The deep freeze: yay or nay?
Posted by Beckie | Filed under Beckie
Even after I told myself it wasn’t worth the membership fees, I recently rejoined Costco after taking a several month hiatus. Although the sale prices are often better elsewhere, there are a few things our family likes buying regularly at Costco. For example, the salmon is around $30 for a massive piece which feeds our family of four for about three meals. At the grocery store, the same quantity would cost in the vicinity of $40. So I figure after buying salmon several times, I have at least come close to breaking even.
I also love the slab cake for birthdays ($20). While it isn’t for those with gourmet tastes, it is a massive cake that tastes mighty fine a few times per year. It provides plenty of leftovers too, which I tend to indulge in after the kids go to sleep. I *used* to buy apple juice as well, but after recently realizing my kids and I were AJ Addicts, I have pretty much cut it out from our usual bottle-a- day habit.
My kids like coming to Costco because there are often some kind of samples being handed out; it’s kind of like a cocktail party with the fancy hor d’oeuvres (or it makes for a cheap date night 
). On our standard trip we usually buy: milk, salmon, biodegradable bags for our green bin, vitamins and medications, olive oil, maple syrup and goldfish crackers and a bunch of other things. Unfortunately, I usually have to skip most of the meat, refrigerated and frozen sections of the store. The main reason for this is the lack of space in our small freezer. It is generally filled with some pre-made foods that can be defrosted easily e.g. breads, homemade tomato sauce, spanikopita, and meatballs, as well as either homemade or a small box of store bought chicken fingers. There is absolutely no room for large quantities of raw meat/seafood, or any other frozen goodies.
So I’ve been thinking that we should buy a small chest freezer to put in the basement (Costco even sells these but I haven’t done any price comparisons yet). I would then be able to buy larger quantities of meat and frozen goods and store them in the chest freezer. I hesitate to do this for a few reasons; numero uno is finding the proper space to put this freezer (e.g. I don’t think the middle of the playroom like my husband suggested is a good idea). Another reason is the extra electricity consumption and the possibility of having to throw away a ton of food if there is an electrical failure. I’m still on the fence, so if you have any strong opinions pro/con regarding owning chest freezers, post away!
In her late 30s, with a husband and two small children, she lives in the ‘burbs of Toronto. A librarian, Beckie works part-time. In her free time, “I am a chauffeur/part-time cook/boo boo kisser/housecleaner and laundry lady extraordinaire. I do most of the household shopping and financial planning.”
April 30, 2012 at 7:07 am
I absolutely love our freezer. We went with a small upright as opposed to Chest so things would not be lost in the abyss. It has allowed me to take advantage of some great things. Most especially is strawberries and blueberries from last season (local). I bought them when they were at the peak of season and then prepped and froze them. I use them everyday in my smoothies and what a savings! It is also great that I can get a month worth of meals ready and set them aside – our lives is very busy and we used to argue about dinner and eventually ended up buying dinner out most nights.
Most recently I was able to take advantage of chickens. I know sounds silly but I got whole chickens for $4.00 – that was a major steal for us.
As for the electricity I have not noticed an increase in the bills – and definitely would be offset by the food savings.
On your last concern I think some home insurance plans can include freezer failure – I have no idea if it would be worth it.
April 30, 2012 at 7:53 am
I wouldn’t worry about the electrical failure too much Becki. If the electricity does go out it is typically only for a few hours. Food in the freezer will stay frozen for a few days if you limit the amount of times you open and close the freezer.
We would not survive without our little chest freezer, we constantly buy large quantities of meat and then freeze into meal size portions. If you can afford the purchase I would recommend it.
April 30, 2012 at 8:56 am
We have a very small chest freezer (3.2 cu ft) and it’s great! I think it was around $150.
It’s fabulous to stock up on in-season fruits and veggies, and meat when it’s on sale. I make out much better by watching the sales at the local grocery stores than I ever do at Costco – but that could be because of all the other things as Costco that weren’t on my list!
