Does anyone know what this is? When I was getting something out of my freezer yesterday, I spotted this. It was wrapped in butcher’s paper and this was inside. I made the mistake of not marking what was in it. I don’t even remember buying it at the butcher shop. It looks like it could be ground beef. I guess we will find out when I thaw it. If it is, I will can it.
My chest freezer is out of control! I can’t find anything without unloading many things. I have tried so many ways over the years to keep it neat and sorted and eventually they just frustrate me. I was using reusable bags for a while and that was working but then they started falling apart. The handles would fall off or the bag would rip as I was removing it from the freezer.
I could buy an upright but they are expensive and I don’t want to spend the money on one. Our money is being saved for another goal. So Hubby and I decided to make the chest freezer easier to navigate.
I measured the freezer yesterday and set out to find a way to organize it. We have these on order from The Container Store:
I purchased 6 of them. Only 5 will fit in the freezer because it has a built in shelf over the motor. The sixth one I am going to use to carry things from the freezer to my kitchen. I have had this freezer for 13+ years. I always thought it was 7.2 cu. ft. However, when I pulled the information on the freezer out of our file yesterday, I realized that it is actually 8.8 cu. ft.
Realizing that the containers will take up space, I am canning more of my beef and chicken. I have been doing this for a while to get as much meat shelf stable as possible in case of a power outage.
We have also been eating out of the freezer for months. It is still grilling season, so we have been enjoying steak and barbecued chicken using homemade BBQ sauce.
When these bins come, I will rearrange everything. I like to keep my fruits, vegetables, and cheese in the upstairs freezer. The meat goes into the deep freezer. But that has gotten out of control lately too. So there is a lot of organizing to get done.
How do you guys keep your freezers organized? Any tips you would be willing to share?