Talk to me about Chest Freezers....

[TheReader]

Long story short, our upright freezer was killed, or at least maimed, in a recent power outage. We just discovered it this morning (thankfully, the meat has almost all been salvageable to cook & refreeze), but now I'm trying to make room in our regular freezer compartment on our fridge (for the short term) and realizing we need some kind of additional freezer soon. 

We had a chest freezer before. I didn't love it; massive pain to keep organized. 

DH does not want another upright b/c of accidental door openings/not closings (even though that's not what happened this time). 

Our budget definitely can't buy an upright freezer any time soon -- we just moved our 2nd son to college, and those bills are stretching us as it is. 

So, pretend I *must* get a chest freezer, not an upright. Pretty please do not try and talk me into an upright; I know and admit they are superior. The budget won't support it, and I will go mad dealing with just the inside freezer compartment in the time it would take the budget to accommodate one. 

Instead, help me learn how best to organize a chest freezer so I don't go equally mad digging for whatever's in the bottom. Are there any kind of inserts that I can use, make, buy to sort of keep it like a vertical file system? Give me your very best "organized, not maddening, chest freezer" ideas. 

Please, and thank you!

[mmasc]

Well, mine is a chest freezer and it’s pretty small, so I think that’s key to organizing easily. I put tall things on one side lined up, use the included baskets for smaller things in bags (fruit, popsicles, etc). It’s also small enough that I can easily and regularly go through it to see what we have or what we need. I had a huge chest freezer at one time and it was constantly disorganized with food getting ‘lost’.  So, go as small as you can is my only advice!😊

(I got the smallest and cheapest one that Sam’s Club had at the time and it’s still going strong after many years and many moves!)

[TheReader]

3 minutes ago, mmasc said:

Well, mine is a chest freezer and it’s pretty small, so I think that’s key to organizing easily. I put tall things on one side lined up, use the included baskets for smaller things in bags (fruit, popsicles, etc). It’s also small enough that I can easily and regularly go through it to see what we have or what we need. I had a huge chest freezer at one time and it was constantly disorganized with food getting ‘lost’.  So, go as small as you can is my only advice!😊

(I got the smallest and cheapest one that Sam’s Club had at the time and it’s still going strong after many years and many moves!)

that's actually a really good tip, thank you. As this will be an emergency purchase, smallest, cheapest is probably the way to go, anyway. And then once we've saved up we can get an upright to go with it, maybe. Thanks!

[Katy]

I kept an inventory taped to the top with check boxes.  The steaks were on one side of the bottom, the roasts on the other side, and I went from fattier cuts to leaner cuts (front to back) generally.  Then I had two baskets on top, one with ground beef and one with chicken and fish.

I was less organized when I had two freezers and the chest freezer was just pork.  Mostly because I rarely ate it, it's a DH thing.

The seal on our upright isn't working well so I have a feeling I might be switching to the empty chest freezer soon.

[Farrar]

If you need more space, I'd actually lean toward getting two small chest freezers. They are superior in some ways. No accidental opening, dramatically cheaper, and much more energy efficient.

I do what Mmasc does and keep some things stacked on one side leaning and others on the other side.

If anyone has baskets or inserts that work, I'm all ears.

[Lucy the Valiant]

We've had good (not perfect, but good) results with homemade BIG tags zip-tied onto the handles of soft reusable bags - one for CHICKEN, GROUND BEEF, MISC, POPSICLES, RHUBARB, PRE-MADE DINNERS, GREEN BEANS, etc.  They seem to waste less space than rigid containers, but still keep things relatively easy to move around. 

 

[Ali in OR]

We have the smallest chest freezer and I think it was only $169 years ago at Sears. We've really gotten our money's worth! The right side goes down lower than the left, and at the bottom of that side 2e have stuff I never need (dh's collection of film even though he doesn't shoot film anymore, some curry SIL brought me from Malaysia years ago as a bag lasts a long time). On top of that are some of the vast collection of 2 quart bags of blueberries which I won't get to until next spring. Then some ziploc freezer bags of meat cuts that are rarer treats (steaks). Then I bought 2 plastic freezer box things--one has 1 lb hamburger sleeves, one has the 2-breast packs of chicken breasts from Costco. The basket insert fits over all of this and that is currently full of half pint freezer jars of peaches. The left side has the bottom up higher (I think the motor is under it). The back has 2 rows of frozen blueberries (we have 40 quarts this year which is probably 10 too much). The front has some butter, bacon, cheese. There is a little more meat between this stuff and the chicken/hamburger bins. It's completely full right now as it has the full year supply of blueberries, but as we use that up we have more room to stack some Costco boxes on the left side--fudgesicles, taquitos, etc.

