How long has it been since you cleaned your freezer completely out?

Cleaned out four weeks ago. Both freezer and frig, a few surprises but no “fuzzy” experiments. Empty ice maker once a month.

There’s not really much in there to clean out.

Haha…ours is packed, mostly with bread. French bread, bagels, Ciabata rolls, the endless supply of Oat Nut for the geese, same in the garage sub zero, a couple of steaks, some salmon, blueberries, frozen egg yolks and about 20 loaves of Truckee Soudough.
We love our french bread here

Mwahaahahahahahahahahaha, hope that answers your question.

I had ice building up in my freezer. I took advantage of some zero degrees F days recently and put the food outside in a cardboard box, unplugged the fridge and let the ice melt.

First time in many, many years I had to do that.

I found an ice plug that was stopping water from draining during the normal self-defrost cycle.

A am super anal about the fridge. I toss sour cream and tortillas after 4 days. I have Tater Tots from 1999 in the freezer.

Last weekend. It took about two minutes. We only buy what we’re going to use the following week. All I threw away was a carton of ice cream my husband wanted but barely made a dent in, and two nearly empty bags of frozen fruit that I was using in protein shakes for awhile. They were still good, though. I don’t see the point in buying food I don’t have plans to eat in the near future.

Amazing discipline (in my world, @Tropical_Willie! Attaboy!

By design, @chyna? You just don’t fill it, or you don’t have excess to fill?

Bread is the only thing not in my freezer, @Coloma. With only 2 people I perfer to buy mine fresh, and I’ve never known bread to keep long in the freezer.

Yup. @ZEPHYRA. That about covers the freezer over my fridge and the little upright in the basement. I’ll be all proud because I got something bulky out of one until the next day I bring home 3 things to replace it.

Great plan, @jaytkay. This time of year, though, my thermostat lies. I tried to thaw a large beef roast for several hours yesterday and just the tiniest outside layer thawed. I put it back in the freezer. Good you didn’t need repairs, though!

With that 3½ week old sour cream and those ‘99 tater tots you could make a casserole, @johnpowell. Can of soup and some cheese, and you’re good to go. :-/

The way the cost of meat is skyrocketing, @livelaughlove21, it pays to stockpile a bit, especially if you have a vacuum sealer. The meat will last years. I have (cooked) vacuum sealed hamburger in the freezer that I paid $1.99 a pound for last fall that’s now a bargain at $4 a pound.

Every week when I get home from food shopping.

@ibstubro I just don’t buy that much at one time. It would be cheaper if I did, but I usually have a few frozen dinners and maybe a bag of frozen chicken breasts.

We have staff for that.

The last time I looked at everything in the freezer was about 2 to 3 months ago I have a lot of grains in there and some chocolate coins that are about three years old (a whole bag, made in Belgium, from Costco, about $14). Not sure if I should give them away or keep them, but it kills me because they’re pretty and there’s a lot of them. I have whole cranberries that I don’t want to discard, either. I have an icemaker, so that takes up space. I will regularly go through the frozen stuff and get rid of ravioli, veggies, ice cream and anything that has freezer burn on it.

@BeenThereSaidThat what you said makes me go red in the face!

Well, for many years I had my son’s first fish he ever caught in the freezer. Also, assorted Interesting Bugs in Baby Food Jars, also donated by my son. One day I told him I was going to make a stew with those bugs!

My freezer is way too small for a family of three. So I have to clean it out every month or so. Otherwise I can’t buy anything frozen. My grandmother on the other hand has a freezer so huge that it could fit several full grown adults in it. She last cleaned it out some time in the late 70s or early 80s.

My grandmother saves weird dead things she finds too. She had a shrew and a hummingbird in there last I recall.

Just ew @keobooks!

I had a frozen flying squirrel and a baby Shrew and the worlds tiniest baby lizard in my freezer forever. Yep, I’m kinda weird, the save the cool nature specimens type for sharing purposes. haha
I used to pull out the frozen Shrew I named it ” Mountain Shrew” and pose it on visitors cocktail glasses just for kicks. My daughter and I had great fun harassing people with Mountain Shrew and the flying squirrel was proof they existed in my area when nobody would believe me when I told them I had flying squirrels eating at my bird feeders at night.

Ah HAH…well check this out, a real, frozen Northern Flying Squirrel the cat caught.lol

My grandmother is extremely eccentric…Omfg Coloma is my grandma.

@keobooks I had an uncle like that. When he died in his 80’s in 2004 we found dozens of canned goods in his pantry dated from like 1970’s. Out they went, 30 year old soup, no thanks. lol

Thanks for the laugh, @keobooks. ~ Louise. :D

My grandmother found, opened up and ate peaches that her grandmother canned God knows when. The house has been in the family since before the civil war and they were all pack rats.

@keobooks Maybe they had a stash of Laudanum too, made those peaches more palatable. A little opium with your peaches dear? lol

Amazing discipline, @BeenThereSaidThat. You have my admiration.

Gotcha, @chyna. I can’t resist stocking up.

@jca Who has room for ice cream? (Actually there may be some ice cream residue in the back somewhere. lol)

Nah, @ZEPHYRA. Think of it as your foodie time capsule. ;-)

I make it a practice not to put non-food items in my freezer, @Dutchess_III.

@keobooks Is this the wife of the grandfather I remind you of? Sounds like my kind gal, but for the shrew.

That’s just gross, @Coloma. Dead shrew on my glass = last visit!

I would eat antique peaches from someone I knew, @keobooks. I should say “sample”. Eat might be an overstatement. lol Where’s granny live? She sounds like great fun. You should let your daughter spend the summer with her!

@ibstubro yes it is the same woman. She’s a character. Still drives her tractor now and then too.

Oh, everything in my freezer was a food! Just not a food we eat today.