If you’re wondering how to organise a chest freezer so that it’s easy to use, then these organisation hacks are perfect for you! Here are some amazing (and easy) chest freezer organising ideas and tips to help you do just that. Get your frozen food sorted, and make life simple in the process.
A while ago in the Facebook group – the question came up about how to organise a chest freezer.
There were SO many conversations started, that I just HAD to write a post about it!
I’ve created this post to help you go step by step through the process of organising your freezer so that it works for you – and included some fantastic ideas from around the web that can help with this issue as well.
Follow this guide and you’ll make your chest freezer a thing of joy rather than a deep dark place food goes to never be seen again.
Hope it helps!
Why Organise Your Chest Freezer?
Although a chest freezer is a great asset in any home – the very reasons why it’s so good are the things that can make it a liability if not used properly: –
- It’s big – which means you can store loads in it – BUT you can also lose a lot in it as well
- It’s not restrained by very many compartments so you can fit anything and everything inside it – BUT you haven’t got built in organisation and so it can be really hard to know how to use it to its best advantage
You want to organise your chest freezer because first and foremost it makes life easier: –
- You know what you’ve stored in there – so you can keep track and stay organised when it comes to meal planning and using everything rather than buying more because you thought you had run out.
- You can find it quickly without having to take everything out and rummage around for hours (cold fingers are NOT good)
- You can put it back quickly – because there will be a place for it, and it will fit. (and again – cold fingers aren’t needed……)
- You have storage that’s not too heavy for you to move around. Once filled with frozen food, even the smallest of containers can be quite hard to manoeuvre.
- Enables you to rotate food so that nothing gets lost at the bottom
Where Do You Start?
With all this in mind, before you start organising your chest freezer, you want to have a plan.
After all, it’s cold in there so you don’t want to be moving things around until you know what you’re doing (am I mentioning the cold aspect of things too much?! – I HATE getting cold hands and my fingers have a tendency to literally turn blue when I get them to cold – not good!).
Ask yourself some quick questions: –
- What food do you want/need to store there? (& how much of each type?)
- Where will the chest freezer be kept? Is this easy to access & does this make a difference in what you store there?
- How large is your chest freezer?
- What containers does it already have, and what others have you already got that fit and that you could use in your freezer (no need to buy extra if you can re-use from around the house).
The answers to all these answers will be very personal to you and your circumstances – so make sure you’re clear on what you want.
After all – you want to make life as easy as possible going forward, so a little planning up front will do wonders for your sanity later because you’ll create a solution that really works for you.
Declutter Your Chest Freezer First
Now it’s time to re-think what you already have – because chances are that it’s currently a bit of a mess…..
There will no doubt be things in there that are long-forgotten, things that you didn’t even know you had, and things that could do with being eaten up ASAP.
As such, take some time to declutter the contents first with these easy 2 steps: –
#1 – Bin anything that’s past it’s best, and no longer able to be eaten
#2 – Plan in meals over the coming days to use up anything that needs eating quickly
Gain Extra Storage Space In Your Freezer
You can go a step further as well if you like, and declutter the packaging from quite a bit of the stuff you’re storing in there.
This can save a LOT of room and make things easier to find (in much the same way as I’ve done for my fridge as you can see HERE).
TIP – Using clear plastic bags and clips can make it easier to see what you have, AND keep things from falling all over the place!
Simple Chest Freezer Organising Ideas
With all that planning and decluttering done, now comes the fun part!
Now it’s time to finding a method (or a mix of methods) that will work for you and the way you want to get things organised.
Here are some fantastic ideas that you may want to use (don’t forget to measure your freezer and get the sizes that work for you!): –
#1 – Use Large Bags
Bags for life that you can get from most supermarkets are perfect for this idea – as you can use the height of the freezer to store a lot, and be able to lift it out with ease as they of course have handles!
#2 – Use Fixed Compartments
If you’re good at DIY, then creating actual compartments in your freezer could be the answer!
#3 – Use Plastic Baskets
Plastic baskets with handles (or without) – can be used to create fantastic storage in your chest freezer. Always get stackable ones if possible so you get as much storage capability as possible, and I would suggest handles because this just makes it easier to grab them when needed.
#4 – Use Cardboard Boxes
The cheap and easy solution – cardboard boxes can be found that fit the space – and work really well to add compartments to the freezer (just watch if the freezer ever defrosts because the cardboard will break up and be useless though….
#5 – Use Sliding Top Baskets
I LOVE using sliding baskets in a chest freezer, and they usually come with a couple already there, because these can house the items that are used the most frequently (remember that you want to make things as easy as possible for your day to day life in everything you organise).
Have enough to be useful, but don’t overfill with these baskets because you will always have to remove one or two to see below (ideally you will only have one or two that you can push left and right depending on what you need to grab below as well).
#6 – Use Labels
Don’t forget – if you’re using ANY type of storage container – make sure you label them all well. You won’t always be able to see what you’ve stored where, so having a label on each section will make life even easier.
EXTRA TIP – When you add food to the freezer, add the date you put it in there – so you know exactly how long it’s been stored. Some labels come with a date section already on them which is a nice addition
Alternatively, you could draw a quick plan on the front of the freezer so you can see where things go before you even open it up!
My favourite option?
It would be a mix of sliding baskets on the top, with larger bags for the bigger categories of items, and some smaller plastic boxes for other bits like pre-made meals and smoothie mixes (bagged up and ready to use).
What would your perfect system include?
Have A Freezer Inventory
Lastly – don’t forget to add a freezer inventory to the outside of the freezer so that you can see what’s in there without rummaging through it each time.
Whether you have a simple list on a magnet, a freezer inventory sheet (there’s one in my Home File that’s done for you), or something like a magnetic chalkboard/whiteboard – choose something that you’ll find easy to use, because the only way it will be effective is if you actually keep it updated.
And that’s it – Chest Freezer organising ideas galore!
Create the perfect organising system for your own freezer and needs, and you’ll find things run oh so smoothly.
You will be able to see at a glance what food needs to be bought, you’ll have a place to store each type of food, and you can grab it when it’s needed.
Sounds good, doesn’t it!
I hope this system helps you to organise things in a way that genuinely helps you, and I can’t wait to hear how you get on….
Read Next: How To Organise Your Kitchen – 9 Ways To Make It Work Better