April 30, 2012 at 8:56 am
Hi there. We absolutely live out of our freezers – yes we have two. I typically freeze local fruit and vegetables while in season and the prices are low. I also try very hard to get my hands on fresh fiddleheads when they are available in the spring, as there are none commercially available in our area throughout the year.
I have also found that meat and poultry prices tend to raise sometimes drastically as BBQ season comes around. So when I find a good price on cuts of meat we use often I buy in quantity repackage in meal size packets and have them ready for meals at a later date. Costco runs sales on its meats occasionally with 5 dollars off every pork loin, or turkey,or family pack of lean ground beef you buy.
I have also been known to leave the grocery store with 10 to 20 bags of frozen vegetables when they are on half price. Our family eats a lot of veggies and why pay full price for them.I can usually make it from one sale cycle to another by doing this and using the frozen veggies as a supplement to fresh ones.
I also make homemade soups,meat pies,fruit pies and casseroles in batches and freeze them for later use. Even as a stay at home (right) mom it is extremely handy to have a meal ready to pull out on days you are taking kids to music lessons,dr. appointments and all the other minor emergencies a Mom/parent has to deal with. It is definitely cheaper that calling the local pizza place and facing a bill of almost 50.00 for 1 meal.
So my advice is to go for it. Find one on sale or from kijiji where you can get really good deals often as people move or upgrade to larger units. Just ask if they can plug it in and have it cold when you get there to check if the freezer unit still works. Take along a thermometer to check its temp. you can google the temperature freezers should operate at online.
April 30, 2012 at 9:10 am
I bought an upright freezer a couple of years ago and love it! We are a family of 6 and were making do with the freezer in my fridge…I couldn’t buy or make anything in bulk! I personally went for the upright because it takes up less space. As well, I find it much easier to keep track of what’s inside. If I had the chest one, I’d probably be tossing things all the time because they got forgotten about at the bottom. They cost a little more to run because more air escapes when you open it but I really haven’t noticed much of a difference in my bills. And as Siobhan says, the savings in food would definitely offset the cost. I wouldn’t recommend something older though, this is definitely a case where newer is probably better because an older model eats up more energy. I bought the smallest model from Sears, brand new, $500. A frost free was $100 more and from what I understand they don’t run as efficiently as the models you defrost yourself….my Sears rep actually recommended I spend less and go with the one I’d have to defrost myself.
April 30, 2012 at 9:20 am
I also have an upright freezer that we use all the time and love! We also buy fruit in season and freeze it until life is less busy, then make jam. Yum!
We always buy meat on sale……I’ve just started cooking my ground beef/Italian sausage before I freeze it in small portions, so now a meal of tacos or pizza or pasta comes together that much faster because I just throw the meat in the sauce and wait for it to get hot. We also have been known to portion out our cuts of steak for the BBQ and throw a marinade on them in a freezer bag–pull that sucker out and it is marinated to perfection when you get around to grilling it.
I used to bake all my own pies, but with three kids now that kind of baking time is at a premium–so if I go to the store and they’re clearing out pies that “expire” the next day for 1/2 price, I’ll pick up a few and thaw them when we have company. My husband also shops at a bread outlet, which is a bit out of the way for us, but since he’s usually paying less than $2 a loaf on the “good” bread, we buy about a dozen loaves and freeze them.
Also enjoyed making tons of meals to freeze when I was at the end of pregnancy and would have a sudden burst of energy, so there would be easy meals when we were all wiped from the babes.
Good luck! Kijiji is great–just got a like-new dishwasher to replace my leaky one for a song.
April 30, 2012 at 11:40 am
I always recommend a freezer and a slow cooker to people trying to keep food costs down. Anything slow cooked usually tastes great, and with a big freezer you have lots of choices!
