How to Organize a Freezer: 5 Simple Steps to Follow

As a professional organizer, I've tackled cluttered and chaotic freezers of every shape, size, and layout under the sun. The truth is, there's no universal solution: What works for a top freezer door won't necessarily work for a bottom freezer drawer, and a strategy for a French door freezer won't always apply to a side-by-side door freezer. Even for an expert, organizing a freezer isn’t always straightforward.

But don't worry, it doesn’t have to be hard either. The key is to work with what you’ve got while applying the same basic organizational methods you would elsewhere in your home. You’ll just be doing it in a much smaller, colder space than, say, your closet. Follow this freezer organization guide, and you'll free up space for more of your favorite treats and save money by cutting down on food waste.

Just like any home organization project, the first step is to empty everything out, sort through the items, and declutter. There's no point wasting space on things you neither need nor want. For a freezer, this usually means dealing with expired or freezer-burned perishables, which should make decluttering pretty simple.

After you’ve decluttered and kept only what you need, store these items in a cooler or another available freezer, like one in the garage, temporarily. With your freezer empty, take this opportunity to defrost it, clean it, and start planning your next steps.

Now that you can see the inside of your freezer clearly, it’s time to plan how you want to organize it. Check what kind of storage you actually have without the clutter of bags and ice cube trays. How many shelves and compartments are there? Are any parts adjustable? It’s a good idea to grab a tape measure and note the height, width, and depth of each section while everything is still accessible.

If your freezer has always been cramped, it's possible you weren’t using the space efficiently. Maybe you’ve been in the habit of stuffing too much into it. In that case, you might want to scale back on buying frozen foods in bulk or consider getting an additional chest or upright freezer to store the overflow.

This is where the fun begins, as you get to be creative and make your daily life easier. Take the items you pulled from the freezer and sort them into categories. Or, if you didn’t have many items left after decluttering, make a list of the usual categories you keep on hand. Typical freezer categories include:

• Fruits and vegetables
• Desserts (i.e., ice cream, cookie dough)
• Meats and seafood
• Carbs (i.e., rice, bread, pizza dough)
• Pre-packaged meals
• Leftovers

It's also common to place beer mugs or bottles of liquor in the freezer, so they're chilled when you need them. Or, you might want to create a small self-care section with an ice roller, reusable gel eye masks, and your go-to gua sha. Remember, your freezer only needs to fit the needs of the people using it.

Once you have your categories, assign each one a shelf or compartment based on where they fit best. Frozen pizzas might need a wide but shallow space, while a tub of ice cream takes up less width but needs more height. Ideally, similar foods should be kept together, but that might not always be possible depending on your freezer. Don’t stress too much about this step, as the next one might help make it easier.

You might be able to get and keep your freezer organized by using the compartments or trays that are already there. If that’s the case, you can skip this step. For everyone else, incorporating some organizational supplies can help, depending on your freezer size. You might not have the space to stack clear bins like you can in a fridge, but adding one or two of the following products can maximize storage.

Make sure your organizers are fridge and freezer-safe to avoid cracking or breaking. Durable plastic or vinyl-coated steel are generally reliable when stored at cold temperatures. And if you want a quick and easy way to mark leftovers and expiration dates, dissolvable food labels are freezer-friendly too.

For top freezers and side-by-side freezers: Use a divided rack for small, slim items like bags of frozen veggies. A shelf riser works well for short items, so you can utilize the height of a shelf better.

For bottom freezers and French door freezers: Look for deep, narrow bins that you can line up in the drawer to sort categories. Shallow sliding baskets can sit on the top pull-out drawer to hold small items.

For all freezer configurations: Use small open bins to group categories together. Reusable silicone bags for leftovers take up less room than traditional food storage containers.

The secret to maintaining your organized freezer is regular maintenance. Aim to go through the freezer at least once a month, tossing anything that’s gone bad since your last check. Tidy up items that have strayed from their categories, and add or reorganize organizers as needed.