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Make, Do and Mend


The cyber-diary of what this homemaker makes, does and sometimes mends.
My motto is "if you do stuff, stuff gets done"

Sunday, September 23, 2012

How I organize frozen food

My post last week about how I do monthly grocery shopping got quite a few comments.
She asked if  I had any tips on how to organize a chest freezer.  

I don't know if the way I do it is the best way but for now,  it is working for me. 

Let me say that when we bought our current freezer,  I was feeling very frugal and picked out a chest freezer instead of  an upright.  And I so regret it!  Chest freezers do cost less to operate and to purchase than  upright freezers but they are a bother to keep organized and to get things from the bottom.  
So,  my advice, if you are  about to buy a freezer - get an upright!  

Ok,  on to my freezer.
It is quite full because I have heard predictions that meat prices could increase significantly from the drought that dried up the corn and hay crops.
Several stores in my town have had great sales on meat and you all know about my cheese score. 

So,  here is how I do my freezer right now.  

Things are stored in layers
Bottom layer
on the right are some canisters holding wheat to be ground
(my parents brought me their older Vitamix and some wheat 2 weeks ago but I have not yet  used any of it)
the orange and white boxes are bacon, turned on their end to fill that space
in the center are stacks of chicken breasts bought on sale -
On the left - rolls of sausage in a fabric shopping bag
and butter bought on sale, stored in gallon ziploc bags just to keep them a little more airtight than just the wrappers they are in.  

Middle layer
I use cloth shopping bags to sort food - they are heavy when full but the handles make them easy to take out and put back in.
 more bacon- stacked on top the sausage rolls
a shopping bag full of more chicken in the front left
center- a sack of ground beef and smoked pork loin
also a shopping bag full of cheese
on the right,  2 shopping bags,- one is beef and I think the other is more chicken

Top layer
big bags of fish filets and bulk vegatables
bulk yeast - bought at Sams,  a huge bargain there
The basket on the right holds small one of kind things like some chicken sausage  as well as garden  seeds.  

So when I need things from the bottom,  I pretty much just remove each layer until I get to what I need, then replace it all.  It is not the easiest thing but it is not that bad either.
When I am working at it,  I just tell myself  to be thankful I have so much food to move around.


Besides the chest freezer,  I have 2 refrigerators.
One is a small fridge and the other is a family size fridge but not a huge fridge. 
 I use that freezer space too. 
You can get a lot in a fridge freezer if you try.   

In the small fridge freezer,  I stack plastic containers holding cooked food-
taco meat, pasta sauce, chicken broth, refried beans, etc.
Also my grandsons milk 
In the bigger fridge freezer,  this is really assorted stuff-
jars of baking ingredients,
ice packs
apple juice cubes for my grandchildren
partial bags of vegetables

that empty space on the top shelf is where I keep milk- the half gallons I buy on sale and in bulk.


but I thawed out the last one and will need to re-buy them soon.



the door has lots of storage too
for big cans of orange juice
and odd ball baking ingredients.  

So,  I don't know if this the best way to store frozen food,  but it is what currently works for us.  




linked to Blissful and Domestic Sunday blog hop
linked to Sunny Simple Sundays 



9 comments:

  1. Looks like you are well prepared! I bet the sacks are handy in moving stuff in and out. We have 2 big chest type freezers. That was the first large item we purchased when getting married. My in-laws also got one at the time so we have theirs also. Ours need cleaned out!

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  2. I miss my upright! It went out on my and a neighbor happened to have an empty chest freezer brand new he sold to me cheap. I am grateful to have it but when it goes, I am going back to an upright. Love how you organize it, I am currently using the dump and dig method lol.

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  3. When we purchased our freezer, I did get an upright - I'm so short that getting to the bottom of even a small chest freezer was difficult.
    I like your idea of using the bags to keep the foods sorted. I go by shelves - one for beef, one for poultry, etc.
    Mine is not so well-stocked as yours, but after the wedding we plan to fill it up - right now I need room for all the cupcakes I'll be baking in a couple of weeks. :o)

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  4. We have a 7' long chest freezer, so it has compartments and baskets, which are helpful. But as soon as the weather gets cool and all of the gardens are done, we will take inventory of the veggies. This involves a lot of coolers, separating and sorting by date and then refilling the compartments with newest on the bottom.

    We are getting an upright next month for the veggies etc. because this is such a pain. And we've run out of space.

    Your point about comfort is dead on. We have a big expensive trip coming up. Spent $21 on weekly groceries this week to save cash. Couldn't have done that without the reserves on hand!

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  5. you are organized! Our last freezer was a chest, less expensive which was the main reason w bought it...but so inconvenient for me. I buy huge amts of frozen foods if there is a good sale and so we end up freezing a lot of stuff...but in the end, the savings and organization are worth the effort!
    I am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can.

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  6. I grew up with a chest freezer and hated it. When I got married, we bought an upright and I have never regretted it at all! Great blog post. I might just copy you and share my freezer.

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  7. I agree about the upright freezer! I have a chest and it is a pain to dig things out of the bottom. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. I have a chest freezer too. I got it for $10 from Craigslist so it was a no-brainer for me. I have lots of baskets in there too, and it can be a pain to keep track of everything I have in these baskets.

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  9. Thanks! I have some extra cloth bags that I'll use now to organize some loose odds and ends.

    I hate my chest freezer!! We've had it for about 10 years and I'm eyeing and upright. I figure I can sell my chest freezer (it works fine but it's a headache as you know).

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