How To Organize Freezer Drawers

Aug 20

With back-to-school upon us and calendars filling up, I love spending time cleaning out the fridge, freezer and pantry. Getting those areas organized not only helps with breakfast and lunch-making prep, it also helps get that dinner menu plan back in order. So hard to think about “planning” after a carefree summer meal schedule, huh?

Many of us enjoy a weekly meal plan for the school year. I’ve done this before and it works so well to take the guesswork out of “what’s for dinner?!” each night…especially when you’re exhausted after a long day. Personally, I’m aiming for improvement in this area. And should be successful because I’ve scaled back our after-school obligations.

In years past, I’ve had 3 kids in various after-school activities / sports. But with my business and homework ramping up as the kids get older, I noticed we were all tired and worn down at the end of a school day. I considered how our overall attitudes and health were during the last school year and decided we need a break. This fall is going to be more intense in other areas so I made an effort to say “no” when / where I can and am shifting focus to what matters / what must get done, which will give us a lot of after-school down time. It was hard to do and still struggle when I see fun sport clinic invites come through my inbox. But this fall with a few changes, that mom gut is saying slow down a bit.

I totally believe that spending a little time getting your spaces organized – especially something as high-traffic as your fridge, freezer and pantry – will save your sanity and time. I can’t stress enough how important it is to not overbook yourself, your kids or your family. Think about what’s important and how everyone felt last fall or over the last school year. No one can fault you for shifting more focus on the good things that make everyone feel better.

That said, let’s talk freezer organization!

My children are creatures of habit when it comes to meals. I do my best to bring in new ideas, but we always end up back with the typical. So I make sure to have those on hand in my garage fridge, which acts as an overflow and am sure many of you have the same. But even if your main / only fridge is in your kitchen, this inexpensive freezer drawer organization idea is something you don’t want to miss!

My garage fridge is a Samsung that looks like this with the deep freezer drawer on the bottom…

 

 

I love this fridge and wish it fit *inside* my house, but the fridge opening in my kitchen is a 1960’s size…so it’s out here in the garage for now. As you can imagine, since it’s outside, the kids and our neighborhood friends raided it all summer. It needed a serious cleaning before the school year began. This freezer always annoyed me because of the depth and inability to keep anything organized or easy to find without digging. I’ve been doing this project for clients, so don’t ask me why I finally took a moment to do this in my own.

BOTTOM DRAWER BEFORE

Before, you can see items were reachable but there was certainly room for improvement and a whole lot more space…

BOTTOM DRAWER AFTER

 

THE MAGIC PRODUCT

 

All I did was purchase a few inexpensive multi-purpose bins, remove the outer food packaging when possible, and put items away in categories; breakfast, veggies, meat, etc. These bins are great for lots of spaces around your home but especially useful in a deep freezer drawer…

They fit like a glove!…

Like I said, my kids are creatures of habit so I know exactly what to set my oven to for Applegate Chicken Nuggets or Smiley Fries. Removing the box isn’t an issue for me and I’m sure many of you mommies know the same little details about you or your kiddos foods. So why keep that annoying, space-wasting box?

TOP DRAWER BEFORE

Above the deep drawer is a smaller slide-out drawer…

No, the ice maker isn’t operating because I don’t have a water line out here. But again, mess of a space. But not anymore.

TOP DRAWER AFTER

 

THE MAGIC PRODUCT

I used 3 deep drawer clear bins

These work well to use the entire space AND perfectly contain small items like popsicles and burritos…

 

I’m in freezer organization heaven!

ONE FINAL EXPERT TIP

Be sure to empty your freezer completely, measure the entire space and know what you’re putting away before purchasing product. A good rule of thumb for me is to overbuy and then return what wasn’t used / didn’t fit. It’s always helpful to have everything on hand in case it does work.

Happy freezer organizing everyone!

Back soon with more!

xx,

Sam

comments +

  1. Leah says:

    I too have been cleaning out the pantry and fridge and working on organization, but came to a standstill on our freezer drawer. It looks better than it did, but I couldn't figure out how to "containerize" it. I love your solution! Thanks for this! Pinning for sure!

  2. Kammi says:

    I also take freezer meals out the boxes, (also often pantry items too). If I am unsure of the cooking instructions, I simply write it on the bag with a marker (how long at which temp, takes less than a minute). I also tend to add the expiry date to the bag or containers, that way I don't have to "guess" 🙂

  3. Ahhh I need to do this now!! Thanks for the inpso!
    XO Ellen from Ask Away
    http://www.askawayblog.com

  4. I have that Fridge and funny thing it doesn't fit in our space either it pokes out! We did not even think to measure the depth when we got it. We love it though ! Great ideas for the pull out freezer I need those container store bins pronto.

  5. gmtaylor70 says:

    I just cleaned out my refrigerator freezer and am looking for some containers. Thanks for the inspiration!

  6. My mom bought a couple of the multi-purpose bins from the container store and they seem to work but with life being busy, I thinkl the freezer needs organized again! Thanks for the inspiration!

  7. […] week I shared the details behind my organized freezer drawer in my garage fridge… Many of you reached out to ask about additional ways to organize a […]

  8. Heather says:

    We also have a Samsung and fight the same battle. I love this solution but wondering if yours is regular or counter-depth? I’m finding it difficult to find bins that fit our counter-depth style. Thanks for the inspiration!

