How to Clean and Organize Your Freezer

When it comes to household cleaning, one of the most forgotten (if not the most hated) items on our cleaning to-do list is the freezer. But that faithful part of your fridge that only gets noticed if it stops working does need a good scrubbing every now and again. Not to mention, you might want to get rid of that bag of “Honey, do you know what this is?” that’s been taking up space in the back for over a year.  Unless you’re diligent about using or purging things from your freezer regularly, just about everyone has that mystery bag of something in there. I recommend cleaning your freezer at least twice a year.

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Here’s how to tackle the job:

Before I start this project, I like to assemble everything I need to take it from start to finish. Nothing like getting halfway through a job and realizing you have to run to the store to stock up on supplies. Here’s my list of necessities:

Cleaning Supplies

• Sponge
• Paper towels or dish towel
• Water
• Dish soap
• Baking soda
• Old toothbrush
• Bucket

Step-by-Step Instructions for Cleaning Your Freezer

Step #1: Empty the Freezer

First things first. Remove everything from your freezer. It’s a good idea to have an ice chest at the ready. Just add everything that will be re-loaded into the clean freezer to the ice chest. This is the perfect time to sort through and throw out anything that’s freezer-burned, caked with ice crystals, or unidentifiable. Also, check “use by” dates on all packaged items. If that date is past, toss it.

Step #2: Take Out Removable Shelves and Drawers

Before taking out the removable parts of your freezer, fill your sink with warm, soapy water using your favorite dish soap. As you take out shelves and drawers, dump out any loose debris like stray crumbs, ice cubes, or food items into the trash. Now, you are ready to give each shelf or drawer a good scrub. Use the sudsy water to thoroughly wash each piece. If you’ve got an especially yucky mess, you may have to give that part a soak for a while and then use the sponge to remove the last bits. Rinse with hot water and dry.

Step #3: Clean the Interior

Fill your bucket with warm water and dish soap. Take your sponge and wipe down the entire interior of the freezer; being careful to get all crumbs and stuck-on foods. I use an old toothbrush to get those hard-to-reach spots or to thoroughly clean ridges and crevices. Dump out the soapy water and fill the bucket with hot water. Using this hot water and your sponge, wipe out the entire body of the freezer to rinse off any soapy residue.

Step #4: Deodorize

Once the freezer is clean, you can remove any lingering odors by scrubbing the area down with a mixture of water and baking soda. Mix one tablespoon of baking soda with ½ gallon warm water. Wipe down the entire interior of the freezer. Make sure you wipe all sides, the bottom, and any fixed shelves.   You can avoid odors in the future by disposing of any spilled or freezer-burned food on a weekly basis. To keep any funky smells from taking over, I keep baking soda in the freezer. You can purchase a small box of baking soda that comes with the deodorizer opening and tuck it into a corner of the freezer.

Step #5: Dry

Use a dish towel or paper towels to completely dry the inside of the freezer. Dry any shelves and drawers that you washed in the sink before replacing them.  Put all bins, drawers, and shelves back in their proper spots.

Step #6: Reload

Once your freezer interior is clean, why not take a few extra organizing steps to make sure food is stored in an orderly manner? I like to have specific locations for vegetables, meats, boxed convenience foods like pizzas, frozen dinners, appetizers, etc. Figure out what your categories are and store things in an orderly manner. If you buy in bulk and separate food into Ziploc bags for freezing, be sure to label what food it is and the date you added it to the freezer. Not sure of the freezer life of a particular food item?  The website WhatsCookingAmerica.net has an excellent chart you can refer to. Click here to check it out. If you want to go one step further, add the expiration date to your labeling on freezer bags as well. This will ensure you know when to use or when to toss something.

See also: How to Freeze 60 Pounds of Vegetables

If you don’t want to simply stack things in your freezer, consider using plastic storage bins to keep things organized neatly. Using bins enables you to store items vertically rather than horizontally so it’s easier to see what you’ve got stored in there.

How to Maximize Your Freezer Space

I like to buy in bulk so maximizing my freezer space is very important. It’s tough to find the space for 10 pounds of hamburger or 20 cups of homemade spaghetti sauce. My all-time favorite technique for freezer storage is to add my food item to a Ziploc freezer bag. Do your best to remove any excess air from the inside of the bag and then seal tightly. Now, lay the bag flat on the kitchen counter so your food item fills the bag completely – basically you’ll have a flat square of food.

If you’re storing hamburger, squish the meat out to fill the entire bag or at least a good portion of the bag. I like to separate ground meat into single-pound bags so using a gallon sized bag is perfect. Now, you’ll have to temporarily store these bags in the freezer lying horizontally until the food is frozen solid, but once that happens you can store them vertically. I like to label the bag at the top, right by the seal, so I can store my bags like files in a drawer and read easily what is in each bag. This little extra prep step will really let you take full advantage of every square inch of storage space in your freezer.

As a bonus, foods defrost much faster when frozen in this manner.

For even more advice on using your freezer to its full potential, make sure to check out my episode How to Freeze 60 pounds of Vegetables.

Do you have any freezer cleaning or storage tips? Share them in Comments below or on the Domestic CEO Facebook or Twitter pages. Until next time, I’m the Domestic CEO, helping you love your home.

Refrigerator, cleaning supplies, cleaning hands, frozen fruit, and frozen hamburger images courtesy of Shutterstock.