Freezer Baskets

Freezer baskets are an excellent way to keep freezers organized, and to ensure that you don't forget some food at the bottom of the freezer until it's too old and dry to eat.  They do a great job of helping you sort the different kinds of food you have, and if you like to freeze your food into smaller portions like I do, it makes them easy to keep together.  I find this convenient, living as a single guy, but it's good for anyone who needs to be able to quickly prepare a single portion meal.

The single best reason I can think of for using freezer baskets to organize my freezer is, well, being single.  I typically don't need to cook several chicken breasts, because one will do just fine.  I have a bag of frozen vegetables that I'll pour a little bit out of, but then I'm going to put it right back in the freezer.  If I'm shopping and I see a deal on beef, then I'll probably buy several pounds of it, but I don't want to cook it all at once.

So organizing food into single portions is part of my shopping experience.  Make a hamburger patty, put it into a baggie.  Take a pork chop or two, put it in the baggy.  I do the work up front, so that when it's time to actually prepare, I can just grab it out of the freezer, and away I go.

But with so many different bags, organization becomes a very real problem.  Food can fall into the bottom of the freezer and forgotten.  I can lose track of what's newer and what's older.  That's why I have a specific freezer basket for the different meats and vegetables I use.  It keeps me organized so I know exactly how much of a particular food I have left.  It keeps the freezer looking neat too, which is a good psychological effect to have.  I never underestimate the power of having things look pleasant and organized, another benefit of fitting my freezer this way.

If you're barbecuing or traveling, and you have a chest freezer, than chest freezer baskets work just as well.  You can use them to keep food arranged for your children, so they can get to snacks without messing up the entire chest, or you can use it to keep your meats arranged for the barbecue.  And while a chest freezer basket may seem like something you don't need - the chest is so much smaller than the full freezer after all - you'd likely be surprised at how much smoother trips can go with just a little organization involved.

Freezer baskets come in a couple different materials, the most common being wire or plastic.  They function similarly, but may be better for different circumstances.  Frozen food could get stuck to metal a little easier than plastic, which shouldn't be a problem, but it's something to keep in mind.  Plastic may break easier, especially if it's in a chest that gets tossed around.  But really, material probably wouldn't make much difference.

Freezer storage baskets are a great way to keep individually packaged servings organized in your freezer.  While they aren't perfect for everybody, if you find yourself loosing food in your freezer until it's ruined, or just having problems keeping it organized, getting a wire or plastic freezer basket may be your ticket for easier to handle storage.