HELP needed

 Hello and welcome back. I have a bit of a conundrum.  I have a chest freezer  approx 190litre which is meaningless really. Size wise it measures 30" x 20.5" so bigger than a single freezer but not as big as the double. I've been so tempted to get rid of it and buy an upright with drawers but everyone I've spoken to has said no they don't hold as much. But my main bugbear with a chest freezer is everything eventually ends up at the bottom. Labels fall off prepped food and we end up with 'Lucky DipS Dinners'. So  my question is: HOW DO YOU ORGANISE A CHEST FREEZER SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THINGS EASILY AND CLEARLY? 

Do you use baskets like these below? I was wondering whether to have baskets with lids that I can write on and they'd be able to stack better. 



I really want to freeze any fresh produce I grow that I am unable to eat. I'm used to pickling beetroot and bottling tomato sauces. But as its just me lots of things will have to be frozen or prepped in smaller portions. Some of the fruit may be made into jam but I'm not a huge jam eater, so I've asked my friends to save me any small jars they may have.

As a frugal person, I cook once and eat at least twice.  By that I mean I cook for example enough bolognaise for a few meals.  Some times I freeze a couple of portions, other times I will have the same meal twice in 7 days. Maybe served slightly differently. Once  with spaghetti, then with a baked  potato and cheese. 

I'm running my freezer down at the moment, so that I can give it a good clean ready to install some kind of storage system.......so your help is gratefully received. Back soon. Tx

And just for Sue (A smaller life living simply),



I thought the original pots were too small and changed them up for these bigger ones.  They looked lovely covered in fairly lights during the Christmas season. 

Comments

  1. Janice23 March 2024 at 16:36

    I had a large chest freezer for years and when I got tired of having to defrost it I went for a large upright. I tried different storage methods in the chest freezer, bins, boxes, plasic boxes and sturdy shopping bags. I found all of the methods still ending up with 'stuff at the bottom' no matter the container. When I got the upright I found it's true that it didn't hold as much but it was all a lot easier to see. Then I went a step further and bought bins that would fit 2 perfectly on each shelf. I also got a notebook and made an inventory of each container and am pretty good at at adding and subtracting things to keep on top of what is in there. So I would definitely stay with an upright, especially as I get older!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Living Alone in Your 60's24 March 2024 at 06:56

      Thank you for such an informative comment. I did go to Hughes to look at a Beko 60/40 freezer fridge, thatxwas garage ready! But the fridge was still too big. I need to take another look at upright freezers before making my decision. Thanks again Janice.

      Delete
  2. Sue24 March 2024 at 10:14

    Haha ... yes I think the trees in pots look so much better and balance the front of the house out perfectly. :-)

    I would never have a chest freezer again, even a small one. We had that huge one when we lived in Wales and no matter what the system I put in place ... it had baskets that sat on top like your photo, and I used the sturdy 'bags for life' and large plastic boxes down in the depths ... things still got forgotten about and left in there far too long. Having an upright freezer with drawers is much better for me and it means I can pull the drawer out every so often and have a good sort through and use up of the contents.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue24 March 2024 at 10:16

      Oh and I forgot to add, I no longer blog over at 'A Smaller Life ...' it's all change again. :-)

      Delete
    2. Living Alone in Your 60's28 March 2024 at 10:12

      I have found your new blog. I'm struggling to save it to my reading list 😪 I'll work it out eventually.

      Delete
  3. Bag End Gardener4 April 2024 at 04:08

    Don't know if I am too late to help, but my solution to that problem was the big square-bottomed shopping 'bags for life' which every supermarket now sells. I found that Morrisons ones fitted my freezer . . .

    I had a series of bags on the base of the freezer and was very disciplined about what went into each one so I could see what I had, and they were fairly easy to lift out if necessary. I also had baskets for the top level very similar to your photo and they worked, BUT, could be an absoute pain and fall inside the freezer if they weren't lined up properly.

    Eventually I gave up, gave the chest freezer away and replaced it with a tall upright. Might be less efficient but it's so much easier.

    ReplyDelete

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