LJ Brain Trust: Vacuum sealer?

[cjsmith]

If I did get more freezer space, and maybe even if I can't, I wonder whether I should have a vacuum sealer.

I am short on counter space, but I can work that out.

I probably don't want one if it doesn't save money in the long run. I can squeeze a lot of air out of Ziploc bags and store them in odd-shaped spots in the freezer, so this will hinge on how much waste I'm likely to have, from freezer burn or the like, after the squeezy treatment. Ziploc cost + freezer burn cost - vacuum sealer bag cost - amortized cost of the unit: if it's not a positive number in under a decade I'm not going there. But it's OK if it takes a while to go positive, because I also hate waste.

I also don't want it if it's inconvenient to use. (It's very telling that I don't have "good" knives. They're more work than bad ones.)

I do want it if it will significantly save money, food, and/or freezer and fridge space. For example, if the bags are sturdy enough that I can pour from the skillet right into the bag, then I don't need so much Tupperware-style stuff. That would be a serious win in terms of space.

[LJ-CUT TEXT="Poll time!"]

[Poll #1217861]

Comments

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

I've never known anyone who had one of the vacuum sealers to use them regularly. I think that it has the potential to be a useful tool, but it wouldn't be for me.

Did you know that there are now (relatively) small free-standing freezers? I'm talking roughly 3 feet tall, by 1.5x1.5'
They seem pretty efficiently laid out.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

There's a spot we could put a free-standing freezer if we didn't need to open its door. (Corner of garage, concrete steps up into house in the way.) A chest freezer might fit if it were small enough, because those upen open upward. I need to go measure just how small a chest freezer would have to be.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

I have seen a very small chest freezer at Fry's. It opens from the top. That was about 6-8 months ago. It was at the Fry's on Scott in Sunnyvale.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Rob is looking on line and says Sears is having a sale through tomorrow. Now for the tape measure.