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.
