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Does everyone else have ENORMOUS freezers?

(80 Posts)
Franbern Tue 15-Aug-23 08:22:04

I am quite fasinated as to how much freezer space posters on here actually have.
Every time there are requests for more information on'kitchen gadgets'( air fryers, soup makers, etc. etc.), reply after reply comes back about getting a big one and to freeze so many portions

Now I live by myself in a flat, have a 50/50 fridge/freezer in the kitchen and a small under the counter freezer in my garage.

In my kitchen freezer I keep a drawer each for frozen vegetables, meat items, fish items, ice cream and desserts. Always packed full, never any space for putting in my own cooked dishes. The small one in the garage is used with extras of most of the same (means I can take advantage of purchasing multiple items the same and thereby saving money. FIsh, in paricular - I get at Iceland with a twice a year visit. Along with some frozen cream cakes, so never caught out if unexpected visitors.

I suppose that with the two machines I have more freezer space than most flat dwellers, would love to know where people find all this space to put in their extra cooked portions.

I tend to purchase and use compact sizes of these kitchen machines, (soup maker and slow cooker). These give me two good sized portions) - today and tomorrow The only item I changed out from that size was the air fryer, as with the larger single drawer one I now have, I so rarely ever need the large oven.

Nannagarra Tue 15-Aug-23 11:41:15

We have three under-counter drawer jobs - I would prefer fewer but with DH it’s non-negotiable. One lives in the kitchen, the others in the garage as the utility room is south-facing.
I batch cook cottage pies and the like (a drawer), bread (a drawer), carrot and swede, cauliflower cheese, mashed potato (a drawer) and soups (fit in gaps). Elsewhere him indoors organises drawers for fish and seafood, frozen veg, meat x 2, potato products and desserts. I sneak in small pots of chopped herbs and chillis plus citrus juices.

Greyduster Tue 15-Aug-23 11:22:48

I have a freestanding fridge in my kitchen and had a fifty fifty fridge freezer and an old free standing freezer in my garage. The very old freezer has now been emptied and switched off. It was costly to run and it encouraged me to freeze too many things I never got round to eating. The remaining freezer is full to capacity and I now don’t buy or make what I don’t have freezer space for. What will happen when Christmas comes around is another matter!

Germanshepherdsmum Tue 15-Aug-23 11:14:41

I’m always prepared for a nuclear winter too. 🙄. Can’t help myself.

Foxygloves Tue 15-Aug-23 10:40:12

Yep. My DD teases me that I am prepared for a nuclear winter. I used to have a big chest freezer in the garage but it gave up the ghost after nearly 40 years faithful service and the man at John Lewis refused to sell me a replacement if it was to go in the garage. Something about ambient temperatures and energy saving, apparently I could only situate it in a space that would not get colder than the freezer.
Tosh! When is it ever -20 C in the UK.
However it made sense to buy a large upright freezer instead which matches my large larder fridge and both live side by side in the utility room , giving the capacity of a big American style fridge freezer but I think cheaper.
The freezer is permanently full as I feel the need to have “emergency” supplies in the event of unexpected visits from the family - not that they happen as often as I would like. But also because I cannot resist a food bargain - 3 for £10 on mince or chicken for instance. I always have a sliced loaf, one drawer full of tubs of dog food, a bag of peas, chopped onions, soffrito, frozen puff pastry, frozen herbs, grated cheese and some sausages as staples too.

dragonfly46 Tue 15-Aug-23 10:36:57

I have a floor to ceiling fridge and a floor to ceiling freezer plus a 50/50 in the garage for overflows. I often spend a day cooking for the freezers to make life easier when I don't feel like cooking.

Blondiescot Tue 15-Aug-23 10:36:57

We have three - one is part of our normal kitchen fridge/freezer, one is mainly used for freezing excess produce from the garden or 'bargains', while the third is kept in one of the garden sheds and solely used for storing our dog's raw food.

henetha Tue 15-Aug-23 10:30:26

Just one ordinary freezer for me. No room in the kitchen so it lives in the spare bedroom, which is a bit of a pain but not the end of the world.

lixy Tue 15-Aug-23 10:27:48

No, just two drawers under the fridge.

In winter, when it's cold enough, I use the sheds as a cooler for drinks and a fruit and veg store.

Would like more freezer space but don't really need it for most of the time.

Blossoming Tue 15-Aug-23 10:23:28

We have a large chest freezer in the garage.

Jaxjacky Tue 15-Aug-23 10:10:39

50/50 fridge freezer in the kitchen and a small chest freezer in one of the spare bedrooms. I rarely batch cook and any leftovers from meals are used up. The upstairs one is for meat/fish/veg bought on offer, plus any meat draw wins. Kitchen one has ice, the most used meat and fish portions, ice cream cones, frozen veg, vegetarian sausages and one pizza!

Witzend Tue 15-Aug-23 09:59:51

I have only the bottom part of a fairly big fridge freezer, but we manage well enough. I still batch cook a few things.

I don’t have a massive kitchen, either, with worktop or cupboard space for air fryers/other gadgets. The actual kitchen is actually not a bad size at all, but there are 3 doors off it - hall, back door, and dining room.

ginny Tue 15-Aug-23 09:53:49

I have two upright freezers in the garage. Both are mainly full. I always freeze extra portions of home cooked meals. I make pastry in batches and freeze . I also freeze cakes and puds as I often make theses for other people. I would get lynched by my family if there were not home made cakes when they visit. Also homemade ice cream and soups.
This all means I always have something to hand on busy days or days when I don’t feel like cooking.
Also keep a stock of bread, meat and fish.

dogsmother Tue 15-Aug-23 09:52:32

Yes extra freezer out in the shed…….
We have a dog on raw food which we keep in frozen quantities so pretty necessary to have lots of space.

