How to Organize My Freezer Drawer

Pull out the freezer drawer and remove the contents from it. Examine each item closely. If anything is coated in ice, more than a year old or unrecognizable, toss it.

Group foods together by type. For example, put frozen vegetables in one group, frozen fruit in another, meat in a third group, packaged meals in a fourth and frozen homemade meals in a fifth.

Put together any duplicates you have. If you have two open packages of chocolate ice cream, scoop the ice cream from one container into the other.

Scrape away any ice that's built up on the floor and sides of the freezer drawer, then wipe with a wet rag to clean.

Label any foods that are in zip top bags. Make a habit of labeling anything you put in the freezer with the date and the name.

Sort the foods and return them to the freezer. Decide where you'll place everything by how you use them. For example, if you regularly reach for frozen dinners, stack them on the top shelf of your freezer drawer. Foods you don't use regularly can go on the bottom of the drawer.

Arrange the food in your freezer so that older items are on the top or in the front and the newer items are in the back.

Make a list of the foods in the freezer and attach it to the door. Check off foods as you use them. As you add foods to the list, write the date you put them in the freezer.