Freezing and storing onions (what about garlic?)

Onions are not my favorite vegetable, but I cook with them constantly. They are the base for soups, stir-frys and all manner of cooked meals. I don't really know anyone who enjoys slicing onions, me included. Though it seems everyone has a method for slicing onions without crying -- running a peeled onion under cold water; filling your mouth with water while you slice(!); putting it in the freezer for five minutes; using a very sharp knife to avoid crushing the cells and causing mist -- I've never tried or think to remember any of these suggestions. (Anyone have a tried and true method?) During the harvest months when Renee and I split a bin of CSA produce from a local farm, we always get a few onions in each bin. I tend to not cook with them as much in the warm months as in the cold months, so what to do with piles and piles of onions?

This past summer I finally got smart and diced up a ton of onions in one fell swoop (And let me tell you, the tears were pooling on the floor. It was intense. The kids were a little freaked.) I filled two one-gallon bags of diced onions and popped them in the freezer. Given my failure at freezing my broccoli and cauliflower, I was a little nervous about the onions. But a couple of weeks ago I started cooking with them and they are FANTASTIC. I love just reaching into a bag of onions and tossing them into the pan. No slicing. No tears. I quickly ran through my bag of yellows and am already putting a good dent in the reds. Next summer I will definitely freeze a whole lot more.

I've also experimented with storing onions in a paper bag in our pantry and have had good results. I've got a couple of onions in there from the summer that are in fine shape. However, the head of garlic I stuck in the bag disintegrated into nothingness. I think it's so weird how garlic does that. It just evaporates, leaving behind empty layers of crinkly skin.

How do you preserve garlic? Do you braid it together and hang in a dark place? Do you peel it and store it in oil? In the fridge? I've left store-bought garlic sitting next to the stove for a couple of months and it's held up. What about longer-term storage?