I just have the little freezer above my refrigerator. It has a shelf in the middle with a drawer hanging under the shelf. I keep all the meat/chicken in the drawer so it is separate from everything else. Veggies and baking things (nuts, choc chips, coconut, butter) are in the shelves on the door. Everything else is in a pile on the shelf, or flat things can be slid under the drawer. Not the best system, but the shelf w/ drawer is pretty great.

My pantry is awesome and well-organized. I have canned items on the middle three shelves, in rows of same items and grouped by type. Top shelf has cereal (so I can pile the bags on the boxes in the back), bottom shelf has boxed food, and large items like juice, bags of potatoes and apples, are on the floor under the shelf.

__________________
It's not what you make; it's what you spend.

Join the Budget Scrapbooking challenges and earn a discount to the CC store!

Great idea of raising the floor with milk containers filled with water. You also have the added benefit of reducing your energy consumption because your freezer is "more" full now.
I'm going to pass that tip on to a friend of mine who once lost 2 turkeys in his freezer.

For pantry items I label everything with the date I bought it, so I know what to use first. If it's small things like seasoning packets, pouches of tuna, etc I put them in a basket so they don't get lost. For the freezer I go through them once a month and sort. I've tried labeling what's in there but I kept forgeting to update . I figured out that it's just easier to go through the freezers once a month and reorganizing everything (I like doing that kind of stuff anyway).

The crates would def be my suggestion....then when you pull out,say,the chicken crate......when you add new you have a nice neat cubicle you can rotate the stock in.

Date everything as you put it IN the freezer as well.(This is a huge help)

Also.......when you plan your weekly menus.....plan 2 meals a week utilizing things from the freezer....this keeps you NOT ONLY using your stock...but also.......your face IN the freezer so you're more likely to see something you need to use also

__________________

I bought a magnetic white board / dry erase board with attached dry erase marker and eraser at the dollar store and affixed it to the freezer in the garage. On it, I list the date something goes in to the freezer, the name of the food, and the quantity:

7/1/08 Hot dog buns, 24 ct.

Whenever something comes out, the quantity number gets updated. If I send the kids to the garage to get something out of the freezer though, I usually have to go out later and update the list myself. My husband forgets, but says he's still in training

Having that list makes it easy for me to see when I need to replenish something, so I can then start keeping an eye out for sales.

__________________
Attaining financial freedom is like eating an elephant . . . it takes one bite at a time.

I have a med-size chest freezer and I use two plastic stackable milk crates on one side that I can lift out and get to whatever is on the bottom.

Marie

That is a good idea and sounds like a good way to keep water, too.

__________________
"If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." ~Nietzsche

My crafty/scrappy blog: http://paperscissorsthread.blogspot.com/
Christmas Card Challenge! 72/72 I'm ALL DONE!!!