Supermarket shoppers in Tescos stare at a near empty freezer cabinet on January 14, 2021 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Supermarkets here are already seeing disruption to food supplies after the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31st, when Northern Ireland remained part of the E.U. single market while GB left.
Having a freezer, whether it comes on your fridge or it is a chest freezer, is very handy, especially if you want to lengthen the life of your meals or foods. Amid the pandemic, freezers can lend a hand in storing foods to avoid or lessen your trips to grocery stores and avoid or prevent yourself from contracting coronavirus. However, it is a battle of strategy for storage ideas and maximizing the space your freezers have.
With the advancement of age and technology, more and more foods require the purchasers to store them in the freezers to lengthen their shelf life.
To address the concerns of thousands of homemakers on how to fit everything in their freezers, here are some tips on how to fully enjoy the space your freezers offer.
Inventory
This might be extreme, but this can save up space and money for grocery shopping. Chowhound notes Irma Rombauer's recommendation from Joy of Cooking to keep an eye on or monitor the goods inside the freezer.
They add that this method will determine what is still available in the freezer and prevent yourself from hoarding food that will, later on, be a problem because of space. They also recommend planning on short term meal plans than buying things you will not use for the time being.
Read also: The Importance of Commercial Freezers During COVID-19
Re-think
This is another strategy to free up space in your freezer. Love Foods recommends checking for foods that should not be in the freezer. They also add that trying to read the packaging of a food if it needs to be frozen or not will also help and determine if they deserve the space.
If they do not, you can place them in the different sections of your fridge or remove them from your freezers.
Use compartments
This also applies to chest freezers. Isn't it nice to see your freezers organized and aesthetically pleasing with the use of compartments, food storages, or even dividers if you are good at DIY.
Organize My House shares that utilizing grocery totes and boxes can be used as a divider or compartment in the chest freezer to maximize the chest freezer's space and height.
You can use bags in refrigerators because they take less space than food containers, especially if they are soups and sauces.
Put Labels
Labeling the containers with a marker can help quickly find out what you store and keep track of them. You can also put the date so that you can check if the food you stored is still safe to be eaten, and if not, you can toss them in the bin.
Freeze in usable portions
You can also try portioning the ingredients or meals you will put inside the freezer according to how much you will use them. It is tempting to p0ut a whole bag of pork strips or even sausages in one pack, but it will be smarter to put them on how much you will cook every meal. Doing it this way will regularly free up space, and you won't be stressing too much about it.
Be a freezer wiz with these storage ideas we mentioned. Maximizing your space will promote even more food to be frozen and heighten the chance of lengthening the shelf life of foods needed to be in the freezer.
Related article: How to Store These 7 Frozen Foods Effectively
WATCH: Ultimate Freezer Organization from Raveena At Home
