Is it frugal to have an extra freezer?

[Veggily]

I've been arguing back and forth with myself for a while about buying an extra freezer to store foods. Right now, we have a combination fridge/freezer, so there is only one drawer for frozen items. I noticed I could prolong the shelf life (and perhaps buy, accordingly) of many staples if I stored them in the freezer. (Nuts, dried seaweed, breads, dinners cooked in bulk and separated into one-meal containers, etc.) On the one hand, it seems like a great idea, but on the other, I'd have to actually go out and buy a freezer to implement it, and am not sure how frugal and environmentally responsible that would be in the long-run. Any thoughts?

[Blobbenstein]

it's a simple matter of environmental cost of planA vs environmental cost of planB; but actually working that out might be complicated.
It costs the environment to produce food, so if getting an extra freezer reduces the wast of food enough to counter the environment cost of producing and running the freezer then getting a freezer would be more environmentally friendly; all else being equal.

But there might be other options.

[WonderRandy]

a chest style freezer is actually fairly inexpensive to operate. Especially if you aren't opening it all the time.

[Kiz]

I've saved quite a bit of money with my chest freezer.

[Skylark]

I want an extra freezer SO BADLY!!! The problem is right now I don't have a place to put it. I also want a queen-sized loft bed and store the freezer under it. I would be able to make much better use of what I buy and when I buy it if I could freeze more stuff.

[MrFalafel]

Just be sure to get a top rated energy efficient freezer and to keep it as full as possible and don't open the door often.

I've found having a seperate freezer is a great money saving tool as I can make several meals in one cooking session and freeze individual portions for later consumption. I never buy prepared meals or dishes any more as my freezer is filled with home cooked meals :D

[Skylark]

I have every intention of filling the freezer first with jugs of water, and then replacing them with food as I can. I know freezers operate most efficiently when they're not mostly keeping air cool.

[Blobbenstein]

this is, I suppose, because air heats up quickly so the freezer has to keep switching on and off, where as jugs of water even it out.....probably is more efficient to put jugs of water in..

[flvegnewbie]

I agree with the above posters about cooking more & then freezing meals.

We have both a small stand up type manual defrost and a chest freezer (that our MIL just gave us a few months ago) and although they are not completely full-yet.
I know that I now I have space to store any great bargains that I might find.

Last weekend I just purchased 16 bags of frozen veggies, Kroger was having their 10/$10.00 sale. If I didn't have the extrat freezer space I wouldn't have been able to have bought as many for such a cheap price.

Another thing we do is to freeze milk, when we find a great deal. Kroger had it last week for $2.99 a gallon, I bought 6.
A note about freezing milk, you do have to open each one and pour out about 1.5 cups *before* freezing. This allows enough room for expansion.

I've also found great deal on fresh produce, such as red peppers. I sliced some (for stirfrys or veggie fajitas) and I also diced some and flash froze them and then used my FoodSaver to vacuum seal them for the freezer.
Same with mushrooms, when I can find a great deal on them during the summer months, I will buy extras and then prep them and vacuum seal them for later use.
You can do this with all types of fruits & veggies.

So, to answer your question. Yes, I think having an extra freezer is a great thing to have in order to save you money, even with operating costs.

[Veggily]

i was wondering about the chest freezers compared to the shelf freezers. i am seeing a chest freezer in my near future...:) that's interesting about keeping it full to keep it efficient. i'd love to have a freezer full of a variety of ready meals. thanks for the fresh veggie ideas, too!

[Veggily]

skylark, a freezer under a queen-sized bed sounds like dangerous fun. lean over the side, pull out a snack (how long would it take a frozen cookie to thaw?)...

[peace]

Is it frugal to have an extra freezer?

No, just brave.

UCB! :pibo:

[Dieselsmom]

i was wondering about the chest freezers compared to the shelf freezers.!


One thing wrong with chest freezers is that it is very easy to "lose" the stuff in the bottom and then when you rediscovered it, it was frequently all dried out. I had a small one for years and that is something that happened regularly. I will be buying a new freezer next spring but this time I will get an upright. It is more expensive, but I figure that I will throw out less stuff and will be able to find what I'm looking for easier.

[Skylark]

skylark, a freezer under a queen-sized bed sounds like dangerous fun. lean over the side, pull out a snack (how long would it take a frozen cookie to thaw?)...

Heh, you have to leave space for the door to open up, and my arms aren't super-long. I don't think I could get anything from the freezer from being on a bed above it.


