You may consider purchasing an extra freezer once you begin to store food. If you have an extra freezer you can store more frozen foods, especially meat, then without one. It also allows you stock up on items when they are on sale. The type of freezer that you buy depends on the reasons you are buying a freezer.
The first type of freezer is a chest freezer. These freezers usually sit about waist high. They are more energy efficient, because the door opens from the top, which allows less cold air to escape. You can store larger items in a chest freezer versus an upright one. The major drawback to a chest freezer is the organization. It is difficult to organize food since there are no real shelves. You may have to dig deep to find the item you are looking for. If you are short, like I am, you may have a difficult time reaching all the food inside.
The second type of freezer is an upright. These freezers are not as energy efficient, but have gotten better over the years. The freezers take up less floor space, since they go up in height, rather than width. The biggest advantage is that it is easy to organize, rotate and see the food that you have. This can help if you have problems rotating your food storage.
When you purchase a freezer you will also want to consider how much additional space you need. This depends on how the size of your family, how much food you are planning on storing, and how much room you have for an extra freezer. You will want to purchase a freezer that is the right size for your family. If you get one that you do not fill up it will cost more to operate it. A full freezer functions better than a half full freezer.
You have the option to choose a self-defrosting or a manual defrosting freezer. While the manual defrosting freezer has a better energy rating, the difference is not as big as it used to be. You can choose convenience or saving money. One more tip is to store your freezer in your house or basement. If you store it in your garage you are cutting years off the life of the freezer because of the high temperatures that garages can reach in the summer.