[TheReader]

9 hours ago, Lucy the Valiant said:

We've had good (not perfect, but good) results with homemade BIG tags zip-tied onto the handles of soft reusable bags - one for CHICKEN, GROUND BEEF, MISC, POPSICLES, RHUBARB, PRE-MADE DINNERS, GREEN BEANS, etc.  They seem to waste less space than rigid containers, but still keep things relatively easy to move around. 

 

That.Is.Brilliant. I can totally do that; thank you!

[TheReader]

9 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

We have the smallest chest freezer and I think it was only $169 years ago at Sears. We've really gotten our money's worth! The right side goes down lower than the left, and at the bottom of that side 2e have stuff I never need (dh's collection of film even though he doesn't shoot film anymore, some curry SIL brought me from Malaysia years ago as a bag lasts a long time). On top of that are some of the vast collection of 2 quart bags of blueberries which I won't get to until next spring. Then some ziploc freezer bags of meat cuts that are rarer treats (steaks). Then I bought 2 plastic freezer box things--one has 1 lb hamburger sleeves, one has the 2-breast packs of chicken breasts from Costco. The basket insert fits over all of this and that is currently full of half pint freezer jars of peaches. The left side has the bottom up higher (I think the motor is under it). The back has 2 rows of frozen blueberries (we have 40 quarts this year which is probably 10 too much). The front has some butter, bacon, cheese. There is a little more meat between this stuff and the chicken/hamburger bins. It's completely full right now as it has the full year supply of blueberries, but as we use that up we have more room to stack some Costco boxes on the left side--fudgesicles, taquitos, etc.

That's the kind we had a long time ago, and likely the kind we'll end up with soon. This helps me visualize; thank you!

[TheReader]

10 hours ago, Farrar said:

If you need more space, I'd actually lean toward getting two small chest freezers. They are superior in some ways. No accidental opening, dramatically cheaper, and much more energy efficient.

I do what Mmasc does and keep some things stacked on one side leaning and others on the other side.

If anyone has baskets or inserts that work, I'm all ears.

That is an idea....I will have to find out if our "freezer only" breaker for that outlet can handle 2 freezers vs 1 freezer. I wonder who I would talk to about that.....(the more energy efficient and no accidental opening is why DH really wants one, aside from the cost as well; even though this time wasn't due to an accidental impartial closure, that did happen once before, and he's over it). 

[Carrie12345]

I’m definitely not the master of organizing freezers, but it is what it is!  I try to keep the same types of stuff in their designated area.  “Emergency” or less frequently used things on the bottom. (Yeast, junky frozen meals I use as last resorts, things I want to hide from kids...) I do try to keep an inventory. (It doesn’t always stay up to date.)

I also try not to put “new” things in there, by which I mean something outside of our usual repertoire. I’d put a fancy cut of meat or bags of specialty perogies or whatever in my kitchen freezer so I don’t forget they exist, and stick to our “normal” stock items in the chest freezer. When I have lost things to freezer burn, it’s been because I forgot I threw an unusual item in there.

[Miss Tick]

I have attacking file holder bins that i got from some office store. I lose some space around the sides, though, do some day I'm going to switch to @Lucy the Valiant's method of bags.

I try to empty my chest freezer for a month every dinner to let it defrost, force me to take an inventory, and let me enjoy the dip in energy costs.

[TABmom]

Our freezer died recently too. I was putting off getting a new one, when I saw someone I knew was selling their refrigerator on facebook. I have always hated our fridge (a side-by-side that was here when we moved in) but couldn't justify buying a new one since the old one worked. But I could justify buying a used one! So we bought it and put the old fridge in the garage to use as extra freezer space. Just an idea. 