One thing wrong with chest freezers is that it is very easy to "lose" the stuff in the bottom and then when you rediscovered it, it was frequently all dried out. I had a small one for years and that is something that happened regularly. I will be buying a new freezer next spring but this time I will get an upright. It is more expensive, but I figure that I will throw out less stuff and will be able to find what I'm looking for easier.

That's why you keep an inventory and plan out when you're going to use each item. :) Some people even make a diagram of where they store what stuff in the freezer.

[Kiz]

Lol, now that's anal!

[Skylark]

Lol, now that's anal!

Hey, sometimes you have to be anal to make sure your previous work doesn't go wasted, and you lose money. Would you throw three hours and $5 in the trash can if you could avoid it by sketching a little map? Same concept.

[vigilant20]

I've had a small chest freezer on my wish list for as long as I've been making my push to be more frugal. I'm just starting to do OAMC, it's great for storing sale items, and I plan to garden so hopefully I'll have a lot of produce to put away next season.

[Dieselsmom]

Hey, sometimes you have to be anal to make sure your previous work doesn't go wasted, and you lose money. Would you throw three hours and $5 in the trash can if you could avoid it by sketching a little map? Same concept.

Do you really have a map of your freezer contents? And when you take something out, do you draw a new map? I'm usually in such a rush to throw something together for dinner that there is no way that would work for me.

[Veggily]

OAMC, I had to look that up just now. (Once a month cooking, for anyone else like me.) That's fab that you'll be gardening!

[panthera]

It's surely a good idea financially, but not really environmentally. Anything you freeze takes energy when you're cooling it down, keeping it cool, and then heating it back up (unless you only thaw things by letting them sit). Being able to buy perishables in bulk would be good in terms of cutting down on grocery runs, of course. But then if a lot of people do that, then stores might stock more perishables because they periodically run low on them, and that would mean more refrigeration at the store.

The environmental benefit would be that you might waste less food, but you should be able to manage that without buying a whole new appliance, unless you've got a sizeable household. If you do, then it might be good to have a separate freezer.

But overall, it's much more of a financial benefit than an environmental one. Unless without it, you end up wasting a lot of food and not even composting it.

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

I think my freezer is of huge envoronmental benefit!

First of all, cooking once and making several meals which you can freeze and use instead of packaged, prepared, purchased TV dinner-type meals is much more environmentally friendly.

I make one trip to the store and buy local ingredients, cook one time, and freeze 10 "lunch" meals in reusable containers.
Thaw them at room temp. and reheat for just a few minutes (or don't reheat sometimes).
This compared to purchasing 10 individual meals, packaged in non-recyclable foil, paper, plastic or whatnot, which have been made from foods shipped from who-knows-where, prepared in factories, shipped many miles to the store, etc. etc. You get the idea.

Also, I freeze my own garden produce which saves all around as well.

I have a chest freezer and don't really ever "lose" things in it, but the "map" thing would NEVER work as I rearrange every other time or so, so things re-surface quickly.

[Skylark]

Do you really have a map of your freezer contents? And when you take something out, do you draw a new map? I'm usually in such a rush to throw something together for dinner that there is no way that would work for me.

I don't have a chest freezer. My parents do, and they usually have a map at least of the stuff that's not readily visible on the top layer. When they take something out, they cross it off. It's not an exact map, but it does help them get a general idea of where something is (or is supposed to be) so they don't have to dig through the entire freezer trying to find the last bag of frozen strawberries.


It's surely a good idea financially, but not really environmentally. Anything you freeze takes energy when you're cooling it down, keeping it cool, and then heating it back up (unless you only thaw things by letting them sit).

Interesting thoughts. I try to plan ahead and thaw items in the fridge, so it only warms up to a safe temperature. It doesn't always work out that way, and I'm definitely not using frozen foods to the degree others here do because I don't have a chest freezer.


Being able to buy perishables in bulk would be good in terms of cutting down on grocery runs, of course. But then if a lot of people do that, then stores might stock more perishables because they periodically run low on them, and that would mean more refrigeration at the store.

If everyone bought perishables in bulk, chances are it'd either be spread out throughout the month and the stores wouldn't notice a big difference, or it'd be concentrated on a few days/weeks and they'd know those are the heavy days/weeks and stock up then and only then. It might take some getting used to and be rocky while people were getting into the groove, but I don't think it would be an environmental horror.

But not everyone buys in bulk, and I'm not about to not do something smart for me because it might be inconvenient at first it everyone did it like I do.


