If you find that you can’t take advantage of sales on perishable foods because you don’t have freezer space, then you may want to consider buying a freezer. Will you be buying only enough freezer food to last 1 week, or hope to buy enough to last 1-3 months? This will help you determine what size freezer to buy. Also, will you be using it only for store bought frozen goods, or will you also be using it for home made goods like leftovers, freezer meals, jams, or home preserved freezer foods?
Since most frozen foods need to be used within 1-6 months, choose a freezer size that accomidates the amount of food that you plan on storing that fits within that time frame--Freezing food does NOT make it last forever!!!! Freezer food just like any other food has an expiration date when it should be used by, it can and will get freezer burn if left in the freezer too long and/or not stored properly; it also will lose flavor, texture and nutrition as it sits in the freezer. Choosing the size that fits your family is best--because a full freezer will operate at optimum energy savings compared to a partially filled freezer, so you don't want one too big, but also not too small.
Once you've decided you want a freezer, you'll need to decide your budget and save for one; but also determine if you want an upright or a chest freezer.
Upright or Chest?
Both work great for freezing food, but have different advantages and disadvantages in convenience. If you like to see and organize by type of food, uprights work better for that as chest freezers you have to stack things on top of other things--which means removing top items to get to bottom items. If floor space is an issue you can get more storage in an upright for the floor space it takes up. Also uprights tend to be auto defrost, whereas most chest freezers will need to be manually defrosted periodically to maintain optimum energy usage. If you are short or have a hard time reaching down into things and lifting things, an upright is more convenient. Upright freezer doors open out like on a fridge, whereas the door on a chest freezer opens up. As far as floor space, uprights can store more in less floor space than a chest freezer because they store using vertical space rather than horizontal.
It is really a personal preference as to which type of freezer is more convenient and desirable. Generally chest freezers are cheaper to buy and run, but both work well and provide space to freeze foods.
Freezers can be money savers when you are able to buy things on sale. They can also waste money if not filled, as well as if the food goes bad because it is left in the freezer too long. Be sure to make a plan to use the food within the time frame each type of food should be used to get the best bang for your buck.
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