Easy way to get all the air out for freezing in freezer bags: Seal it up with a straw through the seal, then suck the air out through the straw, pull the straw out and seal that tiny area fast. It works great. IF you buy bread at the bread store and freeze it, do this with the bread bag and it won't get freezer burn.
Those vacuum sealers can be nice. I find the bags to be very expensive though, at least for our budget. Keep an eye on yard sales - got mine for free at one. Lady died suddenly and her place was filthy. Family sold things for whatever people offered and when I offered $5 they thought I was nuts and tossed it in free with something else we bought.
You might ask on free cycle for a vacuum sealer for food, several have been given recently around here.
You CAN use any big pot for canning, does NOT have to be a special canning pot as long as you have the rack and the jars don't touch. I remember canning tomatoes with my mom and aunt one summer. My aunt had a canning pot but used three other big pots too because her husband planted over an acre of garden that year.
As for squash/zucchini, if you like zucc bread go ahead and grate them and freeze them grated. Don't bother blanching or anything. Just grate and freeze (food processors are awesome at this, salad shooters are helpful if you have a lot and can hold it and don't have a food proc). Freeze in 1 cup portions. When they thaw there will be a bunch of liquid. Cut the liquid you add to the recipe and use the liquid from the frozen squash/zucc. It adds a LOT of nutrients that way. They can be added to pancakes, muffins, quick breads, etc.....
MANY things are easy to freeze in 1 or 2 cup portions. I use plastic cups for drinking and freeze portions. Once frozen I put them into freezer bags and suck the air out. Then I take out what I need and reseal the bag. It is FAR easier than freezing a big bag and then figuring out what to do with it. For things that you woudl use smaller amounts of, like leftover wine, freeze in ice cube trays then put in bags. Just be SURE to put the trays onto cooke sheets or you will have frozen whatever all over the freezer.
If you have a big batch of things to freeze in portions, consider using some plastic or paper cups, the kind you buy for picnics. I do that because one time I used every drinking glass and jar in the house and husband got pretty upset, lol.
To freeze things like cherries, cut up chicken for recipes, etc...., freeze them on plastic or wax paper on cookie sheets. when frozen solid put them in freezer bags and suck the air out. This again is esp handy if you cook for 2 because you don't have a whole bag of thawed stuff to use up. Instead of buying plastic or wax paper to line the cookie sheets, take the bags from cereal boxes or bagged cereal and wipe them clean. Line the cookie sheets with those. They are thicker and food doesn't stick nearly as bad as it does to plastic wrap or wax paper. Plus it would just be trash so you spend nothing on it.
Meat that is uncooked can be frozen but MUST be cooked when thawed. It can be frozen AFTER it is fully cooked, but cannot be frozen again thawed. You run a high risk of food borne illness if you re-freeze thawed meat. Took three times for my husband to grasp this - I refused to eat the meat or let the kids and he insisted it was fine. He is a slow learner sometimes.