Whether it is a compact, upright or chest freezer; use these freezer storage tips to help you minimize waste and maximize savings.

Know what can be stored in the freezer

Your freezer is not just a storage unit for foods you find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, it can be used for long-term storage of many fresh foods. Think of the freezer as your second pantry with some storage exceptions. What can’t you store in the freezer? We do not recommend freezing fruits and vegetables with high moisture content (like lettuce and watermelon), dairy products (like yogurt), and fried foods. What foods can you put in the freezer? Everything else! For a thorough list of freezer-friendly foods click here.

Label before storing in the freezer

Taking the time to label and date foods means you’ll never have to guess what’s inside. Save yourself the trouble of searching through every frozen container with this useful tip and you can even add cooking directions. There are many ways you can label your containers – masking tape with permanent marker, sticker labels, etc.

Store things flat in the Freezer

Put that leftover soup in a freezer bag, seal, and lay the bag flat in the freezer until frozen. This tip helps you optimize your storage capacity since flat items with even thickness are easier to stack/organize.

Choose the right storage containers

Air circulating around frozen foods can lead to freezer burn, so it is recommended to use a container similar to the size of what you want to freeze as possible. If you’re using plastic bags (Ziplocs) make sure to use the thicker freezer bags and get out as much air as possible.

Don’t store high-fat items on the door

The door is not the coolest place in the freezer, so don’t put items like ice cream there where it can run the risk of melting and refreezing.

Portion your food before storing in the freezer

Danby recommends that you partition your freezer friendly foods in portions before freezing them. It might be tempting to just throw the value-pack of chicken pieces straight into this appliance, but you’ll regret this later when you only need a few breasts and the whole pack is one frozen mass.

Looking for easy freezer friendly meals? We made a whole Pinterest board of some of our favourite freezer-friendly meals!

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