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Post by gale w on Jan 14, 2018 21:25:55 GMT
I use reusable grocery bags to separate things in my freezer. I love it because along with keeping things separated, they are easy to lift out if I need to. However-they are very floppy, especially if they aren't full. Which makes it hard to put things in them one-handed (which is how I usually am, it seems). Is there a stiffer bag that would work for freezer organization?
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StephDRebel
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,718 
Location: Ohio
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Post by StephDRebel on Jan 14, 2018 21:34:44 GMT
I'm doing the same and have been looking for the same thing. I'm thinking about some sort of organizing basket that can drop down but haven't found anything perfect yet.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:01:51 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2018 21:38:16 GMT
I don't think there is a perfect solution to organizing a chest freezer. I stopped using mine because I am too short to reach the bottom.
I bought an upright freezer for the new house. Meat goes on the bottom shelves, ice cream on the top.
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Post by gale w on Jan 14, 2018 21:58:39 GMT
Yeah buying new isn't an option. lol. We have one gigantic chest freezer for meat (we usually get a quarter of beef and a half or whole hog at a time) and a small one for non meat. We had an upright freezer in the past and when it died, all the blood ran out and freaked me right the hell out. Also, every time I opened it something fell out on me, no matter how well organized or secure things were.
The meat freezer is fairly well organized. It has dividers inside and 2 sliding baskets so each type of meat can go in its own section. It's the small one that has about a hundred different kinds of things in it that I need to use bags for.
eta: I find the bags are about as close to perfect as I've found. I just want to find stiffer bags.
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Post by Linda on Jan 14, 2018 22:28:32 GMT
I like the publix re-usable bags - they're sturdier, I guess is the word, than some.
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Post by hop2 on Jan 14, 2018 22:38:19 GMT
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Post by padresfan619 on Jan 14, 2018 22:39:51 GMT
Reusable bags that are meant to store hot/cold food are probably going to be the stiffest.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jan 14, 2018 22:42:06 GMT
You need something that won’t crack when it gets cold, with handles to make it easy to pull in and out. What about a square canvas bin like you might use in a mud room cubby?
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Post by dewryce on Jan 14, 2018 22:44:16 GMT
Are the benefits of the bags that you want to keep it keeps the items seperate and that you can lift items in and out? I haven't seen any stiff bags that will hold their shape. Perhaps stackable plastic or wire baskets with handles?
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Post by hop2 on Jan 14, 2018 22:44:46 GMT
Or maybe a utility tote of the rich ‘freezer’ size?
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Post by dewryce on Jan 14, 2018 22:48:34 GMT
Are the benefits of the bags that you want to keep it keeps the items seperate and that you can lift items in and out? I haven't seen any stiff bags that will hold their shape. Perhaps stackable plastic or wire baskets with handles? Example from The Container Store. The biggest con I can think of is the plastic potentially becoming brittle in the cold. Coated wire might be better and you'd lose less space because it is thinner. I was just able to quickly find these at a store whose products I find to be great quality. |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jan 14, 2018 23:09:50 GMT
I was going to suggest looking at the Container Store for ideas. I think the large one shown at The Container Store would be too heavy to lift when full. Think you could add handles to any wire or plastic basket for lifting.
Half a milk crate type. They do sell ones that will hold LP records.......... So at least 12" high too, but only about 6" deep?!?! Also more open for air circulation.
I wouldn't use insulated in the freezer, might not be good for constant temps...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2018 23:20:02 GMT
I just use 2 tall brown boxes. 1 for chicken, 1 for beef. They have held up a long time and work for me. I can reach the bottom though. If I couldn't I would get something to stand on.
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Post by calgaryscrapper on Jan 15, 2018 0:01:18 GMT
Costco sells heavy insulated bags for around $9.00. They are heavy when full.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jan 15, 2018 0:03:45 GMT
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Post by seikashaven on Jan 15, 2018 0:31:43 GMT
Do any of the grocery stores in your area have the stronger, plastic, flat-bottomed kind of bags? They stand open empty and just might be perfect for you.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2018 0:58:22 GMT
Trader joeKs bags stand up and stay open. Perhaps try those
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Post by gale w on Jan 15, 2018 1:33:03 GMT
Do any of the grocery stores in your area have the stronger, plastic, flat-bottomed kind of bags? They stand open empty and just might be perfect for you. I don't think so but I'll be sure to check again. We don't have a trader Joe's or Publix here. |
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Post by LisaDV on Jan 15, 2018 1:35:03 GMT
I just used plastic crates in my chest freezer. I can stack 2. And just lift out the top to get to the bottom. This means I need 2 hands though. I usually just put stuff down close to the freezer to work in it.
