Freezer Defrost and Reorganisation

Defrosting the freezer is one of those jobs that I really don't enjoy.  I know it's necessary and all that and I usually do it at least once a year, usually before Christmas.  Consequently, it was looking pretty bad and desperately needed a good defrost. I've kept waiting until I didn't have much in it, but it just wasn't happening.

We've got a second stand alone freezer in OH's office, (our basement) which I bought to store allotment produce.  In all honesty, I've hardly used it, as I don't have that much produce from the allotment as it is quite a small plot.

In addition, the noise and presence of it in OH's office isn't really appreciated and he wants to build some storage into the space it currently inhabits.  As his parents have recently been looking for a new under counter freezer, I have offered it to them.  We just need to take it up north with us next chance we get.

Before I lose it forever, I decided I needed to use it to help me defrost the freezer in the kitchen, which currently has quite a bit of meat in it.  It's well frosted up as the photos attest to and the ice is taking up precious space for storage.

We don't have a large freezer, just two shelves, so space is of a premium and in an attempt to re-organise the freezer a bit more satisfactorily, I decided to splash out and buy some new freezer containers to store leftovers and other loose things that I freeze, such as pesto cubes, tomato puree cubes, garlic cubes, fruit, home grown vegetables, meat for the dog, etc. Here's the stack of boxes I bought at Poundland the other day to do the job.

I spent £6 buying all of these, but it will be money well spent if it makes life easier when putting away the shopping every week.

I plugged in the other freezer and let it get cold overnight and then the next day I set about transferring the contents so that I could get on with the job.  Here's a photo of the freezer before I started work...

....and here's the end result.

A few things did get thrown away, mainly due to the fact that they didn't look too good and had been in there for far too long.  The chicken got removed to defrost for our Sunday lunch too, which freed up some room.  When it was done, it felt very satisfying to have a more organised and better utilised space. I'm aiming to use much of what is in here this month and whittle the contents down in the lead up to Christmas.