# How to organize a chest freezer?



## NEMarvin (Jul 11, 2010)

I've been trying to figure this out for years...and there's so much knowledge on the HT boards, I thought I'd throw this out there and get your tips.

How do you organize your chest freezer so that you know where stuff is, don't have to dig everything out to find the one thing you are looking for, and so that you don't lose something in the bottom that eventually goes bad and wastes money?

I've tried boxes and paper bags and still have problems. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

my new chest freezer has blue dividers in the bottom and baskets near the top, works great! Until I got the new one we used plastic milk crates and had each one hold a different veggie, meat, etc. they were easy to stack and remove to reach the ones below.


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## NEMarvin (Jul 11, 2010)

I've wondered about that...any ideas where to get some milk crates on the cheap?


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## PixieLou (May 1, 2010)

My chest freezer is pretty small. I don't think I'd have room for stacking milk crates in there.

I keep a sheet of lined paper taped to the top of my freezer. I keep a running tally of what goes in and what comes out. It's listed by month. That way I know whats in there at all times, and more importantly, what I need to think about consuming.

I do have 1 hanging basket on top. I try to put things in there that I will be needing soon, or are getting old, and I need to find a way to use up.


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## praieri winds (Apr 16, 2010)

you can make deviders out of boards or plywood and use one section for different foods


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## NEMarvin (Jul 11, 2010)

praieri winds said:


> you can make deviders out of boards or plywood and use one section for different foods


Have you or anyone done this? I've tried on smaller scale with a vertically placed piece of plywood as a divider. The problem is still that stuff gets buried, and you have to dig it out piece by piece.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I am still trying to find a way of organizing that keeps the stuff at the bottom rotated to the top for use.

What I have found works best so far (in that we home package our meats/vegies) is to sort with plastic shopping bags (doubled). Each bag can be labeled with contents and date and each bag can be moved around more easily than each individual piece.


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## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

Great thread! I just got a small freezer awhile back and need to figure out a way to organize w/o having to plow through everything. I was using boxes. I might start a list like another poster stated. I could also utilize boxes, but with the list I would at least have a clue which box to look for.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

my daddy was a bread man for years and always got the milk crates from the milk man. We have a dairy fresh plant near us and many people call there and try to get some. I have also seen them at walmart and office depot this time of year in the dorm/school section, they are not as sturdy as old milk crates but they should work.


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## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

I use boxes too and I keep a running inventory list of everything in there so I don't have to search for long


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## CountryWannabe (May 31, 2004)

Last year WalMart had their beach bags on sale for around $2.50 so I bough several in different colors. So now I have green for veggies, blue for fish, yellow for chicken, pink for pork and red for lamb or beef. I won't say that this has solved all my problems, but it is a lot easier than it used to be...

Mary


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