Freezer Drawer // Love or Hate It?

Airing my dirty laundry today. Or, I guess in this case, it's my cluttered freezer drawer.

We have an upright freezer in our basement that I have filled to the brim (and organized, labeled, etc.!) with all sorts of foods, from Vegetarian Freezer Month eats to big bulk bags of veggies + fruits to glass containers of homemade staples, like applesauce, waffles, and chili.

Our refrigerator's freezer drawer is quite another story, as you can see. It's a catch-all for leftovers that aren't as, well, planned. Like bananas that are too ripe. Or half bags of frozen stuff. Or old freezer packs. (We have a million on them somehow.) From what I discovered . . . stuff expired in 2007 and ALL . . . what we keep upstairs is stuff we rarely eat.

Hmmm.

I think a huge part of it is my own lack of labeling and organization coupled with the poor design. Or let me re-state that. The poor design for my own preferences. When we bought our refrigerator several years ago, a drawer was a HOT item on my must-have list. Now? I don't really like hate it! Everything gets lost in there.

After doing a major cleaning, I ended up getting rid of the majority of what you see above. Including a few rogue breastmilk bags from Ada's first year. Now we're left with an empty space looking to be filled.

Here's the deal:

• I'm planning to keep a roll of masking tape + a Sharpie next to the fridge to make labeling simple.
• I'd also like to create a list of what's in the freezer to post on the refrigerator door.
• I might invest in some smarter storage for that type of space, maybe something like these taller, slimmer containers.
• I may also try to create some loose zones in the freezer (like fruit, veggies, meals, desserts, etc.) so everything is easier to find.
• And obviously, I need to clean the freezer more regularly to keep everything under control.

I'm hoping to unveil a much more inspiring freezer space the next time I share. But I guess I'm wondering if any of you have tips you could give me. Do you have a freezer drawer? Love or hate it? And, it not -- maybe there are universal methods that would work for everyone?

I need all the help I can get!

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