Cleaning the freezer.
02-19-2013, 11:07 PM
#21
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 3,453
Life's too short to worry about a disorganized freezer. Mine came with 2 baskets that hang from the top then I bought 3 white plastic baskets. All my meat and chicken are packed in meat keepers which I can stack. Small things go in the baskets. Tidy enough, end of story.
02-19-2013, 11:19 PM
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 559
My little freezer has a bad seal so have to put cans of paint on it to make it tight. This spring I intend to unplug it and get someone to haul to the dump. It sh help on my electric bill considerably. My side by side refrig, who knows what is in there. maybe I will clean it out soon. I am told it costs less to operate full than empty, so I postpone cleaning it out.
02-20-2013, 04:04 AM
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 471
the last time I cleaned my freezer I found 6 cones of thread in a baggie that had fallen from the door into the "bottomless pit". I use to freeze my thread when I had a Tin Lizzie and lots of thread breaks (freezing helped with that). My new Nolting does not suffer from that disorder.
02-20-2013, 04:58 AM
#24
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Posts: 2,616
Originally Posted by sewmom
We have a chest freezer that we have had for ages and it belonged to my inlaws before that! I hate cleaning it and have a hard time reaching the bottom. It holds a lot, but I am convinced it also harbors the doorway to a black hole because stuff disappears in there never to be seen again. I would like to get a newer upright, but haven't convinced DH yet. 2 of our cats are raw feeders and we buy their meat every 3 months so we need the space.
I have a hard time keeping things organized in there and have tried several things too, non of them seem to help for long. I was in Sears for a filter for the fridge and opened a chest freezer- they now come with plastic dividers in them! How brilliant is that? Why didn't they think of that when ours was made 30 years ago? Haha
I have a hard time keeping things organized in there and have tried several things too, non of them seem to help for long. I was in Sears for a filter for the fridge and opened a chest freezer- they now come with plastic dividers in them! How brilliant is that? Why didn't they think of that when ours was made 30 years ago? Haha
02-20-2013, 05:07 AM
#25
Power Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Mableton, GA
Posts: 11,194
Mine is a drawer on the bottom of a french door frig. I can usually see what's in there, because there isn't much. Because of the weather/power situation here, and after losing freezers full of food, I don't keep much in there anymore. Lucky I am retired and am close to grocery stores, so can go often if I want.
02-20-2013, 06:05 AM
#26
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Front row
Posts: 14,646
Originally Posted by Peckish
Now wait just a cotton-pickin' minute. How the heck does that work?? I've had 2 so-called self-cleaning ovens, and the only thing that happens is everything that spilled on the bottom of the oven gets burnt on even more than it originally was. I STILL have to use Easy-Off. Am I doing something wrong?
By the way, I just cleaned my oven last week, on the SAME day I went to the dentist and had NO cavities. I celebrated by making brownies. I won't tell you how many I ate.
By the way, I just cleaned my oven last week, on the SAME day I went to the dentist and had NO cavities. I celebrated by making brownies. I won't tell you how many I ate.
02-20-2013, 07:24 AM
#28
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Posts: 857
I have a manual defrost 15 cf upright freezer. We have the basket at the bottom filled with bags of strawberries stacked vertically. (1 qt freezer bags frozen flat on jelly roll pan) Top shelf holds frozen sauces, soups, stews, and ice cream. (Uniform containers stack easily and fill space. Rows of similar items front to back.) Second shelf holds protein:beef, chicken, pork, sausages, etc. Small plastic basket at front holds block cheese. Third shelf holds loaves of bread, purchased frozen veggies, and preportioned items. Plastic containers contain portions of chopped celery, green pepper or onion wrapped in plastic sandwich bags twisted closed to expel air. One gallon freezer bags contain plastic sandwich bags of one cup portions of blueberries.Door shelves contain shredded cheese, veggies and juice concentrate.
Freezer is defrosted once yearly. Using warm gloves, empty contents into ice chests and/or boxes which can be place outdoors during cold winter day. Turn unit to defrost, line bottom on unit with heavy terry towel. Align two jelly roll pans side by side on next shelf up. Leave door open. Go play in your sewing room!
Scrape with ice scraper when appropriate. No need for boiling water in kettle. Relax. Sew! Freezer will be ready to be washed, wiped dry and reloaded within an hour or two. Turn cooling dial to max for first day only.
If you have problems with someone not closing the door tightly, use a piece of duct tape which should be easily lifted on one end. Teach yourself (and family members) to reattach the end firmly after closing the door.
