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What do you think? Do you have a stand-alone freezer so you can freeze your extra meals, broths, soups, buy a half-pig or preserve your hunting prizes?
If you do, is it distance from the store, or what was your main reason? Is it worth it to you, having it?
We are thinking about a smaller one to put in the office, for the above reasons.
i have an extra refridgerator and 2 freezers.
I harvest a lot of fruits of vegetables and freeze a lot in addition to my canning.
I also buy frozen meats and veggies on sale, and get extra eggs and dairy products so we don't have to shop very often.
It was absolutely necessary when i was raising our five kids, but now that it is down to hubby and I, we are reevaluating the convenience vs the cost of operating the several older model appliances. Will probably downsize at least a little bit in the next few years.
Started with a 5cu/ft chest freezer and used that for ~12 years. Lived in places where I was a 2 hour drive from the closest grocery and places where I was only 2 blocks away, freezer was always used. We upgraded with a larger upright freezer 2 years ago (and handed the old one on to my wife's youngest brother).
The lions share of what the freezer holds is bulk meat, bought on sale, and meals made in bulk and put up for the future (soups, lasagna, shepherds pie, etc...) and now I'm putting up garden vegetables.
Couldn't imagine life without the freezer, though I am Seriously considering life with a freezer-less fridge in the house.
We got a 5 cu ft upright a few months ago and it's been great. I have a small kitchen and fridge, so this added a lot of storage possibilities for food we actually eat (lot of frozen veggies, sale meats, bakery markdowns for example). I've been able to take much better advantage of great sales. The biggest benefit for me has been how much it's cut down on trips to the grocery, which saves me time, gas money, and cuts down on my bad impulse purchase habit.
Started with a 5cu/ft chest freezer and used that for ~12 years. Lived in places where I was a 2 hour drive from the closest grocery and places where I was only 2 blocks away, freezer was always used. We upgraded with a larger upright freezer 2 years ago (and handed the old one on to my wife's youngest brother).
The lions share of what the freezer holds is bulk meat, bought on sale, and meals made in bulk and put up for the future (soups, lasagna, shepherds pie, etc...) and now I'm putting up garden vegetables.
Couldn't imagine life without the freezer, though I am Seriously considering life with a freezer-less fridge in the house.
I'd be happy scaling down the freezer portion of my refrigerator. Our diet, which is mostly vegetarian, just doesn't require so much freezer space. I freeze gallon bottles of water to improve its efficiency. That said, I think many people do find having an extra freezer to be helpful in maintaining a frugal lifestyle.
I have a chest freezer which I really wanted until I got it. Now, I hate having to rummage through it. I keep extra bags of ice in the bottom so the food won't be so far down. The only advantage to it is that I can buy meat by the case when it's cheaper, for example pork tenderloin is 3.50/lb but I can get a case for 2.50/lb as long as I have room in the freezer for it.
I have a chest freezer which I really wanted until I got it. Now, I hate having to rummage through it. I keep extra bags of ice in the bottom so the food won't be so far down. The only advantage to it is that I can buy meat by the case when it's cheaper, for example pork tenderloin is 3.50/lb but I can get a case for 2.50/lb as long as I have room in the freezer for it.
I had one too. Got rid of it and went upright. So much nicer! It's a frost-free model and it has a light, unlike the old chest freezer.
I had an upright freezer in the garage, and I found that it became a storage facility for old bread. It cost more to run than it saved me, so I eventually just unplugged it and ignored it.
I think an extra freezer is frugal only if it really saves you money.
They save money, but only if you label, date, and rotate the food you store. There are other tricks, such as learning how to wet-pack and using cardboard boxes as insulators in frost free units to limit freezer burn. If you garden, freezing is much superior to canning.
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