All the other commenters are right, your insurance would cover your freezer and power would have to be out a loooong time for it to spoil. Just make sure kids know not to open it to check if powers out (my kid has done this!) Keep an eye out on the flyers, usually a lot of sales on freezers. We buy all our bread at a discount place and you buy in bulk and freeze it, just that pays for a freezer in less than a year.
April 30, 2012 at 11:43 am
We have an upright so we don’t lose things in the bottom of a chest freezer (we switched last year and we love it). I can’t imagine not having it! We buy food in season and freeze so we can eat local foods all year round. And we can take advantage of sales. I get all my bread at the bakery on second day sale then freeze it all, I get them to slice it for me and I take it out as I need it.
April 30, 2012 at 11:44 am
I love our deep freezer. I buy food at rock bottom prices and freeze it until we can eat it. I also freeze leftovers to eat later. They don’t feel like leftovers when you eat them a few weeks later. I was also able to save by pureeing fruits and veggies and freezing them as our own babyfood when my kids were little. I was a working mom who breastfed, so I also kept bags of frozen milk in the freezer for when I couldn’t be at home. We use our freezer constantly.
April 30, 2012 at 11:47 am
I would advise against purchasing a used freezer. The tubing that runs th erefrigerant is so flimsy, that often times moving a freezer will break the tubing and th erefigerant leaks out, making the freezer worthless. Al;so the newer models have much better insulatiopon.
April 30, 2012 at 11:48 am
I really LOVE my freezer. After researching price and quality, I bought a small chest freezer from the Costcol.ca website and it was delivered very quickly. I also bought an executive membership at Costco for the %age cashback cheque at the end of the year, which usually covers the membership fee and then some, even though I’m a single mom with 2 kids. I watch the prices and quantities and make sure that I’m dividing up and freezing things in the proper sizes.
As for the food loss if there’s a power outage, I guess that’s going to depend on where you live and how dependable the power grid is. We’ve had power outages here, but not more than an hour at a time. If there’s a power outage, and you cover the freezer with blankets to keep the cold in and don’t open the lid, the food should be okay even up to a full day…
April 30, 2012 at 11:48 am
I was in your shoes a few months back. We live in an apartment with a tiny freezer. I was tired of shopping 2-3 times a week for fresh meat. I was also spending insane amounts of money on meat, as I could never stock up when it was on sale. We invested $250 on a small chest freezer (from Costco! Best price around). And I have noticed a DRASTIC change in our grocery bill. I can buy meat on sale, I can make multiple meals and freeze them, I can always have a loaf of bread handy. I never pay full price for meat. EVER.
April 30, 2012 at 11:56 am
We buy our beef directly from a local farmer. We buy about 1/4 of a cow or steer at a time, which lasts us over a year. It is high quality and reasonably priced meat. I recommend a deep freezer for this reason.
April 30, 2012 at 12:06 pm
No offense, but I’ve been down this road. What a person wants allows them to talk themselves into something. Rationalize it long enough and you can tell yourself that two tickets on the Titanic were a bargain except for that iceberg thing. Costco may work for you but most people who follow Gail don’t have the discipline to get the salmon and leave. How do I know? A “complimentary” visit cost us over $900! Never again. If this is what happens to two people who are very frugal what could happen to a person with less monetary discipline?
April 30, 2012 at 12:32 pm
I’m just wondering, why would you allow yourself to spend $900 on a trip to the store??
April 30, 2012 at 12:09 pm
I was very hesitant to get a deep freeze as there are only the two of us, however it has been useful on many occasions mainly for when we host Christmas. It isn’t always plugged in, but it is nice knowing if there is an excellent deal we can stock up and plug it in when we get home. Ours is only 3.6 cu ft, so it doesn’t take too long/much to get it up and running.
Good luck!!
