Savings on Ice

We are relatively new boat owners, and we do use our boat more than the average boat owner. We are out on the water about two times each week, and the boat is in the water from April to November. On hot summer days, we spend a lot of time at anchor sitting and having a cool drink, and pack food for lunch or dinner. The cost of bagged ice can add up over the course of a year for boat owners, or those who entertain a lot, unless you make it yourself. Ice cube trays are tedious. Bags of ice in the freezer can take up a lot of room and leak. The cost of bagged ice to fill the cooler can be $8 a day, with each bag costing $4.00. There had to be a better, cheaper, way.

A visit to my father's house showed me a better way. He froze many blocks of ice using throwaway containers from margarine, or other items you buy in plastic containers with lids, and used the bricks of ice to filled his cooler. Brilliant! Free ice at the ready whenever you need it. I had to give it a try.

I found that the bricks of ice using larger containers were too large for our smaller cooler. I tried using sandwich-size Rubbermaid containers that I found in the pantry closet, sitting unused, to make bricks of ice for our cooler. The smaller bricks allowed me to put them in between the cans or bottles and put a layer on top. I also experimented with freezer bags with the ziplock tops to make pillows of ice for the cooler, hoping that they wouldn’t leave water throughout the cooler. It works, however some of the bags do burst and the water leaks out. Not a big deal.

There are only two small drawbacks, if you can call them that, and that would be the blocks need to be prepared a day in advance, and the need for enough space in the freezer to make the bricks of ice. The sandwich containers work well because they stack in the freezer and take up very little space. Also, recent news reports state that freezers that are well packed cost less to run. I have seen reports to the contrary, so you need to investigate this a little bit more on your own.

As for the savings, we would spend at least $100 on ice for boating season, and that is most-likely a gross underestimation. Now the ice is free.

Total savings: at least $100! 

The time savings is also noted - now we don’t have to go to the store before each time we go to the boat.