The Absolute Best Way to Organize Any Freezer (and Keep It That Way, Once and for All)

An organized freezer means a few things: It means no more boxes of frozen spinach falling on your toes; it means your roommates will know better than to move your favorite $12 pint of ice cream to the door where it will likely melt; it means you’ll never waste money buying loaves of bread when you already have plenty on hand. And it also means you won’t find yourself wiping down sticky or frozen messes that come from a disorganized freezer.

The point? Knowing how to organize a freezer is incredibly important for any home cook. So, why is it so hard? Maybe it’s because freezers come in a lot of different sizes and shapes (and so do groceries, obviously).

There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for organizing a freezer, but there are plenty of rules and tips that you can (and should!) keep in mind. Find your freezer type (or types, if you have a bonus freezer elsewhere in your home) below and get to organizing. And before you get started, make sure you have a cooler and/or insulated bags on hand to hold your groceries while you work.

Note: These guidelines are based on a very basic grocery list. Obviously, you might have things in your freezer that are not on these lists. In those cases, use your best judgement. Or, ask for our thoughts in the comments below!

Let’s start with some general tips to keep in mind — no matter which type of freezer you have.

1. Line items up from back to front. Always put new stuff towards the back and pull the older stuff (that needs to be eaten first) to the front.
2. Label and date anything homemade. The most important tool for an organized freezer is a Sharpie marker (and masking tape, should you need it). Everything homemade needs to be clearly labeled and dated the day it’s frozen.
3. Freeze things in usable portions. It might be tempting to just throw the whole value pack of chicken straight into the freezer, but you’ll regret this shortcut later when you only need a few pieces and the whole thing is one frozen mass.
4. Freeze things flat. As much as possible, freeze things flat. Put that leftover chili in a freezer bag, seal, and lay the bag flat in the freezer until frozen. Flat things of an even thickness are easier to stack or organize upright in a container.
5. File things vertically. With your stuff nice and flat, you can file it vertically in an organizer and grab what you need, rather than dealing with messy stacks.
6. Take things out of boxes when possible. Anything that comes in a box (such as waffles, ice pops, and chicken nuggets) can usually be taken out of said box to save room. If you need the cooking instructions, cut them out and tape them to the bag.
7. Pick the right containers. Air circulating around frozen foods can lead to freezer burn, so your best bet is to find a container as close to the size of what you want to freeze as possible. If you’re using plastic bags, make sure you use thicker freezer ones, and press out as much air as possible before freezing. If you’re using foil, make sure foods are tightly double-wrapped. This will help maximize freezer space and keep air out.
8. Keep a freezer inventory. This is an essential way to keep your freezer organized moving forward. You’ll know what you have on hand, and what you’ve used up.

When the freezer is just a cubby on the top of the fridge (a setup that’s super common in rentals), the organizational bells and whistles usually cap out with a single shelf and some bonus shelves on the door. But don’t just shove stuff in all willy nilly.

• Door: Just like with the inside of a fridge, the door is always going to be the warmest spot in your freezer. That means it’s basically the worst spot for, say, ice cream which can run the risk of melting and refreezing if you keep it there. Instead, save the door for things like nuts, flour, bread, butter, ice packs, booze, cubes of frozen herbs and tomato paste.
• Top shelf: This is where you’ll want to store things that, should they leak, won’t pose a safety issue. Store your ice cube trays (if you don’t have an ice maker), fruits and veggies, waffles, baked goods, and ice pops here. This is also where your ice cream goes.
• Bottom shelf: Meat and fish can safely go on the bottom. Line up soups, sauces, chili, prepared meals, and leftovers on the other side. Then, stack frozen pizzas on top. (This way, you’ll be able to grab a quart of chicken soup without sending all your pizzas toppling.)

• Use bins to create drawers. When there are no drawers, you can make them with clear bins. Use them to group like with like items, and then you can just pull one out to see what’s in there (rather than having to dig around).
• Label the bins. This way, you know what’s in every bin before you even pull it out. Plus, it will help the rest of the people in your house get on board with your organizing system.

When the freezer’s on the left side and the refrigerator’s on the right, there are more shelves but they’re narrower (read: you might have to take out some shelves to make room for a giant family-style frozen pizza or a big turkey). Because there are more shelves, though, your organizing zones are basically created for you.