April 30, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Yay to the food freezer and I would highly recommend an upright (on my wish list) vs. a chest freezer where it is too easy to lose track of items. I would also recommend getting a vacuum sealer food saver so that foods such as meats can be purchased in quantity, divided and vac sealed to prevent freezer burn. Label all packages and keep track of what’s in the freezer! Yesterday I “found” an apple pie hidden in the bottom of my freezer, unlabeled, that must have been three years old but it was well wrapped; I baked it and it was delish, a lovely surprise!
April 30, 2012 at 12:25 pm
I was on the fence also about buying a chest freezer, but we went ahead and bought one, and boy am I glad that we did. I have been able to stock up on a bunch of meat, at rock bottom prices, and store it in our chest freezer. Before I would have been limited by our freezer space, but now I can get a ton of meat at a fantastic price! I also stock up on other things that are at rock bottom prices and freeze the food. It’s nice to always have some extra food stored up for when we have company, or if we need a snack. My girls love go-gurts and I as able to buy multiple packages at a super low price and freeze them. Now when they want a snack, I am set.
I say go for it!! The advantages really offset any disadvantaged IMO.
April 30, 2012 at 12:26 pm
I’d love a deep freezer. A local market had a sale on a small freezer. It included coupons to stock the freezer. Some of the coupons were for free items and the rest of the coupons reduced the price of the item by about 3/4 however we don’t use the items. I would use the freezer for fresh veggies. As far as buying meat I buy it on sale with a coupon; I buy the packages with the red tags with $1-4 off. If I have a freezer I could purchase more meat or fish. My son works at a warehouse type store so I got the membership for free. I don’t use it and with this article will give it a try. I’ll of course have to bring my calculator and price book.
April 30, 2012 at 12:29 pm
We just swapped out our smaller chest size deepfreeze a few months ago because things were getting left in the bottom (why dig for something if there’s another of the same on top of the freezer) and then of course, food would spoil. We purchased an upright full size freezer. We also buy all of our meats (fresh chicken wings, pork loin, ribs, etc.) from Costco. We also keep severel bags of ice in our freezer as well for heading to the cabin on the weekends instead of buying the ice for $3 a bag. We haven’t had any food that needed to be thrown out because we can see everything that’s in there. I would go with an upright freezer instead of the chest freezer. And we did the 6 months no interest, no payments from our local furniture store and paid it off within the 6 months so we had no accumulated interest paid.
April 30, 2012 at 12:38 pm
My husband and I were talking about this same issue last week. We used to have a small chest freezer when it was just the 2 of us in a small appartment. if was good for somethings (like frozen pizza) that wouldnt fit in the tiny freezer and help us from ordering out. Besides that, we didnt get much use out of it. We have moved around alot and there was no place for it in the last 2 places we lived (and no costco) so to sell the last house we got rid of it.
With a 2year old and a 3year old now i want one again. Even though i stay home, id rather cook all day sunday and reduse my stress during the week. We arent sure where we will put it but… we now live a 25 minute drive from costco and i dont like having to drive down there every week and lets be honest, no matter how you cook ground beef, its still ground beef 3 nights a week if you cant freeze it.
Fruit and vessiges is the 2nd main reason i want it. i have no room for frozen berries to make smoothies and thats the only i get my kids to eat friut. When we get stressed, we eat out and the fresh veggies we have go bad its like tossing money down the drain.
We have been of the mind that we have our weekly money so lets buy only what we need and it hasnt been working. if we dont want the only item left, we’ll order in. Im trying to convince my husband that if we save our extra cash and then stock up, there will be more options and we would be more likly to eat home cooked meals.
In the end, i think it really is worth it. but i would buy a stand up one. i didnt think about it untill i read the other coments. i hated that chest freezer… always falling in trying to find something and oh, wait, there’s those frozen buns i thought we had, covered in freezer burn. lol
April 30, 2012 at 12:49 pm
my mother and I stock up at costco every one-two months. Our deep freeze could be a little smaller but if you are worried about electricity costs make sure it is full… either with food you eat all the time or with water jugs in the bottom. as long as it is full it does not require a ton of energy. I am moving out with my boyfriend at the end of summer and I am already looking into a stand a lone freezer because it is a necess in my life with pre prepping my meals. They wont fit in the small fridge freezer.