Whitewavemark2 Tue 15-Aug-23 09:50:22

I got rid of mine - too much phaff. And with just the two of us don’t need the back-up I once used when the children were at home and I worked.

I have one fridge freezer plus a small one for seasonal pickings.

I do have the smallest bedroom and the pantry for storage though.

GrannyGravy13 Tue 15-Aug-23 09:34:18

I have a large American style fridge freezer in the garage, which is usually full of seasonal foods in the freezer, and beer, wine and soft drinks in the fridge.

In the kitchen I have a large American style fridge freezer which is full of home cooked meals, chicken, vegetables, fish and bread products.

I think it is a hangover of always juggling work and children (now much less work and grandchildren) that I still shop as I have always done.

My larder cupboard is well stocked also, as are bathrooms with toiletries.

aggie Tue 15-Aug-23 09:26:12

I have a large upright freezer , it was to be a big American fridge freezer , I didn’t want it , but my kids thought it a good idea
Anyway it was installed , the carers had great difficulty manoeuvring round it to get OHs big chair into the room , so it had to go and the freezer exchanged
The kitchen fitter said it was the first time he had to update a new kitchen ! He put a wide shallow cupboard in and it turned out to be the best thing, so easy to find stuff in
The freezer had to go in the boiler room and the boiler rehoused at the back door !
Kids don’t always know what suits us
I bake bread , batch cook and get bargains so it is nearly always full , I think I could live for a year out of it now that I am on my own !

Wyllow3 Tue 15-Aug-23 09:16:25

No. I have a small one, which is the top part of a chest height fridge freezer. I wish it were slightly bigger to store cooked stuff, but its neat in a small kitchen.

tanith Tue 15-Aug-23 09:10:11

I have a 50/50 fridge freezer in the kitchen and a very old small one in the garage which I’ve now switched off. Now it’s just me I don’t entertain anymore I only cook for myself and a GD who comes once a week for dinner. I don’t cook huge lavish meals it’s usually fish or chicken with rice/pasta or veg so I don’t see the point of having a huge store of food. I have a meat drawer with bacon, chicken,fish,mince,burgers soya mince a veg drawer with mixed vegs, sliced onions and beans I’ve frozen from the garden and a bread/dessert/fruit drawer in which there are apples, blackberrys, rhubarb that I’ve picked and various ice creams.
It fulfills all my needs.

Primrose53 Tue 15-Aug-23 09:06:58

I have. 50/50 fridge freezer in kitchen.

In the garage I have a smallish chest freezer and a smallish upright freezer (4 drawers).,,

I freeze lots of homemade soups, bread, homegrown herbs, fish, oven chips, ice cream, raspberries etc. we don’t eat ready meals but if I am making something like a lasagne I often make 2 and freeze one because they freeze well. I stew and freeze lots of apples and rhubarb too.

Germanshepherdsmum Tue 15-Aug-23 09:03:43

I have a large upright freezer and a small freezer compartment at the top of one of the two fridges. Isn’t it a matter of what you choose to fill your freezer with? Some like Fran fill theirs with things to be cooked, others with things already cooked.

Ladyleftfieldlover Tue 15-Aug-23 09:02:49

We have a large chest freezer in the garage, a fridge freezer in the kitchen and a small freezer in the utility room. They are all usually pretty full. I keep a typed list on the kitchen freezer which lists all the items in each freezer. Each item also has a label on. We are supposed to cross things off as we use them. I retype the list after I have been shopping on a Monday.

M0nica Tue 15-Aug-23 09:01:36

In the kitchen I have a large fridge/freezer, 2 freezer drawers, below the fridge. I keep everyday staples there, frozen vegtables, bread, and associated products, bacon, sausages, and small pots of leftovers.

In the utility room I have an upright freezer that contains home made ready meals, back up products for what is in the kitchen freezer and frozen meat and fish. I like to have 'an heir and a spare' for everything, so i do not run out.

Then in the garage is my seasonal freezer, a small square chest freezer where the crop from the vegetable garden goes. Currently bags of rhubarb, courgettes, runner beans and plums and the start of the blackberry season, sees that growing by up to a 1lb a day.

GrannySomerset Tue 15-Aug-23 08:48:05

I have a 50/50 fridge freezer in the kitchen, an under the counter fridge in the utility room and a tall freezer in the garage. I cook less frequently than when DH was alive but freeze helpings for future use. Current glut of Victoria plums means the freezer will soon be full. Think I need to ask friends to lunch to use things up!

TerriBull Tue 15-Aug-23 08:42:38

I find a freezer very necessary, never more so than when we were in lock down I have a fridge/freezer in the utility room, the freezer part isn't that large. I have another, pretty old now, upright quite large freezer in the garage. I always have plenty of fish,veg, chicken, mince, ice creams (grandchildren mainly) Homemade soup having bought some soup like containers from Amazon recently, bread, my grand daughter's gluten free bits and pieces.

Sidelined Tue 15-Aug-23 08:41:13

We have a 50-50 built in fridge freezer and the freezer part never seemed adequate to me so I have an additional half-size chest freezer. I live in a rural village and in my innocence imagined being snowed in for days. Haha, has never happened but I like being prepared. I buy in bulk then batch cook and freeze so there’s a mix of frozen meals and frozen ingredients. It works for me.