The environmental benefit would be that you might waste less food, but you should be able to manage that without buying a whole new appliance, unless you've got a sizeable household. If you do, then it might be good to have a separate freezer.

My parents are planning to get a newer freezer because they're remodeling (my grandparents are moving in), and they've agreed to give me their old freezer. Until I know how I personally will use such a large freezer, I don't think it makes sense for me to buy a new freezer.


But overall, it's much more of a financial benefit than an environmental one. Unless without it, you end up wasting a lot of food and not even composting it.

It could be an additional environmental benefit if you're able to buy discounted items that are nearly bad from grocers/farmers, process it immediately at home and stick it in the freezer. Many people won't buy nearly-bad produce because they either can't use it right away or have no place to store it without it going bad.


I think my freezer is of huge envoronmental benefit!

First of all, cooking once and making several meals which you can freeze and use instead of packaged, prepared, purchased TV dinner-type meals is much more environmentally friendly.

Hmmm. For me, since I wouldn't buy TV dinners anyway, it makes more sense to compare to my realistic alternatives. I can cook every day or nearly every day, eating leftovers for lunch, etc. If I can't eat something up in time and it goes bad, I pitch it. (I don't have a living situation that's conducive to composting.) If I had a bigger freezer, I'd be able to rescue more leftovers from hitting the trash can.


Also, I freeze my own garden produce which saves all around as well.

*jealous* :)


I have a chest freezer and don't really ever "lose" things in it, but the "map" thing would NEVER work as I rearrange every other time or so, so things re-surface quickly.

You rearrange the whole freezer every other time after taking something out? That sounds like a lot more work than making a quick map!

[nogardsram]

I've been arguing back and forth with myself for a while about buying an extra freezer to store foods. Right now, we have a combination fridge/freezer, so there is only one drawer for frozen items. I noticed I could prolong the shelf life (and perhaps buy, accordingly) of many staples if I stored them in the freezer. (Nuts, dried seaweed, breads, dinners cooked in bulk and separated into one-meal containers, etc.) On the one hand, it seems like a great idea, but on the other, I'd have to actually go out and buy a freezer to implement it, and am not sure how frugal and environmentally responsible that would be in the long-run. Any thoughts?

I think it really depends on your habits. Many people just buy crap food and put it in a freezer.

I don't really think buying regular crap food and freezing it is especially 'environmental' although it might save on extra gas to the store.

For those who make extra food and freeze it, so they have instant style food, I think that's great. Especially if it helps them to not buy the instant store freezer food.

In all honesty I think doing without and changing habits is the more frugal and environmental, but it really depends on where you live and how you live.

[panthera]

First of all, cooking once and making several meals which you can freeze and use instead of packaged, prepared, purchased TV dinner-type meals is much more environmentally friendly.

Sure, but anybody who is concerned about whether or not a separate freezer is an environmentally friendly purchase is not about to buy TV-dinner type separately packaged meals made of food from halfway across the world. They're going to buy local, in bulk, cook large quantities, refrigerate, and perhaps freeze some in the freezer they already have, if there is room.

I think it's great the way you use your freezer. I'm just pointing out that having an additional freezer is not really a help in terms of environmentalism. As nogardsram points out, it's the lifestyle choices that really matter.

[Veggily]

i don't buy crap food or frozen dinners. i used to, though, so i know what you mean about filling the freezer with a bunch of easy packaged meals and junk. but even my kids now prefer to make food from scratch.

besides wanting to do a bit of bulk cooking for days when i am sick or don't have time to cook and am tempted to go out or have something delivered, i also would like to lengthen the life of the foods i now buy in bulk, such as nuts. if i buy the small bags, they are REALLY small and i feel guilty about the package waste, not to mention that the small packs are expensive. but the big packs are 1 - 2 kilograms, and i can't always use them up before they go bad. the same for other items, like seaweed, that would keep after opening for quite a while in the freezer, but sometimes go bad before i can use them up when i leave them in the cabinet.

actually, i don't really know what nogardsram and panthera mean by changing habits. i am really new at this effort to lessen my waste. having a freezer seems like it would reduce waste, but i guess i can't get around the extra freezer not being environmentally friendly. my mother came to visit a while back and left me with this nugget when we talked about throwing things away: "Remember, there is no "away." That comment actually changed my life. Now, every time I throw something - anything - out, I pause and think about that. I think about it when I buy things now, too. How long is it going to last and what am I going to do with it when I don't want it anymore. So a freezer is a big decision. But I think I will end up getting it... now i have to decide what size i need. all these decisions..!