Make sure it is something you will use and I would go with the stand up one… unless you know you’ll be good at writing down what is in your freezer and moving the older product to the top when reloading.
April 30, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Has anyone analyzed whether the cost of purchasing and running the freezer outweighs the cost of buying fresh food.
April 30, 2012 at 2:06 pm
I know I am spending less on groceries and eating local strawberries as opposed to strawberries from another continent.
I also know that my electricity bill did not change in any way I can measure – I still pay the same amount for electricity so it can’t be costing that much.
April 30, 2012 at 12:53 pm
15 years ago, when my hubby and I were still in university, we bought a crockpot and a small chest freezer. We didn’t have a car, so we would often stock our chest freezer with bread and meat from the butcher (if you buy a lot of meat at once, they often will give a 10-15% discount). This meant we only had to walk home with our fresh produce and milk weekly.
We upgraded to a 21 cubic foot freezer, which is very large for 2 people, but I love my “Willy Chilly” – it isn’t as full now as it used to be, because we have a car and it’s easier for me to get groceries. However, I often go to Costco, buy their frozen fruit for smoothies and their meat and then I divvy it up when I get home.
Costco deals – often their bread is priced at close to 2 for 1. Things like Almond Milk – you can get 6 for $9.99, and those suckers run for $2.99 each at the store when they are not on sale. Butter is cheaper at Costco. Prescriptions are a savings, but you don’t need a Costco card to use their pharmacy (at least not here in the US – I’m an expat living here).
My final blurb would be, a freezer is awesome. There are some great books, such as “Fix, Freeze, Feast” which are specifically created to help you prep large batches of food for the freezer to oven to table. When one Sunday of intense prep yields 40+ dinners, a freezer is totally worth it, in my opinion.
(I could never understand how a family could manage with just a tiny fridge freezer!)
April 30, 2012 at 12:57 pm
I too switched to the upright freezer. The only thing is to make sure it’s leveled and you close the door all the way. We lost food when someone didn’t close it all the way and it wasn’t discovered until the next day.
However, if you have any mobility issues it really is a better way to go. I use to divide the old freezer into the left bottom beef, middle breads, right chicken then the two baskets had the fruits and veggies. and the tiny little shelf had the icecream. LOL
April 30, 2012 at 1:20 pm
I’m a busy single mom and batch freeze (why make one lasagna when I can make four, make the mess once!) I love my freezer. I bought mine from kijiji for $20. It was energy efficient and clean…the previous owners bought a larger one and couldn’t store both. I have mine in the laundry room (when it was in the playroom, the kids loved climbing on it/jumping off it!) Costco is my friend!
April 30, 2012 at 1:20 pm
I am not sure why, but DH and my first purchase after marriage was a chest freezer. I am short, 5’2-1/2″ so when a friend offered us an upright 20 years later, we took it, used it for about 10 years, then finally purchased a new upright a few years ago at Sears. We purchased our second frig and dishwasher through Costco, but at the time Sears had the better deal.
Now it is just the two of us and it is still full. I cannot imagine living with just the freezer above the refrigerator because I never have! We have taken advantage of many deals over the years (chicken breasts at Costco after Christmas, boneless for $1.29 a pound, Foster Farms, grown in California where I live). Also my husband is a hunter and occasionally he actually gets a deer! Then there is the blackberries that grow wild, the stocking up and freezer cooking I used to do when the girls were home (now ages 33, 31 and 24).
I would recommend an upright because it is easier on my body, but if you are an organized person, the chest I think uses less energy or it did when we bought ours in 1978! We organize the shelves by types of food, and when we clean it and organize it once a year or so, we put what needs to be eaten on the top shelf.
