I Sleep with My Freezer

Jesse and I have a chest freezer in our bedroom. One of the big perks of moving to our new apartment is that we will get to store the chest freezer in our new second bedroom. I’m sure that having a freezer in a second bedroom is still odd to all of your lucky people who possess garages or basements, but I think it will feel like pure decadence to us.

Why We Have a Freezer in Our Bedroom

How did we come to have a chest freezer in our bedroom? Well, about a year and a half ago I was slowly losing my mind over getting things to fit in the freezer above our refrigerator. I’d started buying whole chickens from our CSA and they just didn’t fit well into that little freezer, especially when I tried to buy two at a time so as to cut down on how often I needed to drive to the across town pick-up site. I was also buying some packages of grass-fed ground beef and trying to freeze a few pre-cooked meals, and well, you get the idea.

The last straw was when we started to consider splitting a quarter of a cow with some friends. There was no way that 40 or so pounds of meat would fit in the above fridge freezer, considering how tight it was already. So we did some research and eventually decided to purchase a small chest freezer.

The freezer went in the bedroom because there was absolutely no place for it in the dining room, kitchen or living room, but we did have an available wall in our bedroom once I moved a few things around.

Other than the fact that it takes up space, it really has been fine having it in the bedroom. It makes some noise from time to time when it turns on, but we sleep with an air filter for white noise so we don’t really notice. It is a little funny to be constantly traipsing into the bedroom with my arms full of meatballs, roast, frozen fruit, or other foods bound for the freezer, but sometimes real food just makes you odd. 🙂

Why I Love My Chest Freezer

I am so, so glad that we decided to purchase our freezer. It makes my life easier in many ways:

1. Most of the time I don’t need to fight with the freezer to get things to fit. Sure, occasionally I will order too much meat or try to store too many servings of meatballs, but for the most part I just put things in and close the lid. No longer do I have to rearrange a bunch of things in order to get anything new to fit.

2. I can freeze a lot more than I used to be able to. Not just raw meats, which really need to be frozen, but also meals or parts of meals like soups or pre-cooked meats.

3. I can make bigger orders from our CSA or Azure. Our CSA doesn’t always have all the meats I want in stock, so when I see them come in I like to order a lot to hold me for a while. Ten stewing hens definitely won’t fit in my above fridge freezer. Similarly, my Azure order group now only orders every two months, so I always need to stock up on things that may have to go in the freezer.

4. I have enough room for the frozen container for my ice cream maker. Being able to make ice cream makes me happy.

5. The whole “we have a freezer in our bedroom” is also a great conversation starter. 🙂

If you don’t think you have room for a freezer but really want one anyway, I encourage you to think creatively about the space you have available. Maybe you’ll find an unusual solution that works for you.

Do you have a chest freezer? How does it affect your real food life?

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11 Responses to I Sleep with My Freezer

  1. I'm still so glad you let me know a while back that you had a chest freezer in your bedroom, I love having one now, even if it's in my living room! I keep dreaming of someday having a place where I have enough room for an upright one!
    • Meghan says:
      Ah, yes, I also lust after an upright freezer. :) I get a little tired of taking everything out when I want to get to the bottom of the chest freezer. Although it's a much nicer experience when I remember to wear gloves.
  2. Taryn says:
    we have a stand alone freezer in our basement- I was so happy to get it- I bought half a grass fed cow! The cow is almost gone- so the freezer is getting empty. time to buy another one I guess.
    • Meghan says:
      Our quarter cow is almost gone, too. Where did you get your half cow from?
      • Taryn says:
        We got our cow from Lasater grasslands beef. I found them from eatwild.com I believe. I was really happy with the meat. where di you get yours? Grant?
        • Meghan says:
          I got our first quarter through Grant Farms; the most recent one was from Windsor Dairy. Thanks for sharing your source. I was curious to do more price comparison for next time.
  3. I just love your blog! If you really want it, you will make room for it! I linked to this from my blog's FB page.
  4. I think a chest freezer is one of the best investments anyone can make! I got mine as a wedding gift. :-) It's what I asked for. lol
  5. marc says:
    its winter time right now, i moved in a 14.8 cu ft chest freezer into my room and re-adjusted the thermostat to regular fridge temps like 45*F. and gosh, last night was 48*F outside and the fridge got my room down to very close to freezing temps, i need a fridge for my bulk wholesale organic produce that i get from the "wholesale produce market/Hub" BTW which is 50% less cost that the health food market organic fruits, etc. i cant afford the 99% organic diet otherwise. so my alternative is to build a super efficient refridgerator cabinet myself. i bet i will save at least 40% energy on top of the already super low yearly cost of this type of conversion. ( avg yearly cost is $38.00 minus about 60% for the Freezer to Fridge Conversion is $11.4/YEAR!.....minus an ADDITIONAL 40% MORE EFFICIENT for a fridge design that doesn't Get Cold on the Outer Shell...GOLD!) the savings are FAKE! lol P.S. Fridge Energy V.S. Freezer Energy To cool down a fridge from avg surrounding ambient temp (75*F) to ideal temp of 36*F Temp Difference 75*F-36*F = 39*F to cool down a freezer from avg surrounding ambient temp (75*F) to an ideal temp of -20*F Temp Difference = 95*F simplified the Freezer Compressor only has to work at 40% of max power output. hence avg yearly cost for this model is $38.00 minus 60% for the Freezer to fridge conversion equals 15.20 per year. compare this to an upright Frigidaire 17 cu ft all-Fridge at $48/year energy cost. FUNNNNNNN AHHHH HAHAHAHAHA

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