• Date Started: Oct 30, 2007
• Entries: 95
• Comments: 259
• Total Visits: 22,909

One freezer or two?

8 Responses to “One freezer or two?”

1. disneysteve Says:
   January 2nd, 2008 at 07:13 am
   I think a 2nd freezer is a great idea if you use it to take advantage of great sales and to cook in bulk and freeze things in small portions. My wife will make a big batch of spaghetti sauce. I'll make a pot of soup. Stuff like that. Then we'll portion it off into single or double servings and freeze it. Saves time. Saves money. Keeps up from going out to eat when we don't feel like cooking if there is something in the freezer than we can just reheat and serve.
   
   I prefer an upright freezer, not a chest. I think it is much harder to keep a chest organized and not lose things at the bottom. Also, get a frost-free unit. We made that mistake and defrosting it is a royal pain. Frost-free costs a little more to operate, but is worth every penny.

2. collegemomma Says:
   January 2nd, 2008 at 07:18 am
   As long as you're going to use it then it is well worth the money! We have an frost-free, upright freezer in our garage. I admit we are just now starting to use it again. I was leery about putting so much food in there after losing over $500 worth of food in the 2004 hurricanes, but I've been doing better with it lately.

3. Mulyanto Says:
   January 2nd, 2008 at 08:22 am
   I think the most important thing to do is to calculate the annual cost of operation of the freezer, and compare it to the annual saving you incur because of the freezer. I think a freezer costs about $3 to $5 a month to run. You will also have to think about over what term you want it to be paid back. If you save $10/mo you'll pay back about $60 per year of the capital costs, which will pay back a $600 freezer in 10 yrs. (I do think you will be saving much more than that).
   
   Also, a chest freezer IS more energy efficient, all other things being equal. Because cold air is denser, an upright freezer lets a lot of cold air escape when opened. Even when unopened, a chest freezer is slightly more efficient.

4. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
   January 2nd, 2008 at 09:30 am
   I see by your profile on the side bar that your family is two adults and two kids, you work full time and are going to school. Do you or your spouse have the time to do the kind of shopping to find the bargains to stock up on, or are you so pressed for time that you need to be able to just run in and out of the grocery store as quick as possible? Do you or spouse (or kids?) have blocks of time you can set aside in a planned fashion so that you can get something out to thaw for the necessary time, then cook it up, perhaps portioning out for multiple meals as disneysteve mentions? I think an extra freezer works most economically for people who can watch for bargains and have time to cook, or for people who must do a very large amount of grocery shopping at one time before they can return to the grocery.
   
   

5. disneysteve Says:
   January 2nd, 2008 at 09:34 am
   The operating cost is important, but as I mentioned, there are also some non-monetary benefits to consider. Cooking in large batches and freezing saves you time. Having stuff ready to heat and serve saves you time. You can also take those frozen things to work for lunches which saves money that way. I just finished a bowl of my homemade mushroom barley soup that I made a couple of weeks ago. There are also health benefits because homemade stuff is almost always better for you than store-bought, processed stuff or restaurant food.
   
   I agree with Mulyanto that the chest freezer is more energy efficient. I just find an upright to be so much easier to deal with. Unlike our refrigerator which gets opened and closed constantly throughout the day, the freezer might only get opened a couple of times per week, so I'm not sure it makes a huge difference.

6. clubneary Says:
   January 2nd, 2008 at 10:18 am
   Thanks for everyone's input. I try to sit down every 2 weeks, usually on a Sunday and plan out things for dinner. I will then go shopping and occassionally I will spend a Sunday afternoon cooking 2-3 things for the week, like meatloaf, soup, sauce. I currently freeze these and then take them out in the morning before going to work and they are ready to heat when I get home. I was thinking that with another freezer I could do a lot more cooking ahead of time and like Disneysteve said just pull something out when I don't feel like cooking of just don't have the time. I also make a ton of pancakes for the kids since that is their favorite breakfast and all they have to do is pop them in the toaster.
   
   I will admit that I don't have all the time in the world to compare prices and look for the best sales but I do happen upon them from time to time and wish I had more room in my freezer to take advantage.
   
   With 2 kids, a full time job, a husband, and classes to take anything that makes my life easier is worth the investment to me.
   
   Thanks again for all your comments. I think I will add saving and purchasing for a freezer to my list of goals for 2008.

7. mom-from-missouri Says:
   January 2nd, 2008 at 11:29 am
   Living on a farm, we have both upright and chest ones. I think the uprights are easier to keep organized, but the chest ones do best in a power outage, but are harder to keep organized.
   
   However, I have learned some money saving tips on them:
   1. keep your freezers plugged in on different circuits. If you trip the breaker, you don't loose all your meat.
   Check them every couple days to ensure they are running.
   
   2. Color code. It saves time digging in the freezer with the door open. I learned this trick years ago from my aunt. When they butchered she wrapped the meat in different colored papers.--white for this years beef, but first you use last years beef that is in brown, yellow for this years pork, but first use the pink paper which is last years pork.
   
   I put a magic marker X or big P or B on my packages. In the chest freezer I have some milk crates that I use to help keep organized. The upright is easier-fruits on one shelf, veggies on another, beef on one, port on one, fish and poultry on the bottom. Leftovers go in the door.
   
   List on the outside what your contents are, and cross them off when you use them or add to it. If empty, add ice in milk cartons to take up space for more effiecient cooling.

8. koppur Says:
   January 2nd, 2008 at 01:55 pm
   My Mom has one of those that she used to stock meat in when it was on sale. We were only a family of 4, but it came in handy those times money was tight and we were all sick of pasta.

Leave a Reply