s/o stockpiling, what about freezers?

[Night Elf]

Do you own a 2nd freezer? Well, that's what I would call it. My refrigerator is pitiful. The freezer is on the bottom and it's one big drawer and one shallow shelf. It just doesn't hold much. I've never been able to justify buying a separate freezer.

 

What do you put in yours? Should I reconsider? Our frozen stuff does go fast and I'm filling it every week.

[hillfarm]

One of my main reasons for stocking up on food is to keep my family fed during our frequent periods of bad weather when we can't get to a store due to either downed trees blocking the roads, flooded roads, or heavy snow/ice on the roads. It is quite likely that the power would go out in all of those situations. So while I do buy and freeze as much as will fit in my freezer, that is not my main supply of emergency foods since it could all spoil within a few days if our power goes out. I do have a very small freezer that is part of my refrigerator and a larger chest-type freezer. Not sure if that qualifies as a second freezer or not.

 

The other thing is that most people here in my rural area claim that they are storing their meat products "on the hoof". In other words, they are raising animals that would be butchered in an emergency but which do not occupy freezer space in the mean time. HTH

[Paintedlady]

We have 2 freezers in our basement. We coupon and buy as much as we can whenever meat, ice cream, etc... is free/cheap. We've been building our stock pile for a little over a year now but I'd say we only keep about a 3-4 month supply in there, maybe a little more with the meat.

[BikeBookBread]

We bought a second freezer (a chest freezer rather than an upright) several years ago. We are very glad we did purchase it.

 

We go to Costco and buy chicken, beef, milk, cheese, pesto, etc. and store it in there. We love turkey, so we buy extra around Thanksgiving when they are the best price, and use them months later.

 

In our home, the rule of thumb is if the item is not going to be used frequently or within a week, it goes into the chest freezer. I keep leftovers in our standard freezer. They aren't crowded out by a bunch of other stuff, so they actually get eaten! I keep some of my baking items in the main freezer as well: yeast, gluten, etc.

 

During holiday season, I bake ahead and put in the chest freezer.

[Parrothead]

We have a second (chest) and are contemplating a third since we are getting half a cow and a pig.

[FloridaLisa]

We have a chest freezer and, though they are supposed to be more efficient, I will opt for an upright if I purchase again because it is so much easier to organize and find things.

 

We store:

 

meat stocked on sale

venison from dh's hunting

fish from dc's fishing

cheese

large tubs of ice cream

fruit we've U-picked

meals I've made ahead

 

I also like having it to store bags of ice, large trays of food, pizzas, etc that don't fit in the side freezer.

 

HTH,

Lisa

[OnTheBrink]

I have a chest freezer (a small one) in my basement and I plan to stock it with meat/chicken for the winter. Winters here aren't that bad, but I hate shopping when the roads are snowy or icy.

[Melissa in Australia]

I have 2 chest freezers. one in ds16 bedroom, and one in the tiny laundry.

We grow our own meat, and one cow can fill a freezer completely. At the moment one is full of pork from our own pigs, and the other has frozen veggies from our own garden, and frozen bread, as I bake bread once a week and take it out as we need it.

[TKDmom]

I have an extra upright freezer. I like to buy a case of meat at Sam's club (their case price is significanlt cheaper than retail). I'll also use it for frozen veggies and ice cream when they are buy one, get one free.

[StephanieZ]

I have two freezers in addition to the kitchen fridge/freezer.

 

We buy a half-cow about once a year, so one freezer can be full of beef at certain times of the year. So, really, there is one other freezer for OAMC stuff and stockpile.

 

Generally, I stockpile ice cream, popsicles, butter, cheese, meats, sausages/bacon/etc, OAMC stuff, froz veggies, froz fruits, etc.

[DawnM]

My parents bought us one when we moved here. I had been wanting one for a while.

 

We LOVE it! I use it and it is typically close to full.

 

Dawn

[Bright_Future]

We have an upright freezer in addition to the tiny one on our side by side. We use it to stock up on deer meat, beef, meals made ahead (I make bulk spaghetti sauce, chili, etc), vegetables picked in season, jam and homemade bread.

 

It saves us money in the long run because we live 20 minutes from nowhere and an hour from somewhere, so the money we save in gas to shop only a couple times a month at most has made the freezer pay for itself.

[cjzimmer1]

I have 2 uprights and would get a third in a heartbeat if I had the money. I get a 1/2 a beef but right now I only have a few packages left and won't be getting another one until winter so beef isn't taking much space even though both freezers are packed full.

