Keeping a freezer organized is not easy. Not only do most freezers come in odd shapes with hard to utilize areas (especially if you have a bulky ice maker), but the frozen food packaging doesn’t help either! Whether you have a side by side, a top and bottom model (like my current kitchen fridge) or a drawer style freezer on the bottom…it’s just not easy to get everything organized in a way for ease of finding things.

Or having it look nice once it’s all crammed in.

I’ve mentioned before that I had to buy a smaller fridge to fit into our 1960’s galley kitchen. The fridge I love is sitting in my garage until the kitchen remodel. Lately, I’ve been working on getting the kitchen whipped into organization shape. I started in the pantry, then re-org’d the fridge and the freezer was next in my line-up. Actually, the freezer was at the top of my line-up but I was struggling to find a solution to organize the contents.

This freezer has been driving me nuts since August, when we moved into this house! And this was why…

 

There are no words to describe my frustration with this.

But earlier this week I was at the Container Store shopping for a client and I found these…

 

It’s a handled storage basket. They are super lightweight and pretty well see-through, which means I wouldn’t have to figure out a label that could hold up to frozen conditions. I didn’t even have the freezer measurements on me. Just bought a few of them on a whim. The large baskets I purchased are only $4.99 each. But they have a smaller version for just $3.99….

Well, guess what…they worked!…

I couldn’t wait to pull the freezer apart for this very outcome…

Can I just take a moment to enjoy this? Please?

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Thank you!

Moving on, the door got some love too…

* Sorry for the photo quality. This kitchen is not well lit. 

What I did to cut down on the bulk was to remove the food from the outer packaging. Like most families, we are creatures of habit when it comes to food. Especially the kids. Therefore, I can make pretty much any frozen item (french fries, chicken nuggets, waffles, pancakes) with my eyes closed. So there wasn’t a need for me to keep most of the outer packaging with the cooking instructions attached. The only reason I kept a few boxes is because they are special items I keep around for spur of the moment company, like little frozen appetizers. Otherwise, the outer packaging was recycled.

For example, my kids love to have frozen go-gurt tubes. I don’t need the packaging for that!…

I don’t need a box to tell me how to toast waffles…

Bye bye box. Hello to more space!…

Those little bags of frozen veggies that get lost in the back of your freezer, random popsicles and ice cream sandwiches? They are cozy BFF’s now…

Yes, this summer I’ll have one entire basket dedicated to popsicles and ice cream. But for now, my limited supply can co-mingle with the veggies.

French fries and other potato products…

Chicken nuggets and fish sticks…

I had a few baskets left over so I used them in the fridge to contain yogurts…

And yogurt drinkables…

 

Happy girl before and after’s….

 

 

 

So much better!

If you’ve been struggling with that odd shaped freezer of your own, these baskets might be your answer too!