How do I organise a chest freezer in the shed?

rosie383

I have just been given a small chest freezer on Freegle. We are lucky to have a shed which is insulated, dry, and with electricity so we have space for the freezer.

So far, so good. When I Google how to organise it, I see lots of lovely ideas about using ziplock bags, baskets etc. Great. But the shed is at the bottom of quite a long garden with stepping stones in a long lawn to reach it.

I already have the freezer part of my fridge freezer full of portioned meat, veg, YS bakery products etc.

Do I make a list of stuff in both freezers and keep it in the kitchen?
How do I decide what goes into the kitchen freezer, and what goes down the garden? I don't want to have to keep trekking up and down there all the time especially in the winter.
I have got some duplicate things which can go, but I just don't really know what to do beyond that.
I know you guys are great at stating the obvious for poor souls like me whose brains have decided to go blank, so please fire away with your ideas.

By the way, I really, really appreciate having a problem like this. I have wanted a chest freezer for so many years and know it can only help with money saving.

Goldiegirl

Do you know if the freezer will work ok in the shed?


I say this as many freezers these days are designed to work at room temperature. If the freezer is placed in the cold, there's a danger that it'll switch off.


I have my freezer in my integral garage (part of the house), and got a Beko, which will work in temperatures down to -15 C


But most other freezer manufacturers say that the coldest ambient temperature that the appliance will work effieciently in is 10C


Best to find out that it'll work before making too many plans

rosie383

Thanks Goldiegirl. The lady who gave it to me has had it in her she'd for years and I don't think the walls were insulated like ours so I think it should be okay.

maman

I had a chest freezer in the shed for many years and it worked just fine. I'd suggest you use the chest freezer like a storecupboard and 'shop' from it every week when you're doing your meal plan.


So what ends up indoors would be things like frozen veg and the meat/fish and any ready meals (HM of course;)) that you intend to eat that week. And then you'd need a sort of miscellaneous drawer indoors for things that go into recipes like chorizo or ginger or grated cheese. And perhaps some bread.


Outside I'd have all the portioned meat and fish, batchcooked meals and any YS bargains you pick up like bread. Maybe if you've room some milk for emergencies.


I'm sure if you find yourself running down the garden regularly you'll perhaps tweak your original plan.


Definitely have an inventory for both. I keep one for my freezer. It's nothing fancy just a list on a piece of paper in headings (Fish, Meat, Ready Meals, Veg, Other). I just rewrite it when it has too much crossing out on it.


Good Luck.

rosie383

Maman that is perfect. Exactly what I need to do. I love the idea of using it as a store and bringing in what I need weekly for my menu. Might encourage me to actually do a menu regularly. Makes the day so much easier if I know what I'm going to cook but I have to admit to not always doing it.
I also didn't think of extra milk. Only ever freeze YS milk so that's a great idea.

Goldiegirl

Yes, definitely keep an inventory for both freezers.


I keep mine on a word document on my computer. I put the date and a description of everything that goes in, and then delete it when it comes out of the freezer.



In your situation, I'd work to a meal plan, then on the Sunday, I'd make sure everything I needed for the week was in the kitchen freezer, and everything else could stay in the chest freezer in the shed. Then it'd only be one trek down the garden a week!

Islandmaid

I would suggest running it with cheaper items (like YS bread) in for 6 weeks or so, just to make sure it doesn't,t go pfutt and break down

I once lost a freezer full,of meat when a new to me garage freezer broke down, and didn't notice for a couple days - very expensive loss...

Apart from that I agree with Maman - use it for longer term items - mine stored a lot of milk too, as we lived miles away from any shops

krlyr

Another alternative, if you find yourself using it a lot, could be a cheap shed by the back door. We have a garage we plan to run power down to, and eventually it'll be rebuilt to a much better condition than it is now and I'll have a little kitchenette down there (I raw-feed my dogs so a freezer & prep area would be great), but for now we're going to buy a cheap 6x4 shed and plonk it outside the back door, so I don't have to run down to the end of our (130'!) garden each time. Sheds do crop up on Freegle etc. type sites too, or cheaply on eBay.

midnightraven3

as a precaution I would half fill a small plastic bottle with water, and freeze it upright in your inside freezer. Then put it on its side in your outide freezer. It will defrost if anything goes wrong and you will see the water or if its refrozen, ice the length of the bottle instead of the other way around like it was when you put it in. We have one in our outside freezer as they can be temperamental.
we use ours like a store, as already mentioned and we "shop" in there couple of times per week and keep an inventory of both freezers

rosie383

I put just bread things in there yesterday and went through my indoor freezer making an inventory and marking extra items which I will transfer down the garden today. It was dark, cold and wet and I didn't want to trudge down there.

We won't put a shed by the back door as we are planning an extension and I am hoping to have a utility room so hopefully it will just be this winter that the freezer will have to be down there.

Thanks as always, for the help. I'm off to put a bottle of water in the freezer as suggested. Guaranteed though I will come across it in the indoor freezer in a few days and wonder what on earth it's doing there!