How to organize freezer drawers for a few dollars.
If you have a refrigerator that has a pull-out bottom drawer freezer and have not been able to fit ready-made freezer bins or freezer organizing baskets into it that will help to keep the contents organized, you may like this freezer organizing hack I came up with.
It is easy to do using dividers I made from sheets of craft store corrugated plastic.
These dividers are not just for freezers. They can be also made to use on any white plastic coated wire closet organizer shelf or basket in your clothes closet, laundry or pantry.
Freezer Drawers: Before Organizing
Here is how the two drawers in my kitchen’s freezer looked before I made new freezer dividers for them.
Each drawer only had one divider. No matter how much I tried to keep “like” items in rows, they always moved when the drawer was opened and closed making a big pile of frozen food on each side of the dividers.
Why I Needed to Come Up With My Own Freezer Drawer Organizing Idea
While searching for freezer organizing ideas online, I did find a few ideas that I thought would work.
These ranged from using different sizes of freezer bins, file folder holders and even freezer organizing baskets, but none of them fit.
Freezer Drawer Inspiration
On the blog, Simply Organized I like what she did to organize the bottom of her freezer drawer.
She removed the deeper bottom wire basket completely in the drawer and replaced it with a row of plastic multi-use organizers. I bought these, but had to return them as they didn’t fit in my freezer the way hers did. They were too tall for mine.
Since that idea didn’t work, I had to come up with a plan to organize my freezer on my own. I didn’t want to use cardboard magazine folders or dividers as after a while they would get soggy with moisture.
I kept searching for an idea and finally found white plastic corrugated cardboard sheets at Michaels craft store. They were perfect – not expensive and easy to cut and would not get soggy.
I also liked the white color, as it would make my organizing efforts look like they came with the freezer.
How to Make Plastic Dividers for Freezer Drawers
These freezer drawer dividers are very simple to make, the part that I found the hardest to get the project done, was having to empty my freezer.
I brought a large cooler into the house to keep the food cold while I was working on the drawer dividers.
To make the addition of the dividers doable and keep the food cold, I removed the top drawer first.
Then I added the dividers, placed the basket and food back in to the freezer and then proceeded to repeat the process for the deeper bottom basket in the freezer drawer.
supplies needed:
Tools:
- craft knife
- scissors
- yard stick or t-square
- hole punch
- pencil
Time needed: 1 hour and 15 minutes.
How to Organize Freezer Drawers DIY
- Remove the Contents of the Drawer
Measure your freezer, the entire space and height to make sure that what ever you add does not interfere with the opening and closing of the freezer drawer.
Mark the front of the baskets with tape before removing them so you don’t forget how to place the baskets back into the drawer. If you mix this up, the drawer may not close.
- Remove Existing Divider
The divider that came with the top freezer drawer basket was removable.
Use the divider as a template to cut new dividers from a sheet of corrugated plastic.
- Figure Out Divider Placement
Use the actual contents of your freezer to help you determine how to space the dividers in the basket.
- Punch Holes in Dividers
Mark dividers with a pencil along each edge. Using a paper hole punch or an awl make a small hole and thread a zip tie through each hole.
- Attach Dividers With Zip Ties
Line a divider up with a horizontal wire on the basket. Then use the zip tie to secure it to the frame of the basket.
Make sure the zip tie is snug. Then cut off the excess with a pair of scissors.
Repeat on both top and bottom of the divider.
- Repeat Steps for Bottom Freezer Basket
The bottom freezer basket is much deeper and has a lining tray at the bottom. The one divider that came with it is not removable.
To make the dividers an exact fit, I laid the basket on its side so I could trace the shape onto a plastic corrugated sheet.
- Repeat
Cut the divider(s) out and follow the same steps used for the upper basket to attach the dividers.
- Place Basket Back Into Freezer
Freezer Drawers – AFTER Adding Dividers
So much better! Now the contents will stay in rows which will help me keep the contents organized so everything is easy to find at a glance.
Freezer Storage Idea: Labeling the Contents
You can make your own printable freezer labels or use sheets or rolls of ready made labels.
Having a roll or sheet of labels on hand is another way to make sure that the contents in your freezer are organized and stay that way.
More DIY Ideas on How to Organize Bottom Freezer Drawers
When trying to decide what you can use to organize the bottom drawer of a freezer, here are a few more easy to do budget-friendly ideas.
Buy more containers or baskets than you think need so that you can figure out what sizes will work. You can return the containers that didn’t work.
Once you have the containers play around with arranging them in the drawer. You want them to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle so you don’t waste any space.
- Use ready-made plastic multi-use bins.
- Cut corrugated boxes down to sizes needed.
- Plastic dollar store baskets in various sizes. These can also be stacked to create layers of organization in the depth of the drawer.
For the ultimate in refrigerator and freezer organizing, check out this soon to be published book on the topic. It will surely inspire you once and for all to get your fridge and freezer organized.
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Source: Organization - inmyownstyle.com
