Talk to me about stand alone freezers.

[Deleted]

I am seriously considering buying a stand alone freezer because the top freezer in our kitchen fridge is really small, but I'm not sure if we should go with a chest freezer or an upright freezer.  The upright freezer seems like it would be easier to get things in and out of, but the chest freezer seems a little more space friendly.  My grandmother had a chest freezer at my mom's house and I remember the thing being jam packed all the time and you couldn't find anything (then again she is a food hoarder). I would not pack mine that full.  Anybody have a prefence?

[demandypants]

I have an upright. Because the thought of loosing something deep down in a chest freezer would make me sad. We keep it pretty full right now between our costco membership and trips to the butcher, bowls of homemade stock and chili. Enough popcicles to hand out to the neighborhood children on a hot day... I couldn't go back to not having one. I am also a proud owner of a "beer fridge" too... I may have my own hoarding problem But it is awesome for holidays!

[jena]

We have a chest freezer. We sometimes lose things, but not often. It came with a basket that sits on the top edges where we pur the smallest things.

We store some larger things on the bottom - enormous sack of rice from Costco that we use to refill a canister, 20lb of flour, extra bags of sugar. Sitting on top of that is a milk crate of prepared foods, another of meat, and some spare bags of frozen veggies. If there's space that needs filling or if it's hurricane season and power outages are possible I'll add bags of ice or frozen gallons of water. It makes a darn good ice chest if your power is out, things only really started defrosting at 1.5 weeks with minimal added ice.

[Susie]

We have a chest freezer. They're more energy efficient, and if you get a slightly bigger one than you need, things don't get packed so tightly and don't get lost. Ours also has baskets and dividers that help a lot.

[renna]

Our house is 90 years old and the only place for an upright freezer was downstairs. We went with a smaller model because that's all we needed: 3 of us here.

www.sears.com/kenmore-12.1-cu-ft-upright-freezer/p-04628262000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

I think this is the one we got a few years ago. We like it. For us it fits our needs with its size and it is never jam-packed but it is usually pretty full. I do like it that when we open the door we can see everything in it so there are no mysteries or longsuffering, left-behind items in there for years on end, haha.

ETA:  We got it down our basement stairs with no problems.  That was a big factor for us.

[munkii]

We have an upright because we're not very organized people without organization in place for us. It's nice: glass shelves, dividers, ice cream shelf, wire baskets. We probably would have picked a different one if we didn't get such a good deal on it.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Chest freezer here. Ours is pretty full, but I've never lost anything in it. It's a Kenmore model and I love it. It has dividers and baskets, so I organize everything - fruit in this basket, breads in that one, meats in that compartment, etc.

Sometimes we play a little bit of freezer bingo when we can't decide what's for dinner - i.e. First meat I pull out of the freezer. But otherwise, I have no difficulties with getting what I'm looking for out. Admittedly, I do wind up practically upside down at times because I'm short, but I don't mind so much. I can reach everything without too much trouble.

[wawa]

Dec 5, 2013 14:44:42 GMT -5 demandypants said:

I have an upright. Because the thought of loosing something deep down in a chest freezer would make me sad. We keep it pretty full right now between our costco membership and trips to the butcher, bowls of homemade stock and chili. Enough popcicles to hand out to the neighborhood children on a hot day... I couldn't go back to not having one. I am also a proud owner of a "beer fridge" too... I may have my own hoarding problem But it is awesome for holidays!

Everything that she said.  Including beer fridge, costco and a lot of stock.

chest freezers are more energy efficient, but more of a pain in the ass to keep organized IME.   also they're cheaper.

Oh, and we bought a NON frost free one.  Better for long term storage with no freezer burn.  We've had it for 2  years now and we're just coming up on the point when we need to do a full empty and defrost so it's not a big deal.

[emoflamingo]

We have a hand-me-down upright and I don't think I could go without an upright. I need help organizing. We buy part of a cow each year and it helps to be able to sort out red meat from chicken and pre made crap. And ice cream. Lots of ice cream.

[nomad100]

We have one of each.

Wilbur, our 1/2 pig, our frozen stock plus the chicken parts "live" in the chesk freezer downstairs.  We use a couple of milk crates and the baskets that came with it to help with organization.  We have a checklist of what is in there so we can cross it off once we take it out.

Ferdinand, our 1/4 steer, the fruits and veggies, ice cream treats, our make a-ahead meals,  and shredded cheese "live" in the stand up freezer in the garage.  Again, we have a checklist of what is in there especially for the make ahead meals and the beef. 

I prefer the stand up freezer mainly because it is easier to see what is in there.  But with the chest freezer, you always know it is closed. 

[Deleted]

Thanks for all the feedback ladies! It sounds like they both have their good points. This purchase would come out of my bonus so it may come down to which type we can get the best deal on, lol. I like the idea of shelves because I am an organizational freak and it would make me nuts if it got messy, but you ladies make it sound like a chest freezer isn't so bad as long as you use it for normal storage and use the baskets and such that come with it.
 
It has gotten better but it used to be that my gradma would save EVERYTHING and freeze it. Like there would be 3 bites of a dish left and she would wrap it in plastic wrap, put on a twist tie, and put it in the freezer, never to seen again.   Finally about 5 years ago my family cleaned it out and found meat from the 90s in there.  Disgusting and so much waste!  I have honestly never seen a nicely organized chest freezer. Anybody want to post a pic to make me feel better? 

[nomad100]

Oh, and we have an extra fridge in the basement for beverages and the frozen soups and chilis live in that freezer, along with the baking stuff.

[Deleted]

Dec 5, 2013 16:49:06 GMT -5 nomad100 said:

Oh, and we have an extra fridge in the basement for beverages and the frozen soups and chilis live in that freezer, along with the baking stuff.

I am completely jealous of you ladies who have basements and garages for this sort of thing!  Ours will go out in our utility/laundry area which is carpeted (don't ask, long story, we didn't do it) and it will probably look weird.  But for the extra space I will deal with it.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Dec 5, 2013 17:00:29 GMT -5 downtonali said:

Dec 5, 2013 16:49:06 GMT -5 nomad100 said:

Oh, and we have an extra fridge in the basement for beverages and the frozen soups and chilis live in that freezer, along with the baking stuff.

I am completely jealous of you ladies who have basements and garages for this sort of thing!  Ours will go out in our utility/laundry area which is carpeted (don't ask, long story, we didn't do it) and it will probably look weird.  But for the extra space I will deal with it.

Ours just sits randomly in the kitchen.  I would LOVE a utility area to put it in.

[nomad100]

Dec 5, 2013 17:00:29 GMT -5 downtonali said:

Dec 5, 2013 16:49:06 GMT -5 nomad100 said:

Oh, and we have an extra fridge in the basement for beverages and the frozen soups and chilis live in that freezer, along with the baking stuff.

I am completely jealous of you ladies who have basements and garages for this sort of thing!  Ours will go out in our utility/laundry area which is carpeted (don't ask, long story, we didn't do it) and it will probably look weird.  But for the extra space I will deal with it.

Yeah, we have way too much space for 2 people and 2 dogs.  But it is nice.

And our extra freezer is downstairs in our laundry room.  And my parents have their extra fride in a carpeted utility room.  Doesn't look weird at all.

[sabelis]

I have a question for you ladies. Would you ever consider buying a freezer (chest or upright) used? If so, what would be the oldest you would consider?

[sierramist03]

We have a small cube freezer and I love having the extra room.