This morning I did the one chore I absolutely loathe and I have to do it at least once a year, but I really should do it every six months. I have an upright freezer in the laundry room that was crammed full complete with frost build-up. I would open it, try to rearrange and do an inventory, but it had gotten overly packed with no wiggle room for anything else. I bit the bullet today as soon as I got back from Mom's house and started the process of defrosting.
I have a very non technical method which requires a load of dirty towels, 2 large pots, a large plastic bowl, a large silicon spoon, insulated bags, 2 laundry baskets, a black leaf bag, a tea kettle of boiling water, ski gloves, and about 2 hours of my time.
First I empty everything out of the freezer, establishing the priority of whether or not it has to remain frozen or will be ok at room temp (nuts and frozen pounds of butter, flours, and meals). I set all of the temperature stable foods on my cabinet top, dump the rest in insulated bags, the refrigerator freezer, or in the black leaf bag which sits in a laundry basket.
I quickly scrape any loose frost into the large plastic bowl, then put 2 large pots of steaming hot water on the top two shelves, turn the power off and shut the door. I leave the room for about ten minutes and put a towel on the floor in front of the freezer to catch the first drips. After the 10 minutes I go back in, grab the pots, pour the water into a larger pot and heat it again. While it is heating I get my trusty spoon and scrape getting as much ice off the shelves and coils as I can. Next I put 2 towels in the bottom of the freezer to catch drips, empty the plastic bowl in the sink and start the hot water in the pots process all over. It usually takes two hot water changes per shelf to get all the accumulated frost off. Meanwhile I take the towels that have absorbed water and toss them in the washing machine, and replace them as needed.
When everything is all defrosted I wipe it dry with a clean towel, wash it quickly with a water/baking soda solution, rinse it with a clean wet rag, then dry it with a couple of clean dishtowels.
Before I put anything back in it, I wipe off each bag or container with a clean dish towel.
I have a drawer for all the vegetables and have a system I have maintained for years for meats. All beef is in a red bin, all chicken is in a blue bin and all pork is in a white bin, after all, it is the other white meat. These are all on the bottom shelf which sits above the vegetable drawer. The second from the bottom houses all seafood, prepared foods (Bags of spaghetti sauce, chili, Mississippi chicken etc.), and bags of pre-cooked meats. The second shelf from the top holds frozen meals (think Lean Cuisine) breads, and odds and ends that are not specific but need to be frozen. The upper shelf is for nuts, and fruits. Flours and meals are in the shelves in the doors, with some frozen juice concentrates, packs of bacon, butter, cheese, and individual servings of keto veggies I have prepped (cauli mash, roasted brussels sprouts, etc)
Now that everything is all nice, clean organized and listed I know that I do not need to buy anything except produce. TheHub and I are going to have to do some serious eating to put a dent in the freezer inventory! Or have company, lots of company.
I have a very non technical method which requires a load of dirty towels, 2 large pots, a large plastic bowl, a large silicon spoon, insulated bags, 2 laundry baskets, a black leaf bag, a tea kettle of boiling water, ski gloves, and about 2 hours of my time.
First I empty everything out of the freezer, establishing the priority of whether or not it has to remain frozen or will be ok at room temp (nuts and frozen pounds of butter, flours, and meals). I set all of the temperature stable foods on my cabinet top, dump the rest in insulated bags, the refrigerator freezer, or in the black leaf bag which sits in a laundry basket.
I quickly scrape any loose frost into the large plastic bowl, then put 2 large pots of steaming hot water on the top two shelves, turn the power off and shut the door. I leave the room for about ten minutes and put a towel on the floor in front of the freezer to catch the first drips. After the 10 minutes I go back in, grab the pots, pour the water into a larger pot and heat it again. While it is heating I get my trusty spoon and scrape getting as much ice off the shelves and coils as I can. Next I put 2 towels in the bottom of the freezer to catch drips, empty the plastic bowl in the sink and start the hot water in the pots process all over. It usually takes two hot water changes per shelf to get all the accumulated frost off. Meanwhile I take the towels that have absorbed water and toss them in the washing machine, and replace them as needed.
When everything is all defrosted I wipe it dry with a clean towel, wash it quickly with a water/baking soda solution, rinse it with a clean wet rag, then dry it with a couple of clean dishtowels.
Before I put anything back in it, I wipe off each bag or container with a clean dish towel.