 

Other things I store, all our fruit. Some I u-pick others I just buy fresh in season in bulk and freeze it. Not only is it cheaper than buying frozen fruit in the grocery store (unless you have a fabulous sale going on), it tastes so much better. My stuff is frozen when the fruit is at the peak of ripeness, not at whatever stage the fruit was at when the mechanical pickers stripped the field. I also make all my own jam (freezer strawberry jam tastes just like fresh strawberries), so most of the door is filled with jars of jam.

 

I do freeze alot of veggies from my garden but honestly most of those are gone within a few months.

 

I buy turkeys at thanksgiving to use all year because it's much cheaper than chicken and is easily substituted.

 

I buy chocolate chips and nuts at CHristmas because that is when they have their best prices, I freeze them and use them all year long.

 

I also keep my extra bags of brown and wild rice in the freezer since they can turn rancid if left out too long. I also buy spices in 1 pound bags for just a few dollars a pound and then I freeze them (because it takes a very long time to use a pound of a spice) to keep them fresh.

 

I do keep frozen pizzas. I actually have a stack of them because it takes at least 3 to feed our family a meal with them. It's my fall back food when I simply don't have time for anything else.

 

I like to make up stuffed peppers in the fall. I will probably end up with a full shelf of them when I'm done. We like them alot and then I only have to make them once a year.

 

I buy 5 pound bags of shredded cheese from Sam's and make smaller packages and freeze them.

 

I usually can my applesauce and tomatoes but anything that doesn't make a full load for the canner will get thrown in the freezer. I freeze grape juice because I'm too lazy to can it (we don't use that much of it)

 

Growing up my mom had 3-4 large freezers (2 uprights and huge chest and one commercial size upright freezer). I've always learned to freeze everything. I've always wondered how people survive WITHOUT one because it's just such a foreign concept to me not to stockpile food.

[Rosie_0801]

We don't have a freezer. We don't eat meat, so running one for the purposes of keeping a few packets of frozen peas seems silly. We already pay the supermarket's electricity bill to keep things frozen, so I don't want to pay twice by keeping it frozen at home!

 

Rosie

[MagnaSky]

We have a chest-type freezer in the basement. I like to freeze blueberries and other fruit during the summer, plus we keep meat and other stockpiled items.

[oldskool]

We have a second freezer and love it. We mostly put extras like frozen pizzas, ice cream, and other stuff that doesn't fit in our regular fridge/freezer. We also grow a lot of vegetables over the summer and freeze them to use throughout the winter.

 

Lesley

[mom31257]

We have the smallest size chest freezer. We got it last year, and it's one of the best purchases we've ever made. It was less than $200. I do a lot of coupon shopping, so I'm glad to have some extra space to stock up when something is on sale. I really don't know how we made it without it.

[JoyfulMama]

Well, we have 2 side-by-side refrigerators, and 2 stand-alone freezers. The chest freezer is actually not plugged in right now, as we haven't had our normal annual 1/2 steer. We only grocery shop every 3 weeks or so, and keep my dh's soda and beer in the barn fridge with the extra eggs, milk, and carrots. There is no grocery store within 20 minutes.

I use the upright freezer and the fridge in the barn to "shop" from to stock my kitchen fridge/freezer. I also try to keep a stock of frozen breads, muffins, etc. I did try canning many vegetables and fruits, but honestly we like frozen better for many.

[Tap]

We have had a chest freezer in our garage from the time our first child was born. We buy 1/4 to 1 full beef at a time and sometimes a hog. We use it for that and extra freezer items. We only keep short term items in the fridge in the house.

[Heather in AL]

We have a side-by-side fridge/freezer in the kitchen as our main one, then in the garage we have a freezer-on-top/fridge-on-bottom combo, AND a smallish upright freezer. And we *still* want more space!

 

The fridge/freezer in the garage holds extra milk, sodas, beer, and TONS of water bottles as well as extra tubs of butter, cheese, etc. The freezer holds ground beef, pork chops, shrimp & fish.... just whatever.

 

The upright (it's about as big as the fridge part of the freezer-on-top guy next to it)) holds frozen lunches like Healthy Choice, frozen pizzas, a whole turkey, more ground beef as well as various cuts of meat (we bought 1/4 cow last summer) and ice cream.

 

One thing I keep meaning to do is to buy a freezer alarm, as the upright is sneaky and it *looks* closed when it really isn't. We did lose a few pizzas from the door not being closed all the way.