It is more than just the savings on food versus fresh, but it is the convenience and the time savings which is important when you are a working mother (I know of what I speak). You can also stock up on after holiday sales of candy and freeze it! My kid’s friends knew there was usually a stock of small candies in the freezer for them! Or you can bake and freeze stuff, freeze cookie dough to make holidays easier, oh I could go on and on!!
May 1, 2012 at 12:32 pm
LOL at “occasionally he actually gets a deer!”. I know that feeling – I grew up with hunters and it’s always a huge influx of meat in the freezer.
April 30, 2012 at 1:20 pm
I hadn’t had a freezer for years, thinking that now the boys were on their own, I didn’t need one living alone. Then a co-worker moved out of town and offered me her chest freezer for free! It is bigger than I would have gotten had I bought one, but luckily I have a huge kitchen and dining room, so no table in the kitchen – but still a nice flat spot to put stuff anyway. Since I acquired the freezer, I have been able to take advantage of the discounted meat/freezer items at the store where I work – an extra 10% off the 30 – 50% discounts! Even though I am alone, I still buy the bulk packages of ground beef, on sale, and get to work at home. I will cook up the whole package, add my celery, onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc. I then divvy up the result into containers or freezer bags. Later on, I can add the beans, rice, tomatoes, pasta, whatever the mood demands to the base ingredients. Very handy when too tired to think about what to eat. Recently I bought a side of pork chops, works out to less than a buck a chop, and so easy to just take one or two out! I also had checked into an upright freezer (new), but the salesman pointed out a problem with the six shelf system – where would you put that 25 pound turkey? No room for something like that in one of those. Not sure if it can be found, but years ago I bought a cookbook called Once a Month Cooking. As my hamburger example goes, so many recipes call for the same ingredients – chopped onion, grated cheese, cooked chopped chicken, etc. that having a freezer to handle the one-day-a-month work-results in a month of meals. Anyone can design their own system with a little work. Granted the initial shopping trip hurts, but it evens out in the end. Go for a freezer, it’s worth the cost/savings.
April 30, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Having a chest freezer is the best! As for the losing items issue, I keep a running log of what goes into, and out of our chest freezer. New gets rotated to the bottom, older to the top. Plastic storage bins make it easy to organize veggies, meat cuts, fruits, dinners and desserts. Just lift out, take what you need, and set ‘em back.
We buy a half a beef at a time, about 300lbs from local farmers with an average price of $1.75 hanging weight, around 3 or 4 bucks a pound finished. Makes for SUBSTANTIAL savings vs. buying meat on sale or at Costco.
Buy fruit and veggies from local farmers markets when they are in season and freeze which will save you a ridiculous amount of money vs. store bought produce.
Our freezer is a valuable tool to keep rising food costs low for our family!
April 30, 2012 at 1:47 pm
I have had a small chest freezer for years…and love it! It keeps food much better (esp meats) than the small freezer above fridges (which I use for breads and such). My dad is a beef farmer, which is part of the reason why I own a small chest freezer, lots of free meat
But as others have also pointed out, its great for prepping and freezing fruits/veggies/sauces/breads, even milk if it’s on sale. As long as you monitor what goes in, and don’t overby your food shouldn’t get freezer burnt…as for loosing the food it in….rarely does power go out long enough for that to happen–in my lifetime I have lost the contents of chest freezers once…3 years ago when my roommate unknowingly unplugged it (it was a lovely smell on a hot summer day emminating from the basement that gave away something was amiss)
They are great for baking, if you have a garden, freezing excess tomatoes to make sauces…hydro bill isn’t that bad either…as long as you keep food in it to help keep it cold, an empty freezer is a larger drain on hydro than a full one.
April 30, 2012 at 1:51 pm
I don’t like chest freezers…things tend to get lost at the bottom However I love my standup freezer. I would go for a standup instead. : )
April 30, 2012 at 2:17 pm
I keep a dry erase board with a list of what’s in our chest freezer. It not only helps with not losing items, but with meal planning and writing out my shopping list. I have it divided into the different types and cuts of meat (fish, cheese, frozen pizza, homemade freezer meal, etc) with a tick mark for each portion. I just wipe off a tick with my finger when I take something out and I always know what I have on hand.
