A Thing of Beauty

I need to introduce you to my new best friend:  Beauty.  Beauty is my new upright freezer.  I planned on naming her Betty, Joy, Martha, or some other feminine food-related name.  In the end though, I found myself saying, "Hello, Beauty," every time I passed her.  So, Beauty it is.

I've been dreaming of Beauty for years.  Yes, years.  I never really thought she'd be a reality because of 1) the cost, and 2) the space.  We already have a second fridge in our organized-but-jam-packed garage.  I just didn't see a spot.

A couple months ago, I started looking at the space differently.  When you walk into the garage, there was a shelving unit filled with board games right in front of you.  Behind the shelves, was our second refrigerator.  With K getting older, I started realizing that many of these games hadn't been used in years.  I took them all down, and got rid of half our games.  Some went into our coat closet, a few went to K's room, a few to friends, and the rest to Goodwill.  With that shelving unit gone, there was now room for an UPRIGHT FREEZER.  WHOHOOOOO!!!!

I started looking around.  Read my Consumer Reports.  Debated between frost-free models and manual defrost models.  Lots of pros/cons for both. Ended up with a frost-free Energy Star rated one from Sears.  There was a Frigidaire model in competition too, but the price on the Sears model sealed the deal.   

Beauty arrived on Superbowl Sunday, just before our guests.  I couldn't wait for the game to be over.  The organizing bug was in me and was begging to come out!

I sketched and planned.  I bought some new plastic bins and labeled them.  I've cooked batches and batches of food.  I've sucked and sealed bags galore.  I bought a quarter cow.  The freezer is now full...full of pre-made meals that will make busy work day meals a dream.

Looking back at my organized freezer pics pre-Beauty, I'm amazed at how little room I actually had.    There was never room for seasonal/holiday foods.   There wasn't room for much variety.  No room for an extra bag of ice.   All that has changed!

Before Beauty:  The kitchen freezer

The kitchen freezer now has four plastic bins just for vegetarian food.  It also has a section for breakfast foods, and ice.  The door holds a whole row of juice cans.  Ice packs and yeast are on the lower door shelf.  The outside freezer (above the fridge) has berries in the door, and is waiting for the quarter cow to fill it up!