I would be lost without my freezer as I make my own "convenience foods" which cut the grocery bill and allow more time for sewing! :-)
Freezer is defrosted once yearly. Using warm gloves, empty contents into ice chests and/or boxes which can be place outdoors during cold winter day. Turn unit to defrost, line bottom on unit with heavy terry towel. Align two jelly roll pans side by side on next shelf up. Leave door open. Go play in your sewing room!
Scrape with ice scraper when appropriate. No need for boiling water in kettle. Relax. Sew! Freezer will be ready to be washed, wiped dry and reloaded within an hour or two. Turn cooling dial to max for first day only.
If you have problems with someone not closing the door tightly, use a piece of duct tape which should be easily lifted on one end. Teach yourself (and family members) to reattach the end firmly after closing the door.
I would be lost without my freezer as I make my own "convenience foods" which cut the grocery bill and allow more time for sewing! :-)
Last edited by kay carlson; 02-20-2013 at 07:27 AM.
02-20-2013, 08:29 AM
#29
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Rocky Mountains of Idaho
Posts: 1,454
Hi BellaBoo ~ We have two side-by-sides refridgerators and one upright freezer. Side-by-sides are frost free gotta love them but not good for long term freezer storage as freezer burn is an issue.
We are great fans of the vacuum sealing bags as I've never learned how to cook for just two, and nothing is better IMHO than a quick home cooked meal (left-overs) just reheated when I've spent the day in the sewing room or have been out and about, or a meatloaf meal when it's too hot to have the oven on in the summer.
Organization of the freezer of all three freezer areas I use inexpensive plastic wash basins 12" X 14" X 6" are the size that is pictured here. I was concerned with this idea that the plastic would be brittle because of the freezer and the 'lips' of the edges would snap when I slid them out to get food out. Well nearly 6 years of doing this and not one has broken.
So for me I just purchase the wash basins, I looked on the ones in the picture and they are Steralite brand, probably Wal Mart....
You will see in the picture I took a marker and labeled the bins by predominate ingredient...The bottom bin is soups and that is the bin that came with the fridge/freezer. The upper shelf has help yourself frozen prepared cupcakes ~ cookies and such...so DH can satisfy his sweet tooth whenever ... fortunately I don't have that sweet tooth so a batch of cupcakes are always there for him to just defrost. AND he's thin and I'm fluffy ~ not fair! (OOPS just realized that I didn't get that shelf in the picture)The ugly black things in the door are frozen banana's ready for bread. This freezer is for prepared meals only.
The upright stand alone freezer is wide enough that I have wash tubs side-by-side and much the same labeling...Beef ~ Pork ~ Fish ~ (all uncooked meats) then Vegetables ~ Butter etc...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]396593[/ATTACH]
We are great fans of the vacuum sealing bags as I've never learned how to cook for just two, and nothing is better IMHO than a quick home cooked meal (left-overs) just reheated when I've spent the day in the sewing room or have been out and about, or a meatloaf meal when it's too hot to have the oven on in the summer.
Organization of the freezer of all three freezer areas I use inexpensive plastic wash basins 12" X 14" X 6" are the size that is pictured here. I was concerned with this idea that the plastic would be brittle because of the freezer and the 'lips' of the edges would snap when I slid them out to get food out. Well nearly 6 years of doing this and not one has broken.
So for me I just purchase the wash basins, I looked on the ones in the picture and they are Steralite brand, probably Wal Mart....
You will see in the picture I took a marker and labeled the bins by predominate ingredient...The bottom bin is soups and that is the bin that came with the fridge/freezer. The upper shelf has help yourself frozen prepared cupcakes ~ cookies and such...so DH can satisfy his sweet tooth whenever ... fortunately I don't have that sweet tooth so a batch of cupcakes are always there for him to just defrost. AND he's thin and I'm fluffy ~ not fair! (OOPS just realized that I didn't get that shelf in the picture)The ugly black things in the door are frozen banana's ready for bread. This freezer is for prepared meals only.
The upright stand alone freezer is wide enough that I have wash tubs side-by-side and much the same labeling...Beef ~ Pork ~ Fish ~ (all uncooked meats) then Vegetables ~ Butter etc...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]396593[/ATTACH]
Last edited by onaemtnest; 02-20-2013 at 08:37 AM.
02-20-2013, 09:59 AM
#30
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Barnesville GA
Posts: 3,181
Originally Posted by mrs. fitz
I have a side-by-side refrigerator/freezer and a wonderful system of organization. If I put something on a shelf and it doesn't slide off, that's where it goes.
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