deep freeze...

[melissafitz]

i've asked my husband to forego the usual (and very thoughtful) gifts of handbags, shoes and the occasional jewel, and give me what i really want this year -- a deep freeze. and i need advice as to what to look for.

i'm not looking for anything fancy, but i would like for my food to be accessible. i'm pretty sure i want a chest, as opposed to a "front loader". and it's going in the basement, so looks aren't a big deal. finally, i'm planning on going in on a cow within the next year -- probably a 3rd share, if that information is relevant to any comments/suggestions you all may have.

so, what deep freezer should i be leaning towards?

[Chris Amirault]

Two years ago, I bought a 20.3 cubic feet upright Frigidaire freezer to replace a klunker we had in the basement. (It's model LFFH2067DS, but I can't find it online any more.) We love it. The features we really like are the movable shelves, the two wire shelves in the bottom that can be completely removed, and the temperature alarm. It's also huge, which we thought was going to be an issue until, well, we filled it up.

If you want accessibility, the upright is the way to go. Why do you want a chest freezer in particular?

[snowangel]

No advice on a brand, but I like my chest freezer, and one reason we went for a chest freezer is that at the time (10 years ago or so), the word was that they were more energy efficient than front loaders. In terms of storage, I use milk crates to organize things. I also like that it's got a nice big top surface for sorting laundry, wrapping presents, etc.

Edited December 7, 2009 by snowangel (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Chest freezers still are, it seems, more energy efficient, based on the Energy Star website. My 20.3 ft3 upright is rated at 671; equivalent chest freezers are around 450.

[melissafitz]

i honestly don't know why i'm more drawn towards a chest -- maybe nostalgia. i guess one thing that weighs into the equation is that my 3 young children are constantly opening the fridge and i would like to avoid that altogether. i also imagined the chest had more usable space, but i can't imagine that a 20.3 cf freezer is lacking in that dept. i also have the problem of packing things on top of each other in a way that ends up with multiple items falling (and jamming my toes) when i open the door.

i definitely want easy access, though -- i am afraid that i'll forget about the stuff that's at the bottom of the chest... the milk crates sound like a good idea.

[snowangel]

The milk crates work very well -- I've got them stacked two high. I tend to fill them with like things. Since I have a ton (not litererally), I keep vension steaks and roasts in one, stewy stuff in another, etc. There's room in front to store stuff like frozen pizzas, 4-packs of Costco butter, etc. in front of the milk crates. The milk crates also make it really easy to defrost the freezer when I need to -- about every other year. Oh, and there's room on top of the milk crates to lay out things like potstickers and pieces of chicken on half-sheet pans to freeze before I transfer them to zip-locks.

Oh, and back to your question about which freezer to choose -- we based our decision in large part of price and delivery options (free delivery, good price).

[Darienne]

I was simply waiting for our ancient chest freezer to die so that I could buy an upright one. I am not that tall and trying to get stuff out of the freezer is very difficult for me. Also, we keep stuff in separate bags, containers, etc, but it works for just a short time. And then it gets everywhere again and is forgotten for a year or so.

We do the massive cleanout and defrost every two years also. I still hate it.

HOWEVER...I never thought of milk crates! They hurt my hands with their hard edges, but they do stack beautifully. I'm going to look into right after breakfast. We have lots of milk crates from a former life and it just might work. Thank you...

[Chris Amirault]

FWIW, I keep a dedicated pair of cheap gloves by the freezer (my organization skills aren't perfected), which would also help with the crate handles.

[Darienne]

Thanks, Chris. I wish I had thought of that.

[snowangel]

I went one better than Chris. When I went through the glove bin a couple of years ago, I found a right glove from one pair, and a left glove from another pair, so instead of tossing them, they sit on the freezer. Virtually free.

[melissafitz]

hmmm... i'm thinking that the type of person i am means that i should look more towards an upright. i guess i'll go to lowes and check out what's what.