I have a drawer for all the vegetables and have a system I have maintained for years for meats. All beef is in a red bin, all chicken is in a blue bin and all pork is in a white bin, after all, it is the other white meat. These are all on the bottom shelf which sits above the vegetable drawer. The second from the bottom houses all seafood, prepared foods (Bags of spaghetti sauce, chili, Mississippi chicken etc.), and bags of pre-cooked meats. The second shelf from the top holds frozen meals (think Lean Cuisine) breads, and odds and ends that are not specific but need to be frozen. The upper shelf is for nuts, and fruits. Flours and meals are in the shelves in the doors, with some frozen juice concentrates, packs of bacon, butter, cheese, and individual servings of keto veggies I have prepped (cauli mash, roasted brussels sprouts, etc)
Now that everything is all nice, clean organized and listed I know that I do not need to buy anything except produce. TheHub and I are going to have to do some serious eating to put a dent in the freezer inventory! Or have company, lots of company.
We have an upright and they are terrible for frost...but I love it for organization. Hubby has started the process the last 2 times with a blow dryer (since he left it open and we didn't lose food but got ice buildup). It works like a charm. My nemesis is the oven....even though it is supposed to be self cleaning it isn't
ReplyDeleteI used to have a chest freezer, but I could never reach the bottom of it. I so think the upright is so much easier not only to organize but also for access ease. I have tried with the hair dryer before and it does work but I needed something that would work a little quicker. The boiling water in a pot works much faster for me (possibly because I let it get to such a horribly thick frost before I attacked it)
DeleteMy self cleaning oven is only partially self cleaning also. Now that you mention it. I need to attack it too. The cycle is never ending!
do they make stand alone freezers frost free type? I don't know a lot about freezers, but want to get a smaller chest type one for our garage in the near future. I can remember spending 2 weeks every summer at a cabin, when I was a kid, and us having to defrost it at the end of the 2 weeks, LOL.
ReplyDeleteMy sister has a small chest freezer and loves it. It is in her basement and she just empties it, rolls it out to the driveway during the hottest part of the summer, pulls the plug and lets the sun do the rest.
DeleteThey do make a frost free stand alone upright, but they are not supposed to be as good for long term storage because they have to regularly heat up enough to keep the frost from forming.
thanks for the info!
DeleteI still have a huge brisket that needs to be eaten company it is! I use a hair dryer to help speed up the melting.
ReplyDeleteI think I need to defrost more often, maybe every 6 months? Then I think the hair dryer would work. That plus I have threatened TheHub with death if he puts ice cream in the big freezer again. The constant opening and closing of the door to get short term frozen items does not help with the frost situation.
DeleteThis post inspired me to clean my fridge tomorrow now that it is almost empty. Water and baking soda here I come...
ReplyDeleteI am attacking the laundry room refrigerator tomorrow!
DeleteWe have a chest freezer. Which was a huge mistake. It needs (and has done for a while) a thorough clean out. Which I put off. And put off again.
ReplyDeleteWhen our current house guest leaves I hope to get to it. And your post might be the shame inducing impetus.
Not here to shame anyone. If you had seen mine before the defrosting you would realize there is no room for me to shame anyone.
DeleteWell done! I'm glad you have a method for defrosting, although it sounds like a lot of work! I do like your different colored bins for different meats system! I only have the freezer that comes with my side-by-side fridge/freezer. It is frost free and I like that! I should give it a quick sorting out and cleaning, before I cram it full of leftovers from tomorrow's prayer gathering! Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteIt is a little work but if I move fast I can have it all done in just over an hour. the worst part of it is cleaning all the drips that wind up on the floor.
DeleteI have 2 upright freezers in my basement and I HATE defrosting them. I try to run them down beforehand but it doesn't make much difference. But I use boiling water method too - seems to do the trick. But then again a 24-hour power cut (just before a wedding) will also do the trick!
ReplyDeleteI remember your power fiasco! Not a great way to do any defrosting though it has happened here before after major storms when power is out for 4 or 5 days.
DeleteOur freezer definitely needs to be defrosted. It's not as full as yours and it's a chest freezer, so it hasn't reached critical mass as far as defrosting goes. But it really should make it to the top of the list soon.
ReplyDeleteIt is just a job that is so easy to put off until critical mass is reached, and then it is not fun.
DeleteMy mother used a fan in front of the upright freezer. It worked. There were no hand-held hairdryers back then. I need a freezer! I am missing all the fun of defrosting a freezer.
ReplyDelete"Yep it is a really fun job" she said in a deadpan voice.
DeleteIt sounds like you have layered your freezer in proper ServeSafe order. You'd make a great lunch lady! lol
ReplyDeleteTrust me, I have worked in commercial kitchens before!
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