Could some of the instability issues you have on arch could come from what you are installing from AUR?
I use AUR for a few things and it is a great resource but the packages are maintained by users and can cause issues.
I update those packages carefully, remove them if I am no longer using them and reconsider which ones i actually need installed in the first place.
While doing this I have only had a handful of issues pop up while updating and usually there is a recent thread describing the issue and how to fix it after a quick search.
How do you store them after they are frozen? Do you move them into a different non plastic container or leave them in the trays?
We have some of these but I haven't used them yet b/c I am not sure what to put them in after freezing and if it's a ziplock it doesn't seem like this beats vacuum sealing. I am looking for some ideas because I would also like to cut down on plastic.