OT: Need Help with freezer

[Wickedmom75]

Hi everyone I posted a while back about whiich was better upright or chest freezer and you were all great for giving pros and cons. The help I need now is what size????? I don't want a huge freezer we don't have a lot of room in our kitchen and I found a 3 year old 5 cubic foot chest freezer for 100$ on craigslist.
Is this too small?Here is the info you will probably need.

2 adults 4 children dd12 dd11 ds 8 and ds 6,
I woudl like to use a freezer to to be able to put a months worth of groceries into, like bread enough for the month ( or even just a 2 week period) the meat we use and the veggies we use. We have a side by side fridge and the freezer is just not enough to be able to put bread into with all the other stuff , it holds the meat and veggies for a 2 week period ok but no room for any extras like Ice cream ( not my tru concern but hubbie looooves his breyers)
Hubbie would like to get a 17 or 20 cubic ft but I feel that is way to big for us (not to mention the kitchen) and would be a waste of space, our In Laws have a huge chest type freezer that they could fit a couple of bodies in , and it's always scary when I know they have had stuff in there for years just insulating the bottom
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[runwad]

I don't think you can have too big of a freezer, can you put it somewhere else besides your kitchen? Like a basement or garage? I'm no help on how big I have no clue. I have a refrigerator in my garage that I use for that all important 2nd freezer but I too would like to get a freezer some day.

 

[java]

I'm no help as I am in the looking process myself- so what did you decide on upright or chest? I am thinking upright. And the salesguys keep trying to get me to steer clear of the frost free models. (saying that it reduces temps not good for a freezer- but come on how low can it go)

 

[Wickedmom75]

I really want and upright if we go bigger than 7 cu ft, cuz I am short and pooh sized and would prefer not to end up in a large chest freezer.
I think we decided to go with the chest one we found on craigslist only because it is the right price and size for now, and if in a year or 2 we need a bigger size we will give the smaller one to a family member.
I have heard it is better to have the non frost free one so that if the power goes out it has a little bit of Ice in it to help keep stuff colder for a little longer.
Oh and the upright for me would be a better choice, around here if it is a flat surface it can covered in 2.5 seconds and with the chest freezer you have to move everthing off the top to get into it. Hmmm maybe the chest is better , I could always say ooops I can't cook dinner due to your dad's computer components blocking the door
Ok so for all you chest freezers out there what is your best method for organizing the freezer and does anybody have a list of how long you can freeze things?

Oh and no basement and the garage is brimming , we are 6 people living in a 1600 sqft house , with a really weird shaped kitchen that also includes the washer and dryer and my husbands large computer desk.

 

[ohiominnie]

I don't think that's TOO small. And I guess, worst case scenerio, you try it out for 6 months or so and if it's not working you get another one and turn around and sell this one on Craig's list.

We got a freezer from Sears (chest) and after 6 months, something happened and it died (lost all the food in there) Sears no longer made that model, so they upgraded us to a bigger freezer. Now I lose stuff in there and that goes uneaten.

Of course, we have three or 4 years worth of fish from dh's fishing trips in there. Thing is, I won't eat it b/c I'm paranoid of eating fish that might have bones in it. BLECH. So my freezer is packed with fish. Trying to figure out what to do with it all b/c I'd hate to throw it out. It all still looks great b/c it's packed with the foodsaver thing. I keep telling dh NOT TO BRING HOME THE FISH....let the other 3 guys take his share of the catch. But every year he comes home with a huge bag of fish.

 

[Wickedmom75]

I don't think that's TOO small. And I guess, worst case scenerio, you try it out for 6 months or so and if it's not working you get another one and turn around and sell this one on Craig's list.

We got a freezer from Sears (chest) and after 6 months, something happened and it died (lost all the food in there) Sears no longer made that model, so they upgraded us to a bigger freezer. Now I lose stuff in there and that goes uneaten.

Of course, we have three or 4 years worth of fish from dh's fishing trips in there. Thing is, I won't eat it b/c I'm paranoid of eating fish that might have bones in it. BLECH. So my freezer is packed with fish. Trying to figure out what to do with it all b/c I'd hate to throw it out. It all still looks great b/c it's packed with the foodsaver thing. I keep telling dh NOT TO BRING HOME THE FISH....let the other 3 guys take his share of the catch. But every year he comes home with a huge bag of fish.

You could have a fish fry/cook our as soon as its warm enough LOL I too am afraid of eating fish like that. When we go visit my Inlaws in NC I make my husband go through the fish ( he does it for the kids so it isn't too much more work )

 

[disneysteve]

I'm 99% sure that our basement freezer is 13 cu. ft. so 5 sounds awfully small to me, especially if it is a chest freezer (which I wouldn't buy regardless of size).

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

We have a 12cuft chest freezer in the basement. I keep everything in a specific place------hm applesauce and peach slices in cube-shaped containers stacked against a wall, small items in a wire basket hanging from the top, bags of frozen chicken stuff in one area, bread in another, etc. I also keep a freezer inventory sheet on the lid of the freezer. Organization is the key to good freezer use

I defrost it every spring/early summer when the freezer is at the emptiest, after we've eaten all the previous year's produce (btw I freeze gallons of water to take up space so that the freezer operates more efficiently). I borrow coolers from my mother and sister. Takes an afternoon and isn't a big deal.