A chest freezer can simply flip right into a black gap of chilly meals. Right here’s manage a chest freezer cheaply and easily!
If I’m going lacking, I’ll have fallen into the chest freezer.
That’s the way it used to really feel each time I dug although the contents to seek out the elusive package deal of bacon on the very backside. Then a pair years in the past I acquired bored with digging and acquired critical about getting organized.
Chest freezers, although helpful for penny-pinching food-hoarding of us like myself, are notoriously difficult to prepare.
A chest freezer is actually a deep gap. Some could also be offered with a dangling basket for the highest, however in any other case you’re by yourself.
Excellent news: Organizing a chest freezer might be carried out–and it’s not laborious or costly. When you want some chest freezer group concepts, I’ve an simple 4-step course of for you!
Wait, ought to I get a chest freezer?
- Do you wish to prep meals prematurely?
- Do you fill up when there’s a sale, purchase meat in bulk, or freeze numerous fresh-picked produce or do-it-yourself inventory?
- Do you’ve got a vacant spot in your basement or storage?
If that’s the case, a chest freezer might make your life simpler–and make it easier to lower your expenses.
Chest freezers can be found in small/compact (5-9 cubic toes), medium (12-18), and enormous (18-plus), in response to Client Studies.
Ours is small (5 cubic toes) however nonetheless works for our household of 4. We purchased it at Lowe’s for about $150 ten years in the past and it’s nonetheless chugging alongside (the model is now not obtainable there, however it’s much like this one). Remember the fact that a full freezer is extra energy-efficient than a half-empty one.
Now let’s get organized!
Find out how to manage a chest freezer
Step 1: Create classes that make sense to you.
Group your frozen meals in classes, equivalent to floor meats, frozen veggies, prepped freezer meals, or jars of do-it-yourself soup or broth.
Step 2: Place grouped objects into storage bins that suit your freezer.
Your freezer could include one basket or bin, however you’ll want extra.
In quest of some chest freezer organizer options, I rounded up bins we already had (and even a examine cardboard field) from round the home. Your storage system simply must be just right for you–it doesn’t should look matchy-matchy or ripped from the pages of the Container Retailer catalog.
Step 3: Organize the bins in layers.
The layer system is a game-changer in case you have a chest freezer! Right here’s the way it works:
- Set one or two bins/bins on the underside of the freezer
- Set one other layer of 1-2 bins on high of these
- Set one other layer on high.
- Once you want one thing, you possibly can merely take away bins neatly and simply as an alternative of digging by means of a chilly, messy pile.
I organize my bins in opposing instructions, however do what works on your house. Professional tip: Put the most-grabbed objects on high and the less-frequently-grabbed objects on the underside.
Right here’s the underside layer of our freezer (pork, steaks, plus a pair jars of broth and flaxseed):
Right here’s the second layer (floor beef plus small steaks and a container of do-it-yourself inventory):
Right here’s the highest layer (the hanging basket our freezer got here with, with frozen vegatables and fruits and some packages of bacon):
Step 4: Hold a listing.
Chest freezers can simply fall sufferer to Black Gap Syndrome. So discover a strategy to preserve observe of your stash, whether or not that’s a white board connected to the wall by the freezer, an app in your cellphone, or my free Freezer Stock Printable.
Chest freezer storage concepts
These merchandise would make nice chest freezer organizer options. Simply ensure you measure your freezer and examine dimensions of merchandise so that you’re certain they’ll match!
How lengthy does meals final within the freezer?
When frozen, meals can truly preserve indefinitely. However the high quality will likely be finest if eaten inside a sure timeframe. Listed here are some pointers from FoodSafety.gov and the Nationwide Middle for Dwelling Preservation:
| FOOD | FREEZER STORAGE TIME (0 levels or under) |
| Floor meat | 2-3 months |
| Steaks | 6-12 months |
| Chops | 4-6 months |
| Roasts | 4-12 months |
| Entire rooster | 1 years |
| Rooster items | 9 months |
| Fish | 3-6 months |
| Soups & stews | 2-3 months |
| Fruits & Greens | 8-12 months |
Find out how to defrost a chest freezer
In case your chest freezer is handbook defrost (and lots of are), you’ll should DIY it. But it surely’s easy: Once you see frost build-up alongside the perimeters, it’s time to defrost your chest freezer. I sometimes defrost mine about annually, and it takes lower than an hour. Right here’s how:
- Empty the freezer, placing all the things into your fridge’s freezer or into coolers
- Unplug the freezer and open the lid
- Permit the frost to soften or gently chip away at it with a plastic or picket spoon (or my favourite kitchen software The L’il Chizler)
- Wipe away any drips and particles
- Put all the things again in!
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