Freezer always full.

[smudge]

Why do we shop for more food, when the freezer is always full?

We do eat a lot of fresh food, so it always amazes me that we & friends of ours can never get another morsel in to the freezer! 

When it's time for defrosting, we usually take the food down to the local pub freezer, until ours has defrosted!

So, why do people shop for more food, when their freezers are already full?

In our case, I know it's habit rather than greed, as we don't over indulge.

[CiderMonkey]

probably 'just in case'...   :-)

[smudge]

Yes - but just how much food do we need for 'just in case' is what I'd like to know? :0)

[ursula62]

I guess you just get used to it.

My mum had two freezers - a huge chest freezer in the kitchen and the old one in the shed. The old freezer was reconnected to the mains and re-used when there was a petrol shortage when I was at junior school. It never got taken out of service as she ended up buying half a cow at a time from a farmer and keeping it frozen in the spare freezer.

Now, 35 years later my sister has 3 freezers. A Smeg fridge freezer in the kitchen, a chest freezer in her bedroom (don't ask), and another freezer in the outhouse in the garden.

History repeats itself!

I managed perfectly without a freezer for three years after I split with my ex, although I did miss frozen peas!

[brachiopod]

Is it because our freezers are full of half bags / boxes / containers of things that are "economy super-size", "family pack" or "Buy one Get One Free"?

For example, I don't eat meat myself, but cook it for my missus. Since there is now no decent butcher anywhere near me, most of the time I end up having to buy pre-packed multi-packs of, say, pork chops, or whatever, from the supermarket. I'll then use one and end up freezing the rest. I will then proceed to promptly forget that they are in the freezer at all, and end up buying more bloody multi-packs.The same applies to other 'twin pack' stuff - when you don't use both, the remainder ends up in the freezer and you forget about it.

[smudge]

That did me make me laugh ursula!

I remember back in the 'old' days, when I was 9 yrs old & before 'everyone' had fridges. I was staying at my eldest sister's house, when she asked me to pop into the garage to fetch the butter & a pint of milk from the 'fridge'. I was searching high & low for this 'fridge', when she came in & pointed to the bucket of cold water  which she kept them in! We were in stitches & it's something I'll never forget.

[smudge]

brachiopod - you sound just like my husband - a very nice man, who loves cooking!

If I'm really busy, he often kindly does the food shopping too. He comes in with, buy 1 get 1 free, this, that & the other, etc. It does my head in, as we don't need half of it & it inevitably ends up crammed into the freezer 'for a later date'! When I complain, he says our Mum's & Dad's would have been glad of what we have today. I know he's right, but we still don't need it all, bless him!  

[Robinia]

Oh smudge I've asked myself this Q so many times! I'll fill the freezer but as soon as I've used a couple of things I just have to run out & buy something to fill the gap. (I think there's a 'secure' feeling about having full freezer & cupboards).  And why is there always some very frosty obscure item at the bottom that you bought to just give it a try & then never fancy it?

[Robinia]

P.S.  Dragged myself to the shops this morning  (got another rotten cold)  despite having food in the house & came back with enough bread to feed the 5,000. Anyone got any space in their freezer??!

[smudge]

LOL Robinia - It used to be even worse when my husband went fishing & shooting - he used to bring home all sorts to freeze! I would never eat any of the 'poor' little frozen mites! Thankfully, he gave that up when the Grandchildren came along, as he knew they would object!

I hope your cold clears up soon - take care. :0)

[Dom Tuk]

I read somewhere that a freezer works most efficiently when it is full......dont know why though. My wife insists on keeping those ice cube trays filled with water. Why i ask her...no one uses ice in this house and i drink only red wine. besides if you want cold water it is available off the tap...but the ice cube trays are full...and unused and the ice smells of food anyway.

[Artemis]

My freezer is not always full but I do buy a whole lamb, half a pig and hind quarter of beef at a time. This among other things will fill the freezer but I do eat this stuff and before buying the next batch consider whether it will go in. I hasten to add that I don't buy the above in one hit. Works out an awful lot cheaper. 

[Dark Angel]

It maybe that we people have different leftovers that we store away for later and then never get down to using them as branchiopod said. Can relate to that personally. Or it maybe out of habit, even though we don't indulge we buy things "just in case" we need it. Can relate to that first hand as well!

[banjo]

Good question smudge!! I for one constantly have a full freezer cos i'm too damn lazy to wait around while the meat (or whatever it may be) defrosts and so I end up buying more fresh food instead!!

[smudge]

Thank you for all your replies, I'm glad to see I'm not alone in the freezer department!

[smudge]

Don't worry about what people think - they don't do it very often.