This Reader Has the Ultimate Chest Freezer Hacks!
Looking for some extra freezer storage?
Since meat tends to be on the pricey side, buying in bulk tends to help you save money. What happens if you run out of space? Investing in a freezer chest, just like this week’s Happy Friday reader Ivy, might be the solution for you!
I live in SoCal and recently bought a chest freezer in the garage to store meats I buy on sale. I divide the freezer into sections such as top/bottom and then left, middle and right sides. I write down what I have under each section and keep the list on a magnetic clip on the outside of the freezer.
When I buy large portions of meat, I’ll divide it into portions, then store in a Ziploc bag and label it along with the date. This saves me from guessing what something is and how long it’s been in the freezer. With the rise in food costs, this ensures we have meat when we want it at an affordable price.
Ivy, what an organized way to store frozen foods! We’ve gone through deep dives on whether a deep freezer or upright freezer is best, but we absolutely love a chest freezer for storing as much food as possible!
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Have a freezer chest already? Check out how to buy a cow & meat in bulk to store away!
Hip Friends, Please remember chest freezer safety! Please use child proof locks. Even if you don’t have children in your own home, curious neighbor kids can creep into your garage and get into trouble. Best case, your popsicles go missing, but worst case can be truly tragic.
I use a magnetic whiteboard for my freezer inventory–it’s easy to update and is still easy to read and looks neat, versus using paper. I used a permanent marker to make and label sections, like beef, poultry, vegetables, and convenience foods, and I also used the permanent marker to write items, in the appropriate section, that I almost always have in my freezer, like ground beef or frozen broccoli. I use dry erase markers to indicate amounts, and also to write anything that isn’t prelabeled. Be careful, though–dry erase markers can remove permanent marker on whiteboards.
Such a great idea to use a magnetic whiteboard, Tera! Thanks for sharing how you keep your freezer organized! 🙌❤️
milk crates fit perfectly in my chest freezer. I stacked 2 on top of each other so it’s easy to lift the top one to access stuff in the bottom. I have one each for chicken, beef, pork and veggies. before I had those, it never failed that everything I wanted always fell to the bottom!
I’m loving the milk crate idea too, Nicole! Thanks for letting us know what’s been working well for you! 🥰
Forget the Ziplocs…get a vacuum sealer (I got a handheld one on Amazon for $30 and it will also re-seal my wine with a wine sealer adapter — you can also seal jars with a jar sealer) and use vacuum sealed bags. They work 100x better. No freezer burn, they don’t leak while you’re thawing out the meat and you can re-use them.