May 1, 2012 at 11:05 am
That is a fabulous idea Kim, and if I get a chest freezer, I will do something similar.
April 30, 2012 at 2:38 pm
I couldn’t imagine NOT having a chest freezer. When we lived in an apartment, we had a small “apartment sized” one that fit in our storage closet. When we moved to the house, we sold the small one and upgraded. Along with stocking up on weekly sales, we store farm chickens/turkey’s (we are poultry farmers), frozen fruits/veg from the garden or bought locally when in season, sides of beefs (bought from local butcher), prepared meals etc etc. I couldn’t imagine not having my freezer.
I do simular to what Kim suggests for keeping track. I keep mine “master list” on the side of my fridge though, with my menu planner. Once a week, I plan a menu and bring up all the frozen items I need and put in the fridge freezer. Those items are checked off. Then when I come home with groceries, I add to the list and send stuff downstairs.
The closest major ctr is more then 30 mins from us, so this type of planning is neccessary for us. In the winter, you don’t want to drive. And in the spring/fall the farm comes first. So I need the extra so if a trip to the grocery store isn’t possible, we are still good.
May 1, 2012 at 11:07 am
Your meal planning organization system sounds amazing. And a practical idea, especially if it takes 30mins (or more) to get to the city.
May 1, 2012 at 9:38 am
I couldn’t live without my upright freezer.
We buy fruit etc on sale and freeze it for winter to make things. We buy meat from Costco and divide it up into smaller packages (including a whole sirloin, tenderloin and pork tenderloin that we cut ourselves with their instructions) for future use. Pretty much everything we buy gets used.
We use it to freeze leftovers/soup/ingredients for soup, bread, homemade dinner casseroles like lasagna, chili, etc etc. It makes a huge difference not to have to shop for these things each week. We talk about what’s in the freezer, make up a menu and that’s how things don’t get wasted.
If you are worried about power outages and thawing… don’t. If you have an outage, just don’t open the freezer! I think it would only be a problem if something hasn’t fully frozen yet or if the outage lasts for days.
May 1, 2012 at 11:04 am
Thank you so much for posting everyone. I guess its almost unanimous, and I know what to ask for as a gift for Mother’s Day/10 year anniversary/my upcoming bday.
May 1, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Right after you say it’s unanimous, I say nay! (For me though). For you, a family, I say YAY! It only makes sense.
May 3, 2012 at 10:15 am
Another YAY vote. DH and I have 3, yes 3, freezers – 1 standup, 2 chest style. We paid for none of them so the acquisition cost was nil – even moving them was done by my brother in his truck. Unlike others, I prefer the chest freezers because for the same cubic footage, I can store more in the chest ones. We have a list of freezer contents – every possible thing is listed on the left side of a basic excel table, with the number of that item recorded. When we add to or remove an item, we update the number accordingly, and when the number is ’0′ it goes on our grocery list. One freezer has baked goods only – muffins, pies, bread, rolls, etc. (its the standup freezer), another freezer is fruit and veg bought on sale, or picked at peak,the jars of freezer jams, and the last freezer is meat, and prepared sauces, lasagnas, quiches, etc. Meal prep is a breeze, unexpected company is no problem and after 5 years of monitoring our food costs, our costs have gone down significantly, while the electrical has increased only marginally and how much of that is just standard rate increases.
Can’t imagine doing without our full freezers!
June 15, 2012 at 12:26 am
i say Yey, because my mantra is eating home cooked healthy meal and for that i love to go to farmer’s market and buy organic produce ( some time in bulk) and store them in my little Chest freezer, that way i am supporting local economy while eating reasonably priced organic food.
i can’t do this without a Chest freezer……