If you have a standard size freezer in the refrigerator, I would put it in the basement for longer term storage rather than taking up that much space in the pantry. There is nothing wrong with going up and down stairs on occasion, it's actually good for you.

How often do you need to access it? If it's a lot, I would probably want it close by. Although having to do the stairs frequently is good exercise. On the other hand, depending on your age, that could become a problem later.

If I were to put it downstairs, I'd want to make the pantry flexible so it could be moved upstairs fairly easily, if necessary, or if it became a real annoyance. It also might be easier to keep clean and up to date if it's nearby and more a part of the kitchen area.

I'd also be thinking about flooring. If it's hardwoods, that's another appliance to potentially leak and wreak havoc.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Fri, May 24, 13 at 23:54

Walk in pantry is 7 foot x 6 foot ?!? Put it in the pantry !!!!

Are there items that you'd like to store in the pantry but wouldn't be able to if you put the freezer it? (My vote would be to stick in the pantry b/c the convenience sounds wonderful).

I'd put it in the pantry. Mine is in the basement, and I buy bulk foods (e.g. frozen chicken breasts) from wholesale clubs, so it's not just going to the basement for the item, it's bringing the 10 pound bag up and then carrying it back down after I've taken the two/three chicken breasts out of the bag -- or I can carry a dish down to put it in which doesn't work well because there's nowhere to set the dish while I'm fishing out the chicken. Definitely put it in the pantry. I'm about ready to put mine in the living room (not really, but no pantry here).

It will also not take up 30" x 30". It will take a bit over 30", maybe 36" because you have to be able to fully open the door and the bin at the bottom, and in front it will take up 60" --or five of your 6 - 7 feet, because you have to open the door and stand in front of it. There is a doorswing to take into account.

Put a piece of countertop or a table next to it in the basement to eliminate the problem mentioned above.

We used to have our freezer in the basement, and now we have it moved upstairs into our temporary kitchen under construction. I can't believe how convenient it is. So, I would very much want it in the kitchen. What else is going in the kitchen pantry that might be able to be moved elsewhere?

Carol

Deb, there are two kinds of people... :)

I'd probably put it in the basement because that is where I put mine and I like it fine. In my case, fitting it in in the kitchen would have been just too cramping. In your case, I'd also plan to be able to move it upstairs without too much fuss if I wanted to later on. You know, plugs in the right place, handyman installing movable shelves in and around a space designed for a freezer--instead of four figures to a KD firm for something too painfully expensive to redo.

FWIW, I take a plastic bowl with me to grab a few of whatever, my lesson learned being a little different from Kris's in that I discovered early on that trying to carry 8 frozen chicken thighs in my hands was cold and awkward and ending up clutching them to my chest very unsatisfactory. Not to mention trying to apply the 5-second rule to one bouncing back down the stairs. I do have a flat surface to set stuff on, and I'm only down there an average of maybe two or three times a week. That's because I also have a refrigerator-freezer in the kitchen and rotate stuff I expect to use soon up there.

Right now, my freezer is in the garage, but with the new house, it will be in the mudroom - right off of the kitchen! I go to it 2-3 times a day because all our veggies from the garden are there, and all of our meats, as well as many extras like pizzas, breads and such. The only think i keep in my kitchen freezer is kids breakfast foods, treats and ice packs. I cannot wait to get it inside the house. I was not willing to give up space in my pantry that is 7x4.5 because it would have taken up half of the space.

Mine has moved from basement to garage (by kitchen) to service area next to kitchen. Put it in the pantry! Put shelves above it.

We have a 6'x8' pantry in our new kitchen and briefly debated having our second fridge go in there. In the end, we realized that it would take up WAY too much room between not only the footprint but opening the doors. In the end, we kept it in the garage, which is accessed directly from the kitchen area.

I'm glad we made that decision because we use every inch of our pantry for foodstuff and kitchen gadgetry that we use much more often than the extra foodstuff we keep in the garage fridge.