Gransnet forums

House and home

Help! Struggling to reach the bottom of new freezer.

(18 Posts)
JackyB Mon 27-Jan-20 16:03:09

I often did out my Mum's freezer when I was staying with her. If you store stuff in bags, you need tall, narrow bags, so you are not piling things on top of each other, and all tops are accessible.

Maybe something like this:

images.app.goo.gl/urgUoPBS24caqU8k7

grandtanteJE65 Mon 27-Jan-20 13:05:56

When I had a chest freezer I bought a couple of wire bike baskets to put in the bottom of the freezer. I could then lift them by the handle.

Carrier bags lasted well then, but it was ten or fifteen years ago, so I don't know if they will still last well.

Farmor15 Sat 25-Jan-20 10:42:13

I also use large supermarket plastic bags in freezer, and keep one basket in bottom which can be lifted out to check contents. My problem is always finding things I know are there. I have a “sort of” system, but it always gets rearranged when looking for something?

M0nica Sat 25-Jan-20 09:59:47

make sure any boxes on the bottom of the freezer have something in them.

The cost of cooling empty spaces in a freezer is more expensive than cooling space filled with frozen food.

Callistemon Sat 25-Jan-20 09:50:44

I don't have any advice but we bought a very tall upright freezer to replace two smaller ones and I can't reach the top two compartments so have to keep a stool handy.

Keep it full so that you don't fall into it!

Franbern Sat 25-Jan-20 09:36:57

Not offering any help - have not had chest freezer for many decades - but this thread brought to mind our first freezer -purchased in 1960's. Large and heavy - was a commercial one _hubbie was working for a large chain of fish and chip stores at the time. The only way we could defrost it regularly, was to take everything out, then I would climb into it and then use towels to mop up the water lapping around my ankles.
reasonably easy to do when you are in the 20's!!!!!!

Grannytomany Mon 20-Jan-20 21:20:25

Yes, BlueSapphire - that’s what I was envisaging happening to me! smile

Thank you all so much for your answers. I’m very encouraged that the long life bags work well so that’s what I’ll do and I also think a grabber hanging up next to the freezer would be worth having too.

I’d never have thought of using upturned boxes to raise the floor of the freezer but think it’s a brilliant idea and something I might well adopt if I think I can afford to lose the space they’ll take up.

I do like this forum.

BlueSapphire Mon 20-Jan-20 20:40:00

Yes I use the large supermarket bags as well, and also it makes it easier to know where everything is. I keep all my bread in one, for instance, and veggies in another. I think if I were to fall headfirst into my freezer I would probably end up like one of those bodies that they find frozen from the Ice Age!

Coolgran65 Mon 20-Jan-20 19:04:12

I also use plastic bags to keep together like items.
But usually ask my dh to get xxx out of the garage chest freezer. smile

Whiff Mon 20-Jan-20 18:55:20

My mom couldn't reach the bottom of the freezer so I put large plastic boxes in the bottom upside down. So it was raised up and had a level surface to put food on.

JuliaM Mon 20-Jan-20 18:50:31

I keep a long handled disability grabber stick by my chest freezer, it easily reaches to grab things from the very bottom of the freezer, but l also have used the Sainsbury’s bags for life with the woven handles that work well and keep the batches of bagged soft fruits from our garden tidy and together throughout the winter months. I also have an upright freezer with draws in my utility room for keeping the smaller items in, including a stash of ice creams for the grandchildren when they visit, much cheaper than buying individual ones from the local shop!

MawB Mon 20-Jan-20 18:47:31

Do,you remember Hamster baskets for chest freezers?
What hamsters had o do with freezers always escaped me but they were quite the thing in the 70’s /80’s when we were all getting our first freezers (and possibly our last hamsters) ? grin

Calendargirl Mon 20-Jan-20 18:46:11

I use my freezer baskets to put groceries in the car boot. Very handy, better than bags.

cornergran Mon 20-Jan-20 18:39:34

Serious freezer envy envy here. We’ve only space for a fridge freezer sad.

Namsnanny Mon 20-Jan-20 18:34:52

Sorry to say I haven't got an answer, in fact I'm looking at fridges and freezers at the moment, and finding similar problems.
So I will be interested in the replies you receive!

I presume you are discussing a chest freezer?

FlexibleFriend Mon 20-Jan-20 18:30:41

I've had a few woven polyester type shopping bags in my freezer for over a year and they still look like new. I got freezer baskets with mine but I found them awkward to use so chucked them out.

craftyone Mon 20-Jan-20 18:30:38

I used sainsbury supermarket long life bags with the flat bottoms, excellent for dividing contents and for lifting

Grannytomany Mon 20-Jan-20 18:23:33

We’ve just replaced our old overflow freezer which lives in the garage and I’m struggling to reach the bottom of it as it’s significantly deeper than the old one.

Has anyone else faced this problem and managed to find a solution to it? A friend suggested that I keep stuff in supermarket shopping bags so that I could just use the handles to lift stuff out but I’ve no idea whether the low temperature would harm the bags. Ditto buying sone kind of plastic baskets.

Can anyone give me the benefit of their experience please?