The Organization Tool That's Actually Built Into Your Freezer (And We Had No Idea)

A few years ago, an appliance expert told Daily Mail that the theory regarding the ridges on the bottom of your freezer existing solely for storage should be officially debunked, as they are instead there to circulate air and keep products from being permanently frozen to its surface. However, that doesn't mean freezer owners can't get a bit creative when trying to maximize space. It's very easy to overload a small freezer, and sometimes it is much handier to have less food taking up all of its space (especially when defrosting your freezer, where removing every single item is far too much work). In fact, plenty of people have already been utilizing these ridged lines in order to keep thinner products, like frozen meat, in a vertical line in order to save much-needed space in the freezer.

Prepackaged items are able to slot together beautifully within each ridge to clear out room for other products that aren't as conveniently shaped. Similar to the way that utensils will nest together when around like objects, frozen food can do the same if in comparable packaging. However, while it may look nice and neat in the freezer, don't forget to eat frozen meat before it goes bad or succumbs to freezer burn.

While some items are conveniently shaped for this ridge hack — like boxed TV dinners, singularly-wrapped popsicles, and even longer cylinders like rolls of dough — smaller, non-uniform products may be a little harder to store. One of the most popular ways to avoid an overflowing freezer is to use organizing bins, which can range from wire sorting bins for chest freezers to plastic, stackable bins for upright freezers. Uniform boxes will fit together instead of bags and bins battling it out to win more space in a small freezer.

Another important factor in keeping a clean freezer is to consistently check expiration dates on each item. Many items can be consumed for a certain amount of time past their "best by" date, but keeping fresh items in the freezer while removing older items is the best way to utilize freezer space. Not only will older food that may have already gone bad or have become freezer burned be discarded, but it will make room for new food that can still be consumed.