Every year about this time I like to defrost my freezer and get ready for all the vegetables I will be freezing once it’s time to start harvesting from our backyard garden.Plus, it’s a chance to take inventory on our food situation. I try to do it when the weather is still kind of mild, but warm enough to help the melting process along.
If you have never defrosted your freezer, it’s super simple. Before you start, get your supplies ready:
- A cooler with ice, an empty inside freezer, or a borrowed space in the neighbor’s freezer to store the food while you clean
- Towels {and lots of them}
- A bucket
- A fan {if you plan to hurry up the melting process–I usually don’t}
To start, empty the food from your freezer. You should have a cooler stocked with ice ready to go for the food you will need to keep cold while your freezer is melting.
Then, unplug your freezer or turn it all of the way down. I just unplug mine, because I don’t want to pay for electricity I am not using. But if you are pressed for time, set up a fan to help melt the ice.
If you don’t have a frost-free freezer, get the towels. There is going to be water–and a lot of it. You can put towels down on the floor all around the freezer and put some in the bottom of the freezer as well. This will help contain some of the mess. {Eventually, you will need to wring the towels into the bucket.}
Once the freezer is dry, I typically spray it down with vinegar and wipe it clean. {Usually there is some sort of unidentified spill that I can’t get clean until it’s completely melted.}
That’s it, now plug it back in. Just remember, it will take several hours before the freezer is cold enough to put your food back in.
How often do you clean your freezer? Any tricks you’ve learned to make it easier?
~Mavis
If you are looking for a way to maximize your freezer space, check out my post on How to Freeze Soup, Sauce, and Puree. It’s super easy to do!
ann says
Where did you get those freezer dividers? They look great for organizing foods.
Mavis says
Hi Ann, they came with the freezer.
Melissa says
When the ice starts to get soft, I take the dull edge of a knife and just scrap it off. That avoids some of the water mess.
Greg Griffin says
Never thought about doing this, thanks for bringing it up! I have 2 freezers, one for animal products and one for the rest. The one for the rest is practically empty as food was eaten through the winter and spring. I’ll be defrosting that one first, then moving the animal foods to that one and defrosting it. Thanks!!
Cynthia says
After you unload the freezer & unplug it, you can put buckets of hot water in the freezer & close the door, this will make the ice fall off very quickly, I take the chunks of frost out, mop up the bottom & wipe out the interior with baking soda solution. we usually have the whole job done in about an hour.
Linda says
Once a year, my husband & I team up to do a cleaning & inventory. We unload the freezer shelf-by-shelf, clean, & then re-load taking notes of what is on which shelf. All this info goes into a binder that is divided by tabs … beef, broth, bread, etc. This information includes size/weight and date. When we need a pound of ground beef for example, we can easily find it and use the oldest dated food first.
julie comtois says
when i defrost my freezer, i put everything in the bath and put thick blankets on the food so it stays frozen all along the process
it always worked well for me…better than a cooler
Rachael says
Yes, I like the dividers…. Where did you get them?
I aim to defrost before we get our quarter of a cow. And I use a rice paddle to knock the chunks of ice off the sides, then toss the chunks in the yard. Of course, last time it was raining and little boy had a ton of fun putting the ice chunks in puddles. 😀
debbie T says
We’ve had our freezer for a couple of years, and it’s still good to go I think. No need to defrost yet. But thanks for the tips on when I do need it!
I like Rachael’s idea of the rice paddle. I have a flat edge wooden utensil that might work well too.
Oh and I use paper bags for my food, organized into groups. Meat in one bag, cooked meat in another, veggies in another. It’s a small freezer, and I find it helps me to find something quick. I just grab the bag, shut the freezer, get what I need and put the bag back.
I got the idea from the “cheapest family in america” book.
DANA says
I use a plastic spatula to get the ice off the sides of my freezer. it helps out a lot. I also, was wondering if you could cook deer meat from 3 years ago and feed it to your chickens? THANKS …. LOVE THE NEW WEB PAGE SET UP …KUDOS
Lana says
Ours is in the garage so hubby puts it on the handtruck and wheels it out onto the driveway. Then he hoses it with cold water until all the ice is gone. Next he hooks up the blower and blows all the water out. A little wiping down with towels and it is ready to go back in and be plugged in. It does not get really warm so it is cold again very quickly. We have everything in tubs in our freezer so we empty the door into a large cooler and pile the tubs up and throw a heavy blanket over them. With the two of us working together we can get it done and reloaded in about an hour!
Ellen Baber says
I unplug the freezer several hours before unloading. I pack like items in containers covering them with heavy towels or blankets. I put a couple of large containers of hot water in the bottom of my chest freezer for maybe 1/2 hour. I then put a metal spatular sp? under the sheets of ice catching them as best I can, putting them in a large container to throw away. I clean the freezer puttng food back as quckly as possible. I do not open the freezer for several hours or overnght…..
Geo D says
I unplug the freezer and empty the food into coolers. Then I place a cooling rack on the bottom of the freezer and place a pot of boiling water on the rack and close the lid. Approx 10-15min. later I open the lid and I can easily push the ice off the sides. I scoup out the chunks of ice and let the little stuff melt. My chest freezer has a drain on the bottom but I don’t have a floor drain. So, I breakout the shop vac to suck up all the water on the bottom (don’t forget to take your filter off your vac). I do the final drying with a towel and plug it in. Restock the food. Good to go!