When using a chest freezer, it may take you a lot of time digging to find foods piled up if you do not organize it effectively. Instead of wasting time looking for food, read this article right away to know how to organize your chest freezer efficiently and turn it into your own treasure.
Why should you own a chest freezer?
A refrigerator with freezer may not enough to store food for your family, then a freezer will be helpful. Chest freezer is energy saving, cheap and can keep food of different sizes. Besides, a chest freezer also brings other benefits:
- Save money: Using a chest freezer is synonymous with saving a lot of money. You will save not only energy but also time to go to the market every day. If there are unexpected parties, you will not have to be too embarrassed because all the food is available in the freezer.
- Keep bulk foods for later use: A chest freezer is very convenient when storing foods in large quantities. In addition, the freezer with a top lid makes it easy for users to keep fresh summer vegetables and fruits.
- Chill favorite drinks: For lovers of chilled vodka, this wonderful freezer is almost the perfect choice.
Chest freezer not only preserves the color, flavor, and shape of foods, fruits, vegetables but also retains nutrients for months.
Further reading: Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Freezer that Best Fits Your Needs
What are the types of compact chest freezer?
Small chest freezers come in a variety of sizes and capacity. The common way to pick the right size is based on food storage needs. You can also multiply the number of family members by 2.5 cubic feet to get the size of the freezer.
Types of compact chest freezer for your consideration as follows:
- Mini size: 1.2 to 2.5 cubic feet.
- Medium size: 3.5 to 5.0 cubic feet.
- Large size: 5 to 7 cubic feet.
Dimensions and capacity of small chest freezers for your references:
| Capacity | Height | Width | Depth |
| 1.2 cu. ft. | 19” | 19-20’’ | 20’’ |
| 2.5 cu. ft. | 31-32” | 15-16” | 20-21” |
| 3.5 cu. ft. | 32-33” | 21-23 | 21-22” |
| 5.0 cu. ft. | 32-33″ | 28-30″ | 21-22″ |
| 7.0 cu. ft. | 32-33.5″ | 37-39″ | 21-22″ |
After selecting the small freezer with a top lid, how to organize it properly?
How to organize a small chest freezer
The following simple steps for food arrangement can be applied to keep your chest freezer well organized.
Sort by tray
The space of the chest freezer is quite large but it is not easy to arrange food, fruits, vegetables, and essential items without a secret. You should buy more trays with lids to put food and remember to:
- Place food in these trays and label clearly as meat, fish, seafood, vegetables, etc. to avoid confusion
- Write the date on the labels to remind you when to use your food
- Arrange the trays neatly in the freezer
A good idea to save space in the refrigerator is to use a magnetic box and attach it to the freezer wall to save freezer space. With such magic trays, you will have an extremely organized and hygienic chest freezer.
Sort trays by layer
You should put trays in layers to save space and find the package easily later. Put the food you need on the top tier first. The bottom tier puts the food you don’t need immediately. Here’s how:
- With the bottom layer: You can place meats such as pork, beef, steaks, chicken or some jars of broth.
- For the second layer: You can put canned products, ground beef or small steaks
- The top layer: It is for the food you will use soon like fruits, veggies or bacon
Further reading: What Are the Best Cheap Freezers for Home?
Tips to keep your freezer organized
- Utilize a vacuum sealer: It helps to fully compress your food and save space.
- Freeze by serving size: Creating food into portions will help you get food out and store the rest easier.
- Label everything in your freezer: It reminds you what it is and when you buy it or even the time you must use it.
- Use transparent containers: You can see and take food out faster, especially when you forget labeling.
- Group your foods by category to shorten the time for finding your food.
- Make built-in compartment: You can make shelves to put inside the freezer to create space for keeping piles of frozen items.
How long should you keep food in freezer?
It is very important to know how long foods, fruits, and vegetables can be frozen. Therefore, understanding the freezer’s storage time will help to avoid forgetting and letting food spoil.
Chickens, steaks, roasts: 6 to 12 months
Raw ground and cooked beef: 4 months
Fish: 3 to 6 months
Vegetables and fruits: 6 to 12 months
Soups, broths, and stews: 2 months
Bacon or sausage: 2 months
Leftovers and casseroles: 4 months
How to tell if your frozen food is spoiled
Food might have gone bad when you notice the following signs:
- Ice crystal appears inside the package
- Evidence of spill
- Changes in color of your food
- The pungent and foul smells
- Frost or ice covers the food
- Sticky and slimy food after thawing
- Food was kept frozen for so long
You may also like: Is It Safe to Eat Freezer Burned Meat or Fish?
Never forget this as well
Finally, here is what you should keep in mind when using and organizing your freezer:
- Do not overload your freezer
- Cover your food carefully before putting it into the freezer
- Make sure you distribute the food evenly throughout the freezer
- Store food in order of expiry date to ensure that food is consumed before its expiration date
References:
- Best Way to Organize Your Chest Freezer, Sally,
- How to Organize a Chest Freezer, whatsupfagans.com, Retrieved on Sep. 2, 2021
