More on freezer bags

If you buy chicken breasts in those heavy duty plastic bags, save them. Wash them out and dry, then package things to be frozen in bread sacks or other lightweight free bags, then put them inside the heavy bag that held chicken. Your food will be safe from any possible contamination (washing the bag well with soap and water should remove contamination anyway), and you'll have the benefit of a very good quality freezer bag.

Free defrosting trick

If you have a refrigerator or freezer that isn't frost free and you need to defrost, pack your frozen food tightly in a box that's been lined with newspaper and put a thick layer of newspaper over it. It will stay frozen solid for several hours.

"Free" freezer bags

Do you buy frozen vegetables? Save and wash the bags they come in... they're freezer bags, right? Since they've held frozen vegetables, they're very easy to wash - a good swish in soapy water, a rinse, and you're done. To freeze things in them, close them with a twist'em tie or rubber band and write the contents with a marker.