[Acadie]

You might find something affordable second hand.  We got our chest freezer on Craigslist, and it was a recent model. I see them for sale regularly, probably because people like to upgrade to upright freezers. 

And this thread is inspiring me to organize our freezer!

Amy

[Zoo Keeper]

I organize my chest freezer with diaper boxes.  You know, that empty Luvs box. 

Tear off the flaps on the top, and fill it up with similar things.  Two boxes can sit on the bottom of my chest freezer-- one has BIG meat (big turkeys, big ham...) and the other has veggies (in quart bags, from the garden).  Then two more boxes sit on top of those-- one has bread (we buy in bulk at the bakery seconds store), and the other has cheese (in quart bags for easier defrosting) and other odds and ends.  I use the cut out handles on the side of the diaper boxes to lift them out and get what I need. 

We have a wire basket that sits on the "hump" that holds other odds and ends (spices, homemade chicken stock) and ice cream. 

[TheReader]

2 hours ago, Zoo Keeper said:

I organize my chest freezer with diaper boxes.  You know, that empty Luvs box. 

Tear off the flaps on the top, and fill it up with similar things.  Two boxes can sit on the bottom of my chest freezer-- one has BIG meat (big turkeys, big ham...) and the other has veggies (in quart bags, from the garden).  Then two more boxes sit on top of those-- one has bread (we buy in bulk at the bakery seconds store), and the other has cheese (in quart bags for easier defrosting) and other odds and ends.  I use the cut out handles on the side of the diaper boxes to lift them out and get what I need. 

We have a wire basket that sits on the "hump" that holds other odds and ends (spices, homemade chicken stock) and ice cream. 

Talk to me about freezing cheese. Only already grated? All varieties? How do you keep it from crumbling apart when you thaw/grate after it's thawed? We have not had success in freezing cheese in the past. 

[TheReader]

14 hours ago, SusanC said:

I have attacking file holder bins that i got from some office store. I lose some space around the sides, though, do some day I'm going to switch to @Lucy the Valiant's method of bags.

I try to empty my chest freezer for a month every dinner to let it defrost, force me to take an inventory, and let me enjoy the dip in energy costs.

Can you explain the bolded? I have a feeling there's a missing word &/or typo &/or something else, but I can't for the life of me decipher what it means. I would like to understand what you do, though. 

We are going to try an appliance repair person, at least to get an estimate on fixing the current freezer (cleaned it out thoroughly today), but in case it's toast....we'll likely be going chest freezer soon. 

[Zoo Keeper]

27 minutes ago, TheReader said:

Talk to me about freezing cheese. Only already grated? All varieties? How do you keep it from crumbling apart when you thaw/grate after it's thawed? We have not had success in freezing cheese in the past. 

I have only had success with cheddar, colby jack, mozzarella, and provolone.  Depending on sale prices, sometimes I buy a big block, grate, then freeze.  If prices are good, I buy the big bags of already grated, portion into quart bags, and then freeze.

[DawnM]

We were looking into them recently, so I will still post to follow this thread.

We had a very nice upright in our last house and left it for the new buyers.  We realized as soon as the first month passed by in our new house, that we had made a huge mistake.  We were considering a chest freezer.

Then the new owners of our house contacted us and told us they had no use for the upright freezer and asked if we would like to come get it!  😮  We were ecstatic!   We picked it up Saturday and it is airing out right now.  We will plug it in this weekend and hit Costco again!

But in our search, we were looking for a larger one, so we could keep things separate, although I watched a few YouTube videos on how to organize and liked the box method of having like things in each wire box......all meats in one, all desserts in one, all pre-made meals in one, etc.....

[Miss Tick]

10 hours ago, TheReader said:

Can you explain the bolded?

Yeah, dinner= summer. One month a year I try to empty the freezer completely, take stock, defrost, save a little on my energy bill.

Sorry about the confusion.

[TheReader]

14 minutes ago, SusanC said:

Yeah, dinner= summer. One month a year I try to empty the freezer completely, take stock, defrost, save a little on my energy bill.

Sorry about the confusion.

Oh, that makes much more sense, LOL! Thanks!