There is nothing worse than when you open up your freezer and everything starts falling everywhere. There needs to be some sort of method to organizing the chaos. Here are some tips on how to better organize your freezer for the easy-to-find, freshest foods possible.

First in First Out (FIFO)

Beginyour freezer organization by deciding what was purchased first. FIFO is pretty self-explanatory: items that went into your freezer earliest should also come out earliest. This is essential to ensure that food isn’t ruined by freezer burn, and also that it stays fresh whenever you cook it. Many restaurants also operate under a FIFO policy to ensure the best quality possible, so why shouldn’t you?

Expiration Dates

Make sure that when using FIFO, you are also looking at the expiration dates. Make note of any food that has no expiration date, and properly label it yourself. The last thing you want to do is scramble for some frozen vegetables that you unknowingly had stuffed into the freezer for the last four months.

Divide By Group

Nothing clutters up a freezer more than a mixed bunch of boxes, bags and packages competing for shelf space. To make things easier, separate out all of your boxed and bagged items, along with any frozen meats. The freezer door is a good place to fit in all of your bagged goods, which leaves valuable shelf space available for easily stacked boxes and packaged meats.

Labeled Ziploc Bags

Another great way to organize your freezer is to prep some vegetables and fruits, stick them into Ziploc bags and label them. They should fit in nicely with your frozen bagged food, and not be squashed either.