This is an interesting question which I debated with my mom recently. Going home for the first time in over a year, my mom had been telling me that she was cleaning our old home. She was very proud of the fact that she had thrown away a lot of stuff.
But one thing she hadn’t done was unplugged the extra fridge or freezer. My parents have 2 full size refrigerator/freezer combos and 1 full size freezer. My mom actually borrowed an energy measure, and knows how much extra energy she is consuming every month because of these extra fridge/freezer and freezer. These are old, not energy efficient units to boot.
The problem? She justifies it in her head that she’s “saving” money and being frugal by stockpiling food. But is it really frugal or a money savings? I think it isn’t. What happens if for some reason the power goes out? All that food will spoil and all the money spent will be wasted. Also it costs quite a bit extra every month to run the extra fridge/freezer. Do you really save that much by stockpiling food? I doubt it.
I think that having an extra fridge/freezer can buy peace of mind. Knowing that you don’t have to grocery shop for a month if need be. Or making meals for the month and freezing them. The extra space can be nice. But you have to weigh it against the cost of powering the extra fridge/freezer, as well as the risk if something happens and the electricity goes out. Then will you cringe at the money wasted by the food spoiling?
Do you have an extra fridge/freezer? Does it save you a lot of money or more time?
12 responses so far ↓
1 Colettte // Apr 20, 2009 at 8:45 am
My thought is that depending on the age of your parents, they were either raised during the depression, or by people who went through the depression. The BIG depression, not our current economic mess. During those times there was absolutely NO safety net. I remember my grandfather saved everything! If we had four green beans leftover from dinner, he put them in the fridge for soup later in the week. He would not waste them, nor allow them to be wasted. All rusted bent nails were collected in an old coffee can to be straightened and recycled. He made a great wagon out of an old candy machine and bicycle tires he had found one time too….
It could be that your parents have not been able to let go of that conditioning either. With that in mind, the extra fridge and freezer for you mother are not really economic savers, however, she finds emotional security in having them and the extra expense is of no real consequence if they make her feel better. She can decide when she really doesn’t need them anymore. For now, admire her efforts.
2 LAL // Apr 20, 2009 at 4:24 pm
My grandmother was but not my mom. I have no idea where these ideas come from. It definitely is emotional security but she’d be better off stockpiling canned goods and non-perishable foods if she wanted to feel better.
3 JoeP // Apr 21, 2009 at 3:48 pm
We pretty much need 2 fridge/freezer units. We have a lot of leftovers that get used for other meals and lunches, but having the extra space for frozen foods and milk (kids drink a LOT of it) is nice. Plus, I put my beer kegs in the basement fridge. If the power goes out, we have a generator. I wouldn’t call it a luxury by today’s standard any more I would 2 cars for a household.
4 Rini // Apr 21, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Hmm… It’s actually possible that she does save “that much” money by stockpiling (although I don’t know exactly what numbers we’re talking about, of course).
Extreme couponers can save unbelievable amounts of money by “buying” items for free (give or take a few cents) and storing them until the next sale. I’m talking more than 90% in savings. After accounting for the cost of acquiring the coupons.
Is that what your mom is doing? Oh, probably not. It’s probably a little bit of “savings” and a lot of peace of mind. But don’t assume that a setup like hers CAN’T be worth it.
5 Meg // Apr 21, 2009 at 5:28 pm
My family always had an extra fridge (and an extra deep freezer) in the basement. They certainly came in handy (esp the freezer since our main one was small) with a family of 6 and the nearest grocery store 15 miles away. But I’m sure we could have done without it.
I can’t see that I would ever need that much refridgerated/frozen food storage space, unless I really lived far from a grocery and had a huge family and didn’t have time to hit the grocery store once a week (all unlikely).
It’s one thing to have a pantry full of canned goods and dry foods for the occassional “emergency,” but who really needs all that cold storage space? Foods that require it are by definition fresh, short term foods (milk, cheese, meats, veggies) which in my opinion shouldn’t be stored over long periods of time if one can help it.
Mainly because I’m a food snob and I think it’s kind of gross – not to mention relatively unhealthy – to eat something that’s been frozen for months on end.
Food prices are pretty stable. I say buy what you need (preferably fresh), cook and eat it, and then go buy more. There’s no real need to stockpile masses of drinks and foods.
6 LAL // Apr 21, 2009 at 11:33 pm
JoeP, do you go through food fast? With two people my parents likely don’t go through it with the same speed as a large family.
Rini I agree couponers can save a lot. But I wonder how fast they go through food? Like Meg, I don’t really want to eat my parents 2-3 year old meats that have been frozen to be honest. It’s a bit of a food snobbery, but still.
To freeze things that expired in the early 2000s?
7 Marcia // Apr 23, 2009 at 1:03 pm
It really depends. We have an extra small freezer. We have noticed the increase in our electricity bill.
Does it save money? Depends. Our eating habits vary, but we don’t eat a lot of meat. For many, an extra freezer can save you a bunch on meat. Buy in bulk on sale, buy a half cow all at once. Or if you hunt, like my relatives, a deer or two to get you through the winter.
There’s also the Economides family, who only shops once a month. If you do that, and have a large family, you need an extra freezer. My parents live in the country. It’s quite a haul to get to a grocery store, so they only shop once a month too. A lot of the “just buy fresh” folks have always lived in cities or the burbs.
And what about garden produce? We are just starting to garden, but we belong to a CSA. A lot of fresh things will freeze very well…pesto, onions, lemon juice, tomatoes, broccoli, berries. It can be very money-saving to grow or buy produce and freeze it in season.
I tend to do this with pesto, greens, and jams. We got a ton of plums last year from the CSA and friends, and we made plum freezer jam (I just haven’t branched out into regular canning). We also made pumpkin butter, and froze that. We buy edamame in 4-lb bags. If someone brings in a bag of lemons, I go home, zest them, juice them, and freeze both.
I make chicken or turkey stock from carcasses, and freeze in 32-oz containers.
You can also freeze bread and milk. I occasionally will buy 2-gal of milk to get the deal, and I always buy bread from the day-old rack and freeze it for late. That saves me $2 a loaf alone.
Stockpiling is a personal thing. I am occasionally tempted to stockpile, but then you have to work it all in rotation. I figure for me, I prefer being able to have about 3 months food on hand (vs. 6 months or a year). In case of an emergency (like the fires we had here last year), I can feed my family for the short term. Or job loss.
8 LAL // Apr 23, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Great points! Thanks. What do you think the effect is of freezing food though? Do you think it still tastes the same and is worth freezing meats, veggies, bread, milk?
9 Marcia // Apr 24, 2009 at 11:55 am
For milk (1%), no difference. For bread, I notice no difference UNLESS there’s a rip in the packaging that I didn’t see, then it’s obviously stale, and it gets tossed.
Veggies are fine too…particularly things that you’d already buy frozen.
Meats…depends on how they are packaged. We don’t eat much meat.
10 JoeP // Apr 24, 2009 at 12:09 pm
I’ve heard good things about vacuum sealers, and am tempted to buy one so we can freeze produce when it is inexpensive (e.g., locally grown and bought at harvest). Also, meats would benefit from this.
11 LAL // Apr 25, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Do you freeze veggies fresh? I wonder about that vacuum sealer joe and if it would be worth it? They are pretty pricey
12 Marcia // Apr 25, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Google “freezing vegetables”, and you’ll find out which ones need to be blanched first.
I have a sealer, used mostly for cheese and sometimes meat. I probably won’t replace it when it dies. It was a Christmas present.
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