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Post by gale w on Jan 15, 2018 1:37:16 GMT
I just used plastic crates in my chest freezer. I can stack 2. And just lift out the top to get to the bottom. This means I need 2 hands though. I usually just put stuff down close to the freezer to work in it. I have plastic milk crates in the bottom but I can't lift out full ones by myself. I'm looking at smaller plastic crates but I think I'll lose a lot of space with them. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Jan 15, 2018 3:03:21 GMT
Yeah buying new isn't an option. lol. We have one gigantic chest freezer for meat (we usually get a quarter of beef and a half or whole hog at a time) and a small one for non meat. We had an upright freezer in the past and when it died, all the blood ran out and freaked me right the hell out. Also, every time I opened it something fell out on me, no matter how well organized or secure things were. The meat freezer is fairly well organized. It has dividers inside and 2 sliding baskets so each type of meat can go in its own section. It's the small one that has about a hundred different kinds of things in it that I need to use bags for. eta: I find the bags are about as close to perfect as I've found. I just want to find stiffer bags. What about those fabric storage bins for the cube storage organizers? |
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FurryP
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Post by FurryP on Jan 15, 2018 3:10:25 GMT
So with all these plastic containers, what about BPA?
Or is that not an issue because the food is not actually touching the plastic. Meaning it is packaged.
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Post by gale w on Jan 15, 2018 3:34:09 GMT
So with all these plastic containers, what about BPA? Or is that not an issue because the food is not actually touching the plastic. Meaning it is packaged. Everything stored in our freezers is wrapped or packaged in some way. |
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marianne
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Post by marianne on Jan 15, 2018 5:17:45 GMT
We have an upright freezer and a small chest freezer. For the upright, I've found the wire baskets work great for keeping things organized. For the chest freezer, I found some small stackable recycle bins, with handles, at the Container store that also work great for us. I have 4 in ours. We keep regular stuff in the upright, and the bulkier, odd-shaped stuff in the chest. Here's a link for the small bins... Container Store And our organized freezers... Attachments:
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Post by mikewozowski on Jan 15, 2018 5:21:16 GMT
what about trader joes reusable shopping bags. or ones from dollar tree. or whichever ones will fit your space best.
would that work?
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Post by gale w on Jan 15, 2018 6:05:57 GMT
what about trader joes reusable shopping bags. or ones from dollar tree. or whichever ones will fit your space best. would that work? I've only seen regular floppy bags at dollar tree, which is basically what I'm using now (only mine are from Walmart). Do they have stiffer ones? I'll have to stop in and look. There's no trader joe's here. I don't think there's one in the entire state. ETA: apparently there are a couple in Indianapolis. I don't live near there though. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2018 7:08:48 GMT
I just use 2 tall brown boxes. 1 for chicken, 1 for beef. They have held up a long time and work for me. I can reach the bottom though. If I couldn't I would get something to stand on. So I did get the stool to stand on thinking it would be a grand thing to do. It was not. I fell into the freezer. It was was a good laugh for my husband. |
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Post by Delta Dawn on Jan 15, 2018 7:39:30 GMT
We have a big chest freezer, too and it is a disaster. I don’t know what is in it and I don’t care anymore. There is a box of blueberries and some strawberries on one side. A few frozen chickens and 20 bags of perogies. Other than that it could have anything in there.
I like the reusable grocery bag idea a lot. I have oodles of them and mine are really crisp still. I think we should use them and go through it. Thing is, it will cause stress for my dad and I because there is so much in there. If I ignore it maybe it will go away?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2018 10:54:19 GMT
I get these collapsible but sturdy reusable shopping bags at walmart. They aren't plastic so they won't crack when frozen. Might help.   They don't sell them with regular merchandise. They're usually by the registers with other reusable bags. They do cost a little bit more, but they last a long, long time. |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jan 15, 2018 14:32:55 GMT
I get these collapsible but sturdy reusable shopping bags at walmart. They aren't plastic so they won't crack when frozen. Might help. They don't sell them with regular merchandise. They're usually by the registers with other reusable bags. They do cost a little bit more, but they last a long, long time. This is kind of what I was talking about. I’ve seen some with cutout handles in the sides vs. the strap handles, but I think either kind would work. ETA: Amazon has them too HERE. Search Collapsible Shopping Box Bag and a bunch of different kinds come up. |
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