How to Keep Your Freezer Organized

Place items that don't need deep freezing on the door. Such items include ice cream, butter and frozen snack items often consumed quickly. Store frozen meats and vegetables deep inside the freezer to lessen the impact of temperature changes when you open the freezer door.

Separate foods into serving sizes before freezing. It's easier to make room for several small bags or containers rather than a few large ones. Freezing food in serving sizes keeps the food fresher longer since you only need to defrost enough for one serving or meal at a time.

Freeze foods in clear or translucent square or rectangular freezer containers or heavy duty freezer bags. Containers with straight sides are often stackable, which saves room. Freezer bags save even more space since they only take up as much room as the food contained inside of them.

Label your frozen items. Write on specially made freezer tape that won't peel off in the freezer or use a marker to write directly on plastic bags. Write either the storage or "Use by" date on the freezer container or bag.

Keep similar foods together. Place meat in one section of the freezer, frozen vegetables in another, and snack items in another, so that you can locate and access what you need quickly.

Rotate older items to the front of the freezer as you buy new ones. Rotating food in the freezer encourages you to use older items, so they don't get forgotten in the back of the freezer.

Write an inventory of your frozen food in a notebook or on a dry erase board. Crossing off items as you use them can help you plan future grocery purchases.

Use inexpensive wire grid shelving in the freezer if it is large enough. Check the local home improvement store for vinyl-coated wire racks made to increase space in cupboards. This freestanding, stackable shelving allows you to partition your freezer into separate zones.