    • Samantha says:

      Good question…I have no idea what the difference in those size fridges are. Shoot me the measurements of your freezer interior and I’ll let you know if these will work. Or you can check the container store site for measurements…just search “multi-purpose bins” and they will pop up.

      xo,
      Sam

  9. Really great ideas for better organized freezer drawers! I am now preparing the clean my refrigerator and freezer because in the winter I don’t like to do this. I would like to clean them and arrange them so it will be easier for me to take and use what I need! Thanks for the post! 🙂

  10. I love this idea! I have this type of refrigerator and always struggle with keeping the freezer organized.

  11. Robin says:

    Hi Samantha,
    Love your freezer organization!!! Do you have 4 of the medium and 1 small multi purpose bins in your freezer ?
    Thanks 🙂

    • Samantha says:

      Hi Robin!

      Thank you! Yes, there are 4 medium and 1 small. Be sure to share a picture with me if you do this in your freezer!

      xo,
      Sam

      • Neha says:

        Hi I’m wondering what the dimensions of your freezer drawer are please? We have a similar samsung fridge but I dont think the containers will fits because they’re too long.

  12. Ernie says:

    Ho w to do standup freezer ?

  13. Theresa Stephens says:

    Suggestions for side by side refrigerator/freezer?? Can maintain the ‘fridge, but the freezer is driving my husband and myself insane!! (Inherited with our home, and can’t afford a new one!)

  14. Catherine Norris says:

    Samantha, I love your post. My fridge is arriving today. I was looking for ways to organize the fridge and fell in love with your freezer. I am ordering exactly what you purchased since we have the same fridge. Can you tell me the size of your top bins. Are they 4″ or 6″ wide. Thanks again for your great idea. ~Catherine

    • Samantha says:

      Yay! Congrats on a new fridge / new beginning! The bins in my top pull out drawer are 4″ wide. You’re welcome and have fun getting your freezer organized!!!

      xo,
      Sam

  15. Jan says:

    Hi Samamtha, I have this Samsung also. Thank you for your freezer suggestions. Have u organized the refrigerator?
    Mine stays in a constant state or turmoil. I use clear plastic bins but they seem to take up room. Help please????

  16. Jill says:

    my freezer drawer is sloped on the back… is this the norm? or is yours just staight down in…

    • Samantha says:

      Yes, mine is sloped as well…this works because of the footprint of the bins. They fit the bottom of the freezer drawer nearly perfectly. 🙂

      xx,
      Sam

  17. Nana says:

    I love this idea, but my problem area is bigger, as in a deep freezer. I’m currently using tote bags, and while that’s better, it’s still less than ideal. Now that a year or so has passed, how are the bins holding up to the cold? I might have to try something similar in layers.

    • Samantha says:

      Hi there!

      I’m sure stacking bins of some type would be great in a deep freezer. There must be some great solution out there we can figure out! My bins are holding up great – no issues whatsoever. I’ve used this same organizing solution for clients and theirs are holding up well too. They are plastic, so they should hold up indefinitely.

      Have you searched pinterest for deep freezer bin organizing ideas? If they don’t have anything, I’ll be on this one!

      xx,
      Sam

      • Alison says:

        Did you ever come up with any good ideas for deep freezer organization b/c mine is driving me insane – can’t ever find anything even if I’m pretty sure I have it (need to laminate and start keeping an inventory list to start) & feel like everything in the bottom gets lost in never never land. That is exactly why I wanted a standing deep freezer but after the freezer door on a traditional frig didn’t close completely and I lost a bunch of frozen food I decided that might not be the most prudent way to go even if it seemed the most convenient. Thanks

        • Samantha says:

          Yes! I have been asked about how to organize a deep freezer like this before – I’m going to figure this out and it will be a blog post soon! I definitely agree that having an inventory list that you can check off will be helpful and a great first step to not losing anything. But I would love to figure out product solutions to help organize and keep everything within reach.

          xx,
          Sam

          • Stepanie says:

            Not sure how big you deep freezer is, but I purchased stackable recycling bins from the container store for mine. They are nice because they have handles that fold down, but make it easy to pull them out. I was able to fit 8 in my freezer.

  18. April says:

    Thanks for this info!! I used 1 lg, 3 med and 1 small bin in the bottom. Looks great!!

  19. Darlene says:

    Love the organization. I have the same style fridge. The freezer is a wasted area since things get stacked and lost. The bins you used will be great ! I am recovering with a broken shoulder/arm. 4 pins and no use pins coming out but not healed so no use for possible a month. This is my planning time. Thank you.

  20. ArleenRoy says:

    I`m trying to get both my standing and chest freezers organized. i have what you call all in one refrigerator and freezer than a separate chest freezer, i have 4 households living under my roof, my husband and myself;mother in law; our daughter and her 2children; and my son and his son, all buy their own food and all were using the one frige and freezer until last year when the frige died because my grandkids kept opening it and sometimes not pushing things back and the door didn’t close, so solutions buy another frig for my daughter to use and buy me a chest freezer. now i just share part of the standing freezer with them and i use chest for my food only, now to organiZe. i saw those folder type containers ,now that may work for me in the upright one, store one product per container, have my son do the same! i did see cube like containers on pinterest and diy, but the ones for the top oof freezer that will hook the ledge, don’t know where t9 get them, only been onCe to container store, only got luggage things and jewelery boxes, i dont see wide variety on website, that keeping a list works, I`ve done it before, also mark your product and use along with dat of purchase: keep a few favorite menues handy if you need to have meat cut a certain way, put it done in ziplock freezer bag mark stew, stirfry,etc. I’m no5 good at finding site* again, so if i take time to find it, Thank you for your inventiveness.

  21. Karla says:

    What size bins did you use in the bottom drawer of your freezer?

  22. alexa komic says:

    Can you list each size you used for the bins in the freezer?

  23. Penny says:

    Thank you so much for the tips! My freezer drawer has NEVER been so organized! I can actually locate what I need quickly!

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