Do you buy bags of ice to fill your cooler or when you have a party or something? I hate paying for ice. I mean, I have water and a freezer at home. Besides, the bags keep shrinking and the price keeps going up. I don't have an ice maker, so I have to do it the old fashioned way. I do have a small chest freezer besides the small freezer in my fridge, so I make lots of ice when I know I'm going to need it. Sure, I still buy a bag of ice from time to time, but I try to avoid it when I can. I used to make tons of ice for work instead of spending two bucks a day for a bag of ice.
I so agree with you. I can't stand paying for ice. It seems ridiculous to me to spend $4.00 on frozen water that with a little planning I can make for free. My husband thinks it's crazy to do this but I don't mind doing it because I know I'm saving money. I usually start 3 days before a trip or party. I use old yogurt containers and fill them up and freeze them. I store them in a bag in my freezer and keep doing this until I have lots of ice. I live in Canada and in the winter I'll even put the old containers filled with water outside and they freeze over night. Instant ice for your cooler!
I really don't like paying for bags of ice either. It just seems so wasteful. I only buy ice if I am going to a potluck party and I'm responsible for the drinks. Drinking warm soda, juice etc is not cool. Pun really wasn't intended. If the potluck or party is at my home, I make my own ice cubes. I don't have an ice maker, but I do have lots of ice cube trays.
I rarely need ice in larger quantities, so I only buy ice if we’re under a hurricane watch or warning. And sometimes it can be difficult to come by because everyone else has the same idea. But if I needed a good-sized amount of ice, I would rather plan ahead and save some money. It might be a slight hassle, but I say every dollar counts.
If I feel like I'm too busy to prep or I'm just feeling lazy, I'll just buy multiple bags, but if I can help it, I'd usually fill up multiple plastic bags with water and freeze them since it's not too much work anyway and it will end up saving me some money which I can spend on buying a few extra drinks. The only time I'd favor buying ice from convenience stores is if I needed ice cubs to put in drinks but if I just need it for a cooler I think ice bags are a much better option.
Lots of good ideas here. I usually just fill lots of ice trays. One of my friends fills milk jugs, not quite full, and then just breaks the jug and smashes the ice for the cooler. I know someone who has a farm. They fill bottles of water and freeze them overnight. This goes in their cooler when they head out into the fields for the day. When the ice melts, they drink the cold water. I haven't tried freezing water in bags. What a simple idea. Heck, that could work for parties too. Just smash the ice and have crushed ice for drinks. Hmmm.
I can't justify spending money on ice when you can make it yourself or just keep things chilled. I actually don't use ice as it gives me acid reflux, but I know in the US people seem to need ice as standard. I just don't think it's healthy and it dilutes a drink. Now keeping a bottle of champagne on ice is a different matter, but you can top that up with chilled water.
It is not just for a party that our household will purchase bags of ice. We have bags of ice in our freezer all year around. I don't eat it these days, because of how sensitive my teeth have become. They cannot take the cold. But everyone else in my household loves to crunch on ice. Some of the women in my family have had ice cravings when pregnant too.
Totally agree and much as I use a fair amount of ice - especially during the summer months - I too really couldn't ever justify paying for something that I can easily make myself for free. Which is why - just to make sure that I never have to - I always like to keep at least two or three large bags of cubes along with one of crushed ice - continually topped up in the freezer - particularly as it doesn't take any time at all or require much effort either - just to freeze some water either in a cube tray or other receptacle and when ready pop it into a freezer bag for later use.
I don't use ice at home at all. Living in the UK, there's no real need. The only time I do buy it is on camping trips. Although I have a cool box, it doesn't keep the beers ice cold, the way I like them. So I'll happily spend £1 on a bag of ice, empty it into the bucket and put the 4-pack in there too.
Ice is like parking, I really really hate paying for it and will go to the ends of the earth not to have too. I keep an extra tray of cubes in the freezer to ensure I don't run out. But there are some special events that you need a lot for that you just have to bite the bullet and buy a bag. But for me that's about once or twice a year.
I've been seriously considering getting an ice maker, a portable counter top model for under $200 or so. I go through ice like crazy in my household, since I cannot stand to drink lukewarm beverages. They've always got to be filled to the top with fresh ice, and be ice cold. From what I've read, they can make ice about every 8 minutes or so, which seems like it would be enough for me. Though it would take some pre-planning if you were trying to fill up a cooler full of ice to travel somewhere. In those cases it may just make more sense to pick up a back for like $1 or so. But I hate waiting for my ice cube trays to freeze at home, which usually takes about an hour and a half.
Over here the cheapest and smallest ice tubes cost only 10 cents per plastic bag, so it's not that much expensive, unless you're gonna buy in those large convenience stores which cost around 55 cents per bag. I also don't have any reason to buy ice in large quantities, but I do buy them occasionally since the place where I'm living now has no ref.
The only time I've paid for bags of ice was when fishing and/or camping. I specifically bought a refrigerator with an ice maker because like many of y'all, I hate paying for ice. But, I have a neighbor who constantly buys ice, and she buys it from our neighborhood convenience store, so pays about twice the normal price. To her, it's worth it.
You need more ice cube trays, haha. You may not have room in your freezer, but if you do, I'd suggest it. Then, you always have some and don't need to wait. I keep several in my little freezer and more in my chest freezer. I used to make at least a dozen trays a day when I had to fill my husband's cooler every day for work and still have some for at home. He has a fridge now, so I don't have to any more, but I still get out all my trays when I know I'm going to need a lot of ice.
I agree with you and making bags of ice saves money. Buying bags of ice comes in handy once in a while. I know what you mean when you have a freezer and water to make ice cubes for the party to save some money makes more sense than buying bags of ice.
I was planning to buy my mom one of the counter top models that made crushed ice, because that's her favorite type of ice. It brings back memories of soda fountains in her childhood and youth, when having a soda was a luxury, so she gets a little thrill whenever she is somewhere that uses crushed ice. She has an ice maker on her fridge, but it makes cubes, and she doesn't like those. She doesn't haven enough counter space where she is now, but she's talked of moving, so this is something I'm keeping in the back of my mind for her, in case she does move, and the new place has more counter space.
That's a neat story, and it is so sweet of you to want to do that for her. Yeah, I'd definitely get her a crushed ice maker if it makes her that happy. What about one of those little snow cone makers? That might work too, and it would probably take up less space. I'm pretty sure it would be a little less pricey as well (if it provides the same effect).
Right now I am forced to buy ice because I do not have an ice maker at my house. I found that you do not have to just have one in your fridge, but you can buy a separate one like any other appliance. It would save me a ton of money because I hate to buy a bag of frozen water when I could be making it at home for free.
We used to buy bags of ice for our ice chest when we go on a picnic or out of town affair. But since the ice cubes sold in convenience stores last for 8 hours only, we now make our own ice. Using empty plastic biscuit cans that are filled with water and placed in the freezer, we harvest a block of ice that can last overnight inside the cooler. Isn't it great? Lasting longer and free.
