Empty Freezer Drawers

[Urban Ayisha]

I've just moved into a new flat and there is a fridge freezer with a freezer compartment that is as big as the fridge bit! this is a bit of a nuisance for me as the only frozen thing i would ever have is a tub of ice cream, and ive now got 4 large empty freezer drawers!! I imagine they are using a lot of electricity to keep nothing very cold!... any ideas? I've heard stuffing the drawers with newspaper... not sure of the effect of this!

[ina]

I take it the thing comes with the flat? Fridge freezers are highly inefficient; I would get rid of it and put in a small fridge, if you can do it.

Otherwise, I think filling the drawers with milk cartons (filled with water) is done by some.

[Urban Ayisha]

unfortunately removing the fridgefreezer isnt an option.... perhaps when i harvest the allotment? what is good to freeze?

[pumpy]

From the allotment?...store any root crop, blanche & freeze any brassicas,beans,etc, & to get best use from a empty freezer,fill it with anything bulky, i.e. containers of water(can later be used for irrigation),cheap loaves o' bread(excellent bread pudding,later) or bags of grass cuttings......lovely winter silage for slugs & snails!!

[Annpan]

This came up a while ago and I remember someone very intelligent (I don't remember who) said don't put water in bottles, just put in empty bottles to stop cold air from 'falling' out... does that make sense?
As long as you keep the freezer closed it shouldn't use up a huge amount and yes you can keep loads of surplus fruit and veg in it, and home-made ready meals - When I was heavily pregnant I filled the freezer with hearty soups, stews, etc to be quick healthy meals for me when I was too exhausted to cook... trust me, you will be

[Turf cutter man]

I have heard that polystyrene in the empty drawers makes a big difference. A good way to use that horrible stuff!

[LBR]

Could you swap with a neighbor who has a smaller one? I gave my giant fridge to a neighbor and bought a tiny one that sits on a small set of shelves. I don't have to lean over to get to the bottom shelf. There is a teensy freezer that I keep a couple of packages of froz veggies or butter in. I wish it would hold a container of ice cream, but, perhaps it's good that it doesn't.

Bread, even if it's for feeding the birds, is, I agree, a good idea. If you can use it to store food you will eat later, that'd be great.

If you really don't want to use the freezer, perhaps someone could disconnect it. I don't know if the freezer and refrigerator are on separate systems.

[Thomzo]

When I first got my new freezer I wandered along to the local supermarket and bought all the bread with yellow stickers on to fill it up. Now I'm gradually using the bread and replacing it with stuff I've made or grown.

The good thing is that you can buy food that's reduced because it's reached its sell-by date and shove it in the freezer.

Zoe

[tiggy]

I always make batches of the "usual suspects" like chilli , curry ,bolognaise sauce and hearty soups and freeze in the handy plastic boxes from the local chinese.I also freeze leftovers and leftover scraps of uncooked pastry making something when i get enough collected.Boris makes a weeks worth of bread and rolls and freezes these. I keep a few good local sausages and some meat also frozen peas so between this lot and the store cupboard we wont starve.

[colhut]

just put in empty bottles to stop cold air from 'falling' out... does that make sense?

Spot on. what wastes energy is everytime you open the door the cold air drops out, is replaced by warm air which takes energy to cool it down. what you need to do is occupy the space with something that takes as little energy as possible to cool down. so empty bottles or Stony's idea of polystyrene or scrunched up newspaper. Anything realy to use up the space.

[lsm1066]

Actually, I have bread and milk in the freezer. They're the two things we get through the most of, so having a supply on hand is always useful. Just remember to take the milk out and let it defrost at room temperature overnight. You can also freeze anything from your allotment. Alternatively, switch it off, use it as a store cupboard and buy a small fridge instead.

Lynne