Making the Choice Between a Chest Freezer and an Upright Freezer

If the location for your new freezer allows the choice between a chest and an upright freezer, there are several factors to assess which can help you determine the best choice for your household. Here are some of the factors to assess with a chest freezer:

The advantages

• Chest freezers can typically store more items than an upright freezer, including items that vary in shape and are larger in size.
• Chest freezers are more energy efficient, due in part to the fact that opening the top of the freezer keeps cold air trapped as opposed to the free flow of cold air that will escape an upright when the front door is opened. 

The disadvantages

• Chest freezers are typically loaded from bottom to top, which can result in the difficulty of retrieving items stored at the bottom of the freezer. 

For upright freezers, advantages include:

• The configuration of an upright allows for easy access to frozen items with sliding shelves and storage bins.
• Added visibility can enable better rotation of frozen goods
• Uprights have a much smaller footprint than chest versions, allowing for more open floor space. 

Disadvantages include:

• Uprights, despite their higher cost, have less storage capacity then chest style freezers.
• Uprights cost more to operate, due to a lower level of energy efficiency. As previously mentioned, opening the front door of an upright allows cold air to escape, which requires the freezer’s motor to run until the escaped cold air is replaced.

While the end objective is the same, the uses of these two types of freezers are very different. Consider the above-mentioned factors to ensure that the freezer you buy matches the way you intend to use it.

3 Tips on How to Save Money on New Appliances While Being Smart About It

Saving money on new appliances is relatively easy but being smart about how that money is saved takes a little bit of extra work. Here are 3 ways to buy new appliances, save money, and not pay more in repairs than you saved on the purchase:

• Buy ENERGY STAR rated appliances – One of the ways in which appliances get rated is by proving through testing that the savings in energy efficiency will substantially reduce the overall cost of the product in a reasonable time frame. It’s not unusual for rated appliances to cover their purchase cost over time by dramatically lowering utility bills. 
• Buy only what you need – If you’re working on a tight budget, you can probably survive without paying for a bunch of technological innovations that you may or may not be able to use. Focus on the functionality of each product, exactly what you need it to do, and nothing more. 
• Buy packages, but not just any package – Buying a package deal can be the right move to save some money but only if each item in the package holds its own in terms of reliability, operating efficiency, and energy savings. Do some research to ensure that each product in the package has solid reviews. Otherwise, the expense of repairs and/or an eventual replacement of one underperforming item can far exceed the money that was saved at the time of purchase. 

While everyone likes to save money on their appliance purchases, there are smart ways to achieve savings as well as the plans that end up costing more over time than was saved up front. These tips can help you make sure that the money you save stays in your pocket and your appliances stay in your home for the long term.

3 Factors to Consider Before Buying a Microwave Oven

Microwave ovens, much like the other appliances in your kitchen, are typically purchased with the idea that you won’t be buying another one for several years at minimum, unless you happen to buy one that just doesn’t quite work with the rest of your kitchen and/or your cooking preferences.

Here are 3 factors to consider before buying a microwave oven that will keep it in your kitchen as long as the rest of your other appliances:

* The ways in which your microwave oven will most likely be used – If most the items you intend to cook in your microwave are coming out of the freezer, going into the microwave, and then straight to the dinner table, a microwave without a bunch of bells and whistles will suffice. If you are planning to incorporate the use of your microwave into complex recipes and other culinary delights, look for added features that can play a role in your gourmet creations.

* Deciding between a countertop or wall-mount model – While countertop versions are far more common, wall mounted microwaves are gaining in popularity for their aesthetics as well as for saving room on the countertop. Wall mounted versions will require installation and wiring, so be prepared for these extra costs.

* The inclusion of added features – The advancements in microwave oven technology have enabled one-touch cooking, convection cooking, and brown/ crisp options. While adding these features will increase the cost of the unit, the investment will likely be a good one as long as they are utilized.

Microwaves have come a long way from the machines that just boiled water and made popcorn. Taking these factors into consideration can make sure that your microwave delivers the versatility you need while complementing the style of your kitchen.

Buying the Best Wine Refrigerator for Your Collection

If you are wine enthusiast with a growing collection, proper refrigeration is a must, especially if you plan on aging some of the bottles that have been collected. Here are 4 tips to make certain that the wine refrigerator you purchase stays around as long as the bottles in your collection:

• Take note of types of wine you plan to collect – The majority of wine bottles are “Bordeaux-sized”, with bottles of champagne and burgundy being slightly wider across the body. A collection made up of these wider bottles will require a refrigerator with more capacity than one used for standard-sized bottles.   
• Buy more capacity than you need now – If you plan on continuing to collect wine, estimate the capacity you need now and buy a refrigerator that is about twice the size of your current collection.
• Temperature controls – If you plan on aging wines in your collection, go with the higher precision of digital controls to ensure that the refrigerator’s temperature doesn’t stray from the optimal storage level of 55 degrees.
• Opting for dual temperature zones – If you plan on using your refrigerator for storage only you won’t need separate temperature zones. On the other hand, if you plan on serving directly from your wine refrigerator, you’ll want to be able to set a storage temperature as well as a serving temperature, which should be in the range of 45 to 50 degrees for white wine.   

The foundation of building a superior collection of wine is proper storage. By following these tips, you can make certain that your growing collection can be accommodated and that when you open that $100 bottle you've been aging, you get exactly the taste that you planned for.