 

Oh--- here is a public service announcement---- If you have your fridge/freezer in the garage and your garage has GFI outlets, make SURE the fridge/freezer is not plugged in to one of them!! We learned the hard way that the fountain in the *back yard* is plugged into an outlet that trips one of the GFI outlets in the garage (which is near the front of the house, no less!).... the one where our upright was plugged!! :glare: Thankfully, we had just started filling that one and the losses were minimal.

 

Oh, and another PSA----- if you get a second (or third) fridge/freezer space, try to spread your stockpile between the spaces---- don't put all your steak in one and all your frozen veggies in the other, for instance. Put a little of everything in each one. That way, if one of the units conks out, you haven't lost a half cow or whatever. Sort of like not giving each person their own suitcase when flying.... we pack a little of everyone's things in each bag in case one gets lost.

[cin]

Thanks for this thread ladies! I've cut adn pasted some replies to email to my DH. I want an upright freezer, but he keeps accusing me of 'hoarding food'. I want him to see that I'm not crazy, and I'm not the only one who likes to cook ahead, store muffins, and possibly buy 1/2 a cow.

 

Just as he has a provider 'gene' that causes him to work hard and save money, my provider 'gene' has me trying to save money and working hard at feeding/clothing my family.

[runmiarun]

We have an upright freezer that I can't live without. I store anything that won't be eaten within a week in it. Combine that with coupon and BOGO deals and my regular freezer just didn't stand a chance. My freezer is only 5 feet, a couple of inches tall but it holds so very much. If my garden had actually grown anything this year instead of providing food for the neighborhood squirrels, it would be more full. But I did get a great sale on frozen veggies and Blue Bell ice cream so they are helping fill the void.

[duckens]

We bought a freezer last year. When we had looked at freezers previously, I had always wanted an upright. My mother always lost food in her chest freezer. But the price and size of the chest freezers was too good to let go by.

 

"How many bodies can you hide in this thing?"

 

We bought the biggest chest freezer that we could, and it is nicely divided into sections, with 3 "floating baskets" for extra stuff. Because of the sections, we have not lost anything in the freezer yet. We have sections for: bread, vegies, fruit, meat (bacon, chicken, etc), ground buffalo, other buffalo cuts (roasts, steaks), juice, cheese, and premade meals from Sam's Club for nights when I can't face cooking.

 

I love our freezer because:

--We bought 1/4buffalo last year, and i can feed my family healthier meat at a more affordable cost.

--We can process large batches from the farmers' market and freeze them for throughout the year: corn on the cob, squash, pumpkin.

--Ready-made meals for nights I cannot face cooking. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than having Loverboy bring home fastfood.

--We buy cheese and butter in bulk so that we always have some on hand.

--I can bake several loaves of bread to have on hand.

--If I make extra of something (soup, cookies), I can freeze it for a quick meal or treat later.

--With a new baby due in a few months, I am hoping to make extra freezer meals for the first month after the baby arrives.

--Ice cream.

[KS_]

Do you own a 2nd freezer? Well, that's what I would call it. My refrigerator is pitiful. The freezer is on the bottom and it's one big drawer and one shallow shelf. It just doesn't hold much. I've never been able to justify buying a separate freezer.

 

What do you put in yours? Should I reconsider? Our frozen stuff does go fast and I'm filling it every week.

 

We have 2 chest freezers in the basement. We've had one for about 16 years, and added the second one a couple years ago. I organize mine with smallish cardboard boxes and put similar stuff in each box. I also have one freezer that holds the produce, bread, and stuff that's already made and ready to eat (like soups, frozen ravioli, etc.) and the other one has the meat (beef, chicken, ham/sausage/bacon), broth and milk.

[Night Elf]

Okay, I'll admit it, you ladies talking about half a cow or pig are a bit intimidating! I live in the suburbs and buy my meat from a grocery store all nicely packaged. :tongue_smilie:

 

So.. for the vegetables and fruit and soups and whatnot... HOW do you freeze it?? My food gets freezer burn whenever I try. I've tried wrapping in plastic, then double bagging something with ziploc bags. What am I doing wrong? I'd like to freeze dinners. Can I really freeze fresh fruit and vegetables? Again, I'm a grocery store shopper. We buy canned goods (I know people say yuck but it's what I grew up eating), boxed goods, and frozen fruit. It would be so cool to cook double batches of dinners and freeze one for the next week!

