"My wife has a touch of arthritis and when she pulled a muscle in her side when leaning over the top of our home freezer to reach a package on the bottom, I decided there had to be a better way. The result was this Freezer Boot," says Paul Kauffman, Shreve, Ohio.

"Most of what we freeze is packaged in plastic pint, pint and a half, and quart freezer cartons so I designed a frame that holds a stack of them. It fits in a chest freezer and yet there's still room above them for packaged meat and other frozen foods. I built the original models from corrugated cardboard using staples and freezer tape. Later, I had a half dozen made out of sheet metal. We now have enough to handle all our fruits, vegetables, and berries.

"The Freezer Boot gives us an orderly system for our freezer. Products can be found easily and are easy to get out. Each product can be filed in its own boot and labeled.

"Each Boot holds 5 or 6 containers, depending on size, and it's easy to get cartons out even when several have been used up because of the open sides."

Kauffman would like to find a manufacturer for his Freezer Boot.