we have a couple chest style deep-freezes. They are great except inevitable they quickly grow to become disorganized nightmaresin terms of finding anything. I need some suggestions as to how yoo keep your freezers organized.
Freezer organizing
- Thread starter The Innkeeper
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Back when I had a chest type freezer it came with a couple of wire baskets that hung from the top edges of the freezer. Along the way I found some plastic tubs that just fit into the freezer and I could get three of these tubs along the bottom, if memory serves, and I could stack them a couple high without having problems with the baskets.
I've done like Caribou. A couple hanging wire baskets came with the freezer, and I've found other baskets to separate things by like items. In the past I used really sturdy cardboard trays with high sides (was able to get them at Sam's Club, part of a product's packing or display - but we don't belong to Sam's anymore). The trick is keeping each tray or bin manageable, so that the upper trays can be pulled out when you need to get to the basket or tray on the bottom.
We have one chest freezer and it drives me nuts. We ended up using those cloth bags you get from the grocery store. We sort of color code them based on what kind of meat is inside. Like red bags will have ground beef (wrapped in a plastic bag), pink bags will have bacon, etc. When we empty a bag we wash it, dry it and put it back in the stack for the next time we buy meat. The bottom of the freezer is where we keep hams, turkeys and large cuts of meats. The bag all sit on top.
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And this is why I have an upright freezer. They are supposedly not as energy efficient, but the shelves make it so much easier to organize. They also take up less floor space.
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I want an upright freezer. Right now I have the chest Sam's freezer. The only way I know what's in there is with the sheet of paper taped to the top with the marker nearby. If I take it out, I mark it off. Still, things are hard to find
Eventually we would like to change over to upright freezers but for now we have too work with what we have. I'm actually thinking we need a third and will probably go with an upright for it
I have one of each type. By the time harvest is over they are both a mess. But using totes, milk crates, baskets, etc to organize thing s are a huge help. If you are careful with packing and stacking, you can get to anything in the freezer pretty quickly without making a mess of things.
We do try and use the chest to store longer range goods and the upright for more quickly used items.
We do try and use the chest to store longer range goods and the upright for more quickly used items.
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Me too!
I've only had one chest type freezer. I don't remember anymore what happened to it, but from then on we've had uprights. I get tgem organized but "someone" always come behind me looking for something. He rifles through until he finds (or doesn't find) what he's looking for and leaves it looking like a tornado hit. Hmmm, I wonder who that could be??!! 
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I bought mine for solar so chest was only option. I have to have ice in case of hot flash during Armageddon.
Armageddon will be rough enough but being hot on top of it, no way. 
We have an upright in the shop and it's cluttered.
We have a bottom freezer on the refrigerator and it's piled up so you have to dig to find stuff.
Also things get buried and forgotten until they are no good.
My wife has a system for everything.
A pile for everything and everything in a pile.
Drives me nuts, she says it's a short drive.
We have a bottom freezer on the refrigerator and it's piled up so you have to dig to find stuff.
Also things get buried and forgotten until they are no good.
My wife has a system for everything.
A pile for everything and everything in a pile.
Drives me nuts, she says it's a short drive.
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I bought mine for solar so chest was only option. I have to have ice in case of hot flash during Armageddon.
I would think this is especially true if you live in the south.
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Oh yes!
And I went thru most of mine with 6 grand kids here for the summer. I use to tell them they are one degree from a oak limb. Especially the summer one came came down with head lice
. I alcoholed 6 heads wrapped in plastic wrap washed the whole house down and still itched just thinking about it. . They had the nerve to complain!:switch:
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I am revisiting some of these posts. I have tried plastic for freezer containers, but frozen plastic is brittle and breaks easily. Cardboard boxes would probably work much better and they can be had for free. The Container Store has a few options for freezer baskets and they do ship.
https://www.containerstore.com/s?source=form&q=freezer+baskets&refinements=&submit=
https://www.containerstore.com/s?source=form&q=freezer+baskets&refinements=&submit=
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One more thing about freezers, when and if you have a freezer that stops working, you can convert it into a safe, if it has a lock. They have been used as a fireproof place to store valuables. I really do not know if that is true, but I like the idea of a non-working freezer being used as a gun safe. Lot of ammo can be stored there as well.
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This post reminds me......I have to go and organize my freezer.
My grandpa had one buried and he used it to store worms in. Anytime we went fishing we knew where to find some easy worms. He stuffed it with shredded newspaper, soil, and put coffee grounds and other compost in it every now and then. He covered the lid with a thick piece of foam and put a piece of plywood over the top of that. It was in an area with tall grass by an old barn. Nobody would have even known it was there. We don't fish as much as we used to, but if I did, I would definitely use his idea.
Like you said Weedy, there's other options in which to use an old freezer.
My grandpa had one buried and he used it to store worms in. Anytime we went fishing we knew where to find some easy worms. He stuffed it with shredded newspaper, soil, and put coffee grounds and other compost in it every now and then. He covered the lid with a thick piece of foam and put a piece of plywood over the top of that. It was in an area with tall grass by an old barn. Nobody would have even known it was there. We don't fish as much as we used to, but if I did, I would definitely use his idea.
Like you said Weedy, there's other options in which to use an old freezer.
