Adapting to a Tiny Freezer

My freezer is tiny.  It's the smallest side-by-side Frigidaire makes (I assume).  I can't even fit a frozen pizza in it!  So, when it comes to storing food in my freezer, I have to be creative with the space I have.

I like to buy my ground beef in bulk, because we go through it very quickly.  As soon as I get it home (or sometime in the next few days), I measure out 1lb servings of the meat and put them in freezer bags. (This is not the cool part yet)

The cool part is that I realized I could save space in my freezer AND help myself when it comes to defrosting my meat later.  When I put the pound of meat in the baggie, I squeeze out all the air.  I then mold the bag to form a flat meat 'pattie'.  The bags now take up only about 1/4 - 1/2 inch of vertical space.   I put those flattened bags in a gallon baggie to keep them all together in my freezer.  I can get up to 6lbs of ground beef in one gallon bag by flattening them out like this.

Not only does it save space in my freezer, but it also serves an equally important purpose.  I started out flattening them, because I wanted my meat to defrost quicker.  The thinner they are, the faster they defrost.  And as an added bonus, you don't have the frozen middle 'chunk' that you're too impatient to wait for, that freeze your hands when you try to form meatloaves or hamburgers. Or is that just me?

Flattening out my ground beef for freezing works for me!  Stop by We are THAT Family to find more tips and tricks that work for others.