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happylady1957

Organizing Freezer Compartment of Fridge

happylady1957
15 years ago

I would like to better organize the freezer compartment of my fridge. I tend to buy frozen vegs in the bag, as opposed to boxes, and to portion off larger packages of meats. In other words, odd-shaped packages. I've looked online at the Container Store, and don't really see anything helpful. Someone suggested plastic dishpans, but they seem a bit large, if I'm going to segregate chicken from pork, etc. Any ideas? TIA!

Comments (5)

  • brugloverZ9
    15 years ago

    Just recently someone posted photos of a freezer in sections like you are wanting. Maybe that someone will see your post and post it again!

  • grainlady_ks
    15 years ago

    I use plastic baskets in my side-by-side refrigerator/freezer. This is also all the freezer space I have, so I have to maximize it and use it efficiently.

    When I pull out the chicken basket, there is an assortment of things all vacuum-sealed flat and "filed" in the basket (raw, cooked, etc.). I have space behind the baskets, and that's where I stack things like homemade sandwich/hamburger buns, or items that are not needed very often (like bulk amounts of yeast). When I do need those things, I can easily remove the whole basket to get to the things behind.

    I also have a basket for beef, fruit/veggies, breakfast meats, etc. In other words, put like-things together in one basket.

    I try to put as much stuff in vacuum-sealed packages as possible. Vacuum-sealed bags (I use a FoodSaver) will help keep things longer without freezer burn, and you can see at a glance what's in the bag.

    If you purchase pre-packaged foods, try to eliminate the boxes. They can be real space-wasters in the freezer. Cut any instructions you might need from the box and file it outside the freezer, or if you repackage in vacuum-sealed bags, just tuck the instructions in with the food (in a sandwich bag - so you don't transfer any ink from the box to the food).

    I keep a lot of frozen concentrate 100% juice products in the freezer - stock up when they are on sale. They used to get lost in the freezer until I used a rack designed for holding cans of pop/soda in the refrigerator, and stack the 12-oz. plastic containers on the rack for easy dispensing.

    I make lots of foods (soup/stew/chili/stroganoff/spaghetti sauce, etc.) in bulk, then quick freeze them in small containers that are the same size (usually 1/2-cup or 1-cup amounts = single servings). When they are frozen, I pop them out of the plastic containers, stack them and vacuum-seal them in FoodSaver bags. When I need one or two (or more) servings, I remove from the bag what is needed, then vacuum seal the bag shut again. I use rectangle- or square- shaped containers because square things take up less space than round containers.

    -Grainlady

  • happylady1957
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Wow, thanks guys! Grainlady, I always enjoy hearing of your kitchen prowess - I so admire people who are organized, wish I had that gene! I do hope that someone puts up those photos of the baskets. Thanks again.

  • calirose
    15 years ago

    happy lady, I was not the one who posted pics,but I also use baskets in my top of the fridge freezer. I separate the meats into serving sizes and allocate one basket for pork, beef, etc. I put frozen veggie bags in the door. My freezer is a litte empty now so slightly disorganized but I am waiting for the next good sale!

    Just measure your space and get baskets to fit.
    {{!gwi}}
    {{!gwi}}

    Rhonda

  • mustangs81
    15 years ago

    I found freezer baskets at Lowes. It really helps to have these general categories:

    These drawers came with the refrigerator:

    This is on the refrigerator door: