Deep Freezer

Make sure to rotate food. It is so easy to just grab whatever is on top. We have some of our water storage at the bottom of ours. I figure if the power goes out the bottles of ice will help keep it cold -- and it helps lift the food so I don't have to fish it off the bottom.

We sometimes use boxes or plastic grocery bags to organize our food. You could do it by date -- attach some kind of tag with the date the food in that bag was purchased. We organize by type of food -- one bag for packages of frozen peas, one for frozen corn, one for bags of mixed veggies... a bag for pork, a bag for chicken, a bag for quick fix frozen meals...

When we need to get something near the bottom, we can just move a few grocery bags instead of 20-30 individual packages. We also try to keep things in the same general area since we have 3-4 people in the house who might be cooking. It helps to know the turkeys are on the bottom at the right-hand side, chicken bottom-middle-front, etc. We pretty much have the meats and frozen Rhodes rolls on the bottom; veggies, cheese, convenience meals on top.

it depends on the item and how you freeze it. your best bet it to also buy a vacum sealer (about $100 but worth it) it will make your items take up less space and since no air will get in there will be no freezer burn and you can keep items in there for years. my dad is obsessed with his and does a lot of gardening so he can seal veggies (and hops...he has created a brewery in the basement and grows his own hops to make the beer...this is my mom's fault because she told him to get a hobby lol)

We butcher our own meat and store it in freezer bags and it will keep up to a year in a deep freezer without getting freezer burn. If you buy meat in the bulh packs, just take it out of the original packaging and put it in freezer bags and it will last way longer. Vegetables will collect too much frost if left in the deep freezer too long, but meat and pre cooked meals should last a year at least.

I wrap things securely and I use a freezer zipper bag.

I ALWAYS, label exact detail as to what is in the bag and date it.

You'll love it!!! I don't know what we did without our freezer!!

We've had our freezer for about 4 years now. I've found that frozen veggies are best if used within 3 months (they're ok after that, just freezer burned). Meats, it depends on the packaging, but usually good for 6 months before it starts having freezer-burn taste. We've had some things, in their original from-the-store packaging in there longer and they were fine (someone gave us an extra turky one thanksgiving, and I think it was Aug before we cooked it!). We also buy bread in bulk at the Sara Lee outlet store and freeze it, and it's good for frozen juice and ice cream and all sorts of other stuff.

The less you open it, the better it is, of course, because the temperature will stay more steady. But we use ours more than the freezer part of our fridge, and it's okay, we just have to defrost a bit more often.

As always, if something looks funky or smells off, or if you are in any other way in doubt, chuck it. But most food should be okay for at least a month in a deep freezer, if not longer.

It seems like no one really answered your question. Here is a link: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/focus_on_freezing/ind...

Good luck!!