[Giraffe]

Whimper, jealous, sigh....

 

DH just doesn't see the point. I used to have an upright when I was single (I also had a generator in case of power outages), but through the vagaries of life it now lives with my parents 2000 miles away. I really really really want a freezer. Really, really, really!!

 

:drool5:

[KS_]

So.. for the vegetables and fruit and soups and whatnot... HOW do you freeze it?? My food gets freezer burn whenever I try. I've tried wrapping in plastic, then double bagging something with ziploc bags. What am I doing wrong? I'd like to freeze dinners. Can I really freeze fresh fruit and vegetables? Again, I'm a grocery store shopper. We buy canned goods (I know people say yuck but it's what I grew up eating), boxed goods, and frozen fruit. It would be so cool to cook double batches of dinners and freeze one for the next week!

 

If you're just talking about your experience with the freezer that's under your refrigerator, stuff gets freezer burn much more easily because it's a "frost-free" freezer (most likely, unless it's really old!). They go through somewhat of a freeze/thaw cycle to keep the frost off the sides. A chest freezer doesn't do that, and will, over time, build-up frost/ice on the sides. However, the food won't freezer burn as easily or quickly, and I keep my chest freezer colder than my frig/freezer.

 

I freeze stuff in plastic freezer containers and freezer ziplocs. I'd love to get away from the plastic, but haven't found a reasonable alternative yet. You can use a straw to suck excess air out of the bags, or just squish it out (depending on what's inside). Fresh fruit can just be frozen as-is, but veggies need to be blanched first. The Bell Freezing and Canning guide is a great book to get for a reference on how to do that.

 

I don't freeze a lot of dinners, but do freeze soup. I like the idea of having extra dinners frozen but just haven't gotten that worked into my routine of making food yet. . .

[duckens]

If you're just talking about your experience with the freezer that's under your refrigerator, stuff gets freezer burn much more easily because it's a "frost-free" freezer (most likely, unless it's really old!). They go through somewhat of a freeze/thaw cycle to keep the frost off the sides. A chest freezer doesn't do that, and will, over time, build-up frost/ice on the sides. However, the food won't freezer burn as easily or quickly, and I keep my chest freezer colder than my frig/freezer.

Actually, chest freezers can do this, too.

 

We specifically asked for our freezer to NOT be frost free. I think the salesman thought we were crazy.

 

I am willing to do the work every other year to defrost the freezer for the sake of extending the time food can be kept in the freezer before going bad.

[KS_]

Actually, chest freezers can do this, too.

 

We specifically asked for our freezer to NOT be frost free. I think the salesman thought we were crazy.

 

I am willing to do the work every other year to defrost the freezer for the sake of extending the time food can be kept in the freezer before going bad.

 

That's good to know - it's been a long time since I actually shopped for a freezer (the one we got a couple years ago was damaged, and dh's best friend is an appliance repair man, and got us a good deal on it, so I never "shopped" for it).

 

I agree with doing the extra work to keep the food longer - I haven't actually defrosted my freezer for years. . .I have been using a wooden spatula to carefully chink off the ice when it gets thick.

[Heather in AL]

Okay, I'll admit it, you ladies talking about half a cow or pig are a bit intimidating! I live in the suburbs and buy my meat from a grocery store all nicely packaged. :tongue_smilie:

 

So.. for the vegetables and fruit and soups and whatnot... HOW do you freeze it?? My food gets freezer burn whenever I try. I've tried wrapping in plastic, then double bagging something with ziploc bags. What am I doing wrong? I'd like to freeze dinners. Can I really freeze fresh fruit and vegetables? Again, I'm a grocery store shopper. We buy canned goods (I know people say yuck but it's what I grew up eating), boxed goods, and frozen fruit. It would be so cool to cook double batches of dinners and freeze one for the next week!

 

Don't be intimidated by our half & quarter cows! :D I'm in the city, too, and just happened to have a friend who had her cow processed.... they keep half and had someone else go in with them on the cost, but it fell through. We lucked out and got in on the deal. I'm not sure I would do it again, though, as the cuts of meat (all in pretty packages, BTW!) were different than what I am used to. I will admit that I liked the fact that the meat was organic and the cow was treated humanely all of its life right to the end.

 

I can't help you with the freezer burn issue, as I have that happen, too, so I'm :bigear: to see what advice others have to offer. We do buy bags of frozen veggies (they do taste better than canned, which I also grew up eating, and don't have a problem with those getting freezer burn.