• Door: Again, the door is going to be the warmest spot in your freezer. Use it to store your nuts, flour, butter, ice packs, booze, cubes of frozen herbs and tomato paste.
• Top shelf: This is where your bread, breakfast items, and baked goods should live. They’ll be safe and out of the way.
• Next shelf: Put your soups, sauces, chili, prepared meals, and leftovers here. Not only is this shelf perfectly cold, but it’s also the closest to eye-level so you’ll see this stuff first when you open the door (and won’t forget to use something!). Stack frozen pizzas on top of the containers; if you’re buying extra-large pizzas and they don’t fit on the shelf, you may need to pull out a shelf and store the pizzas vertically.
• Middle shelf: If your freezer only has four shelves, move this stuff up to the very top; otherwise, this is a good spot for ice cream, frozen treats, and ice packs.
• Next shelf: Fruit and veggies go here. Line them up.
• Bottom shelf: Store meat and fish at the very bottom. This way, if something were to leak, the mess won’t be dripping down through your entire freezer.

• Stand things up. Storing all of your items (or as many as possible) vertically will ensure that you never have to worry about an avalanche of bags. Instead of pulling something from the bottom of a stack, you can just reach in and grab what you need.
• Use magazine holders and bins. Bins create makeshift drawers that allow you to group similar items. Magazine holders will help you file the flat packages of meat at the bottom.
• Label the shelves. There are a lot of shelves in this sort of freezer, which means there’s a large margin for error by default. To help everyone put things back where they belong and find stuff in the first place, label the shelves. Not sure how to get a label on a skinny wire shelf? Try this binder clip trick.

This type of freezer is probably the hardest to organize (and keep organized) because it’s just one main, extra-deep drawer that’s surprisingly hard to access. Do it well, though, and the payoffs are extremely rewarding.

• Shallow upper drawer: These freezers usually have a shallow drawer at the very top. You won’t be able to store much here, but you can line up your ice packs and ice trays, ice pops, butter, cubes of frozen herbs, tomato paste, nuts, and open packages that have been clipped closed.
• Main drawer: Obviously, this is where the bulk of your stuff will go. The key is to create zones and to work from left to right. Ice cream goes on the left, then fruits and veggies, then bread and other baked goods. Your soups, chilis, sauces, and premade meals can be your midway divider. Then, meat and fish can get stacked up with frozen pizzas bookending the drawer.

• Use organizers to help sort and stand things up. The general tip to freeze things flat and file them vertically is especially useful for a freezer drawer, as things take up less space and become easier to find this way. Magazine holders, file sorters, and baskets are key to keeping things upright.
• Only stack like with like. These drawers generally allow for more than one “layer” of food once you start filing things. That’s a great way to maximize space, but just make sure you only stack like with like (i.e., packs of chicken thighs on top of pork chops). Keep these sorts of things in baskets which will make it easy to pull out the old stuff and put new groceries underneath.

A bonus standing freezer in the basement or garage is a great tool for big (or hungry!) families. It’s where you can store lots of extra meat, produce, prepared meals, and freezer aisle goodies (all those bags of Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken have to go somewhere!). It’s imperative that these freezers are kept organized, or else you’ll end up wasting a lot of money on food that goes uneaten.

• Top shelf: Stack frozen pizzas on the left, then extra bread, and then line up your soups, chilis, and sauces.
• Next shelf: This is where frozen meals and all your homemade dishes go.
• Next shelf: Line up all your bags of fruits and veggies on this shelf. If you still have space on this shelf, you can file fish on the side here.
• Bottom shelf: Once again, your red meat and chicken should go on the bottom to minimize the mess, should something leak.

• Use matching containers as much as possible. Matching containers are easier to stack and waste less space between them compared to mismatched pieces. (I especially love these glass containers!).
• Add bins. Again, adding bins or baskets to create drawers that can be pulled out as needed is a great trick for staying organized.

Another bonus freezer option for the garage or basement, freezer chests (or chest freezers) are best for people who buy large quantities of food at once. The vast openness that makes a freezer chest so great for storing big things is also what makes it so hard to organize. Don’t worry — we’re here to help.

• Baskets: In general, we recommend freezer chests that have baskets hanging from the top. Depending on how deep those are, you can store frozen pizzas and/or other prepared meals. (You’ll see in the illustration above, we used the basket on the left to create an Italian section! That may be helpful for your family, based on how you meal plan.)
• Bottom: Use baskets to group meat, fish, soups and sauces, prepared meals, fruits and veggies, and anything else.

• Add lots of dollar-store bins. You’re going to want to load up on baskets, so the Dollar Store is your best bet. Use these bins and baskets to group things together, then label the baskets because, ideally, you’ll be storing groceries vertically and the labels will make it so you can see what’s what at glance.
• Only stack like with like: Freezer chests are deep, so you’ll have room for more than one “layer” of food. Just make sure you only stack like with like and put the newer stuff on the bottom so you use the older stuff first.

Do you have any other smart freezer organizing tips and tricks to share? Leave them in the comments below!