign=CSE&gclid=CLai4_na288CFQEJaQodVeQNbA

 

This has worked very well. If you want to freeze it in smaller portions, I'd use thicker plastic suitable to freezing.

 

ETA: I got my container at Cash & Carry in the restaurant supply section.

Edited October 15, 2016 by Liz CA

[dirty ethel rackham]

Thanks for all the suggestions!!

 

I keep things I need daily or often in the basket on the top and store roasts and other things I don't need as often in bottom.

One note of warning: I have broken mason jars with precious chicken stock in it in the freezer. I now use a large, commercial kitchen type storage container. It looks like this except mine has a lid as well:

https://www.katom.com/028-3088513.html?zmam=29342707&zmas=1&zmac=32&zmap=028-3088513&utm_source=google&utm_medium=adwords&utm_campaign=CSE&gclid=CLai4_na288CFQEJaQodVeQNbA

 

This has worked very well. If you want to freeze it in smaller portions, I'd use thicker plastic suitable to freezing.

 

ETA: I got my container at Cash & Carry in the restaurant supply section.

My reason for using Mason jars is that I am trying to get away from plastic for food storage.  I made sure to leave an inch at the top and only use wide mouth jars so that there is room for expansion during freezing.  My reason for wanting to organize the freezer is to prevent these from breaking.  I also plan to have a tote bag hung up next to the freezer so that we have something to carry them in without breaking.  

 

I wanted to describe my dream storage for the deep freezer - stackable baskets with long handles - and decided to actually look, and it does exist!

http://bemyguestwithdenise.com/deep-freezer-organization/

Ooh.  I like.  Off to check dimensions.  I just need some space big enough for the frozen pizzas that dh insists on buying from Costco.  I'd rather make my own, but sometimes these do in a pinch.  I just don't know why we need so many.

 

Last year we bought inexpensive chest freezers for two college apartments for our daughters and their roommates to share.  In short order, the expected freezer chaos reigned supreme.   :lol:  Subsequently in an effort to restore law and order, I purchased several different basket type containers and returned them all for one reason or another.  

 

Then one day when doing a quick WalMart run, I saw the most interesting reusable grocery bags right by the check out counters on an end cap type display.  The bags actually have collapsable "walls" built into them and unfold into the shape of a square.  They have handles and are easily stacked and moved about.  They were about $5.99 each at WalMart and were available in either black, blue, or red I believe.  Work like a champ! :hurray:

 

They looked very similar (if not identical) to these:

 

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019EGP6Q8/ref=twister_B019EGP2CQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Hmm.  Intriguing.  I do worry that with them being collapsible, food will spill out and chaos will ensue. 

 

What I've done is just put my food in bags by category (cheeses, tortillas, chicken, beef, sausage, frozen veggies). About 6 big bags fit in my freezer. Things don't fall to the bottom and all I have to do is peek inside a bag. Worst comes to worst, I only have to take things out.

 

I started this because I had a bunch of food in bags from Aldi that I had sorted at the store and was in a rush, so I just put them in. When I went to find something, I realized it was super easy. I'm very happy with it and it cost me $0.42. :-)

 

Emily

I found all the bags from my old bag system at the bottom of the freezer.  :laugh:   Plus, this does not help with keeping my glass jars safe.  Too much shuffling from other careless family members. 

[happi duck]

Make sure to use the jars with *no* "shoulders".

 

The box will say that they are safe for freezing.

[Carol in Cal.]

I use pint jars for this, rather than quart jars, because they have straight sides all the way up to the lid.  They stack well, too.

Re the storage issue, I have no idea.

Every time I look at a freezer, I think two things:

1.  If I get a freezer with a door, someone will leave it open and everything will spoil.

2.  If I get a chest freezer, I will not ever be able to reach the stuff at the bottom, which will drive me crazy.  Every time I look at these I picture myself falling in headfirst and getting stuck or something.

[nd293]

This is how our freezer is organized. I waited for a sale at the Container Store and bought them then.

