[Colbyt]

It took me 50years but for the last year or so I tested a novel storage method for a chest freezer.

You need these or a version of them:

key tags (plastic ones suggested) and sticky labels. They are smaller quantities available if you want to test the concept with limited expense.I also bough a larger size for roasts but found them a bit heavy to shuffle.Unlike plastic grocery bags you can see what is in there and the drawstring closure allows the contents to nestle and settle freeing up a bit of space.

You put your food in the bag, label it and when you are searching for something it is far easier to shuffle the contents.

The 2 of the 12 x 18 bags will hold a whole top sirloin cut into 12 ounce steaks. A. single bag holds 5 - 1 lb bags of frozen veggies.or 6-7 pounds of chicken breasts in 1 lb packages.

Think about it. It works for me.

 

[Roll_Bones]

We have a chest freezer and I don't like it for this very reason. We are now using the plastic grocery bags and plastic baskets. You can organize and in no time its a mess again.
While these bags are much more robust (grocery bags break open over time) you still must either pull it up while other items are on top or do what I am doing now, emptying the damn thing every time I cannot find something.
When deep sea fishing they attach a cable with your number and just throw your fish into the big cooler. So this is the idea that I thought would work good. The robust bags but use long wire/cable/string with the item description that you can lay on top of the food or you could hang it over the side so the tags are outside.
Or the real fix is to buy upright with shelves.

 

[Steve-o]

I'm waiting for the day our bottom-freezer refrigerator dies because I hate the disorganization in the freezer. Trouble is that a side-by-side or French-door fridge does not work well in our space and top-freezers apparently are only for renters anymore. Plus we have a space issue (current fridge is within half an inch of the cabinet above it).

We solved that problem with the freezer downstairs by buying an upright. I like this idea. Not sure how well it would work in the bottom freezer where we have to negotiate around non-moveable racks, partitions, and an ice maker. But worth thinking about.

 

[KitchenWench]

I miss my chest freezer. It was one of the Sears 6+ feet long, almost 4 feet tall monsters that if you did it right you could stack 4-5 bodies in and close the lid jobs. I built dividers out of plywood to keep the meats organized and used the baskets for the bags of vegetables. When I did the dividers, I broke it up into compartments for chicken breasts and tenders, ground beef, steaks and roasts, then did the same for pork cuts. I also had a section for leftovers containers, all labeled with the contents and date.

I've got an upright and I absolutely loathe the thing! I can't keep it neat and organized for the life of me. It doesn't help that I have no way of labeling the shelf sections and my husband just shoves things in.

 

[LeonardoDaBenz]

I miss my chest freezer. It was one of the Sears 6+ feet long, almost 4 feet tall monsters that if you did it right you could stack 4-5 bodies in and close the lid jobs.

Still have ours. 45 years new and still chuggin' along 🥶

 

[Steve-o]

and my husband just shoves things in

There's yer problem right there. I keep my refrigerator (no mistake, it's our house but my kitchen) similarly organized. Separate shelf for leftovers and opened containers that have to be used soon, veggies in crispers or wrapped, cheese and lunch meat in the drawer. It's all done in by someone in the house who isn't me who just puts stuff on any flat surface she can fine -- even if she just took the item from a specific place.

Nothing combats that disorganization short of a divorce.