Deep Freezer Dilemma

sarahd

Mon, Oct 31 2005, 2:22 pm

We will be moving iy"h in a few months and plan to put in a new kitchen. I have the following choice as regards freezers:

1- Have a refrigerator with a small freezer (think really small by American standards, narrow, shallow and low) and a nice big deep freezer upstairs,

2- Have the same refrigerator, with an under-the-counter deep freezer and our current small deep freezer upstairs. The advantage of this is not having to run upstairs every time I need to get something more than 1 chicken out of the freezer. The disadvantage is losing cabinet/drawer space under the counter.

What do you think?

(Once I have this problem solved, I plan to ask for your opinions regarding stoves and refrigerators....oh, and then there's oven questions... LOL

)

sarahd

Mon, Oct 31 2005, 3:39 pm

I don't have room for a fridge and big deep freezer in the kitchen, so my question is really how annoying does it get to have to keep running upstairs to get anything more than absolute basics from the freezer.

Tovah

Mon, Oct 31 2005, 4:39 pm

I think the freezer on the bottom of the fridge is an easy way for kids to get in and get those freezes and ice cream. anyways if u have another freezer I would go with the small freezer on top.

Rivk

Mon, Oct 31 2005, 4:45 pm

Is losing cabinet/drawer space a big deal? Can you afford to lose that space? How big is the kitchen to begin with? I think I would find it pretty inconvenient to keep running upstairs.

shanie5

Mon, Oct 31 2005, 7:51 pm

I have the same ques as rivk. do you need that xtra cabinet space. also, depending what u keep in upstairs freezer, the little one(s) may sneak things when your in the kitchen.

red sea

Mon, Oct 31 2005, 8:27 pm

My advice from my personal experience is that you need to design your kitchen based on your own usage and cooking style, think of everything that has been problematic til now and all the things that worked out great. If the idea of running upstairs has you already unhappy - try to fit it in the kitchen, though keep it secondary to overcrowding elsewhere. I reccomend planning the organiztion in great detail, down to which shelf/cabinet etc you will keep each of your kitchen items in. You wont be sorry, I spent about a month planning, maybe 10 hrs a wk, but it's worth it to have an organized, neat, problem/annoyance free kitchen. good luck.

sarahd

Tue, Nov 01 2005, 1:34 am

I can partially compensate for the lost cabinet space. My kitchen is fairly small, so I probably won't have enough space no matter what I do. Interesting point about kids going into the upstairs freezer. If I have just a small one upstairs, it'll have mostly raw meats, fish and challah - not much to tempt a child. But a bigger one will have cake and ice cream. Something to think about, although they could also get into the kitchen freezer, as someone pointed out.

Motek

Tue, Nov 01 2005, 8:02 am

as I write, my deep freezer in the kitchen is defrosting, with pails to catch the water and a mop to mop up the drips

a freezer UPSTAIRS? will you have to defrost it? is that something that can be done upstairs?

sarahd

Tue, Nov 01 2005, 9:30 am

Well, 1) I plan to get a No-Frost freezer and 2) in case it turns out that they tricked me, the freezer is to stand in the laundry room which will have a floor that can cope with possible washing machine overflows.

Milk Munch

Wed, Nov 02 2005, 5:57 pm

First of all, if you are getting a deep freezer, you need to get one WITH frost. The frost free ones freezer burn your food just like the small ones on top of your refrigerator. (How do you think they keep the frost away? By defrosting your freezer and everything in it). Wich is really counterproductive if you want to stock up and keep things in there for more than a week at a time.
Secondly, I have the same situation. I have a fridge/freezer in my kitchen and a deep freezer in my basement. It is really not a big deal to run down and get things. It is well worth it to be able to stock up and have the extra storage space. My upstairs freezer is actually practically empty except for ice cubes.