Shipping to Australia probably isn't practical, unfortunately. But as soon as we move house I'm going to look for a local alternative. Technically it's dh's "fish freezer" though, I just use it for overflow stuff - bread, milk and my icecream machine's bowl. He tends to object to my organising, until he gets used to the changes!

[Jenn in FL]

Thanks for all the suggestions!!

 

Hmm.  Intriguing.  I do worry that with them being collapsible, food will spill out and chaos will ensue. 

 

 

 

Oh dear...    :lol:

 

I am not explaining these well at all!    :closedeyes:

 

They *DO* collapse, but only inwardly not outwardly.  When unfolded to be used as a container or storage bin, the sides are rigid and a form a perfect square and when they are packed with  food items, they can be stacked on top of each other. The handles make them a cinch to maneuver!  In an ideal world, I would use separate bins for chicken, beef, veggies, bread items, bone broth etc and then just line the walls of the freezer with frozen pizzas.

 

Edited October 15, 2016 by Jenn in FL

[SparklyUnicorn]

I wanted to describe my dream storage for the deep freezer - stackable baskets with long handles - and decided to actually look, and it does exist!

 

http://bemyguestwithdenise.com/deep-freezer-organization/

 

This is brilliant!!

 

I hate my chest freezer for how annoying it is to store and find stuff, but this would totally solve the problem. 

[happi duck]

I haven't read all the replies, but I just wanted to say that I used to freeze broth in mason jars, and about 1 out of every 3 or 4 would crack. I was careful to not overfill them, or let the temp change too quickly, etc, so I'm not sure why they were cracking. I'm not sure mason jars are a good way to go...

Were they conventional mason jar shape with curved "shoulders"? Or were the sides totally straight? The straight ones should be fine in the freezer. The ones with shoulders will crack.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I haven't read all the replies, but I just wanted to say that I used to freeze broth in mason jars, and about 1 out of every 3 or 4 would crack. I was careful to not overfill them, or let the temp change too quickly, etc, so I'm not sure why they were cracking. I'm not sure mason jars are a good way to go...

Interesting. Most of my crunch mom friends have been using mason jars with the curved "shoulders" for years and never had a crack. I was worried about that. But now I am kicking myself for not buying the straight ones. I just liked the look of the curved ones.

 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

[SamanthaCarter]

I stack the cheap $1 plastic baskets from Big Lots. I know I waste some space that way, but If I can lift them out and see whats below without removing a quarter of the contents of the freezer, I'm fine with that. I am tall enough to reach the basket in the bottom though. A basket holds about 8 pint jars of stock and another filled basket on top distributes the weight nicely so that I'm not worried about a jar breaking. 

 

 

[Miss Tick]

Links, maybe? I lose a fair amount of food due to it falling to the bottom (and I can't reach it ... I'm 5'8" and I can't reach all the way into the bottom without almost falling in. ) I really do not know what is down there:).

 

Hmm, I got them on clearance and I'm having trouble finding something comparable. They are like this:

http://www.google.com/search?q=stackable+wire+bins&prmd=sivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiPoJaTgt7PAhWoz4MKHblsCncQ_AUICCgC&biw=360&bih=512&dpr=3#tbm=isch&q=hanging+folder+storage+bins&imgrc=80wMXpDKcAce3M%3A

But without the hanging folders.

 

I wanted straight sides, non-protruding handles, and stackable.

[Amy in NH]

I picked up some stacking file crates to organize my chest freezer.  They have big holes in the sides and bottom to let the air through. 

[KungFuPanda]

Ikea bags? Sort by category; oldest at the top, and lower them in.

[momacacia]

Mason Jar freezing---either don't put broth above the shoulder (if your jars are shouldered), or freeze tilted slightly sideways (still not filling them all the way).

 

I have great success and don't worry about breakage if I make the soup and freeze it, instead of just the broth. I store 1 cup amounts of broth in breast milk bags. Lol.