How can I defrost a freezer without removing everything?

You cannot. Your food will spoil.

I wouldnt even attempt it as thawing and refreezing of items can be dangerous. Get a cooler or two, transfer your items, cover in ice and keep in a cool dark location. Defrost and clean freezer. Replace items as soon as possible. If anything becomes defrosted, pop in the fridge and use within a day or two.

You will need to remove all the food items and put them in coolers before you can defrost your freezer. You cannot defrost your freezer without removing the frozen food.

For the safety of your food and family. Take the items out, put in a cooler with bags of ice. Then unplug freezer and let it defrost. Should not take more than an hour if it is not terribly full of ice. For a quick defrost Use a hair dryer. BUT YOU MUST TAKE YOUR FOOD OUT! You do not want to risk food poisoning

You can take all the frozen items out, turn off the freezer, boil water in pots on your stove, put the pots of hot water in the freezer and shut the door. The ice will melt from the shelves and you will have to replace the water as it cools with more hot steaming water. You can start removing melting pieces of ice once the ice starts getting loose. Have lots of towels and rags ready to soak up the melted ice/water--especially on the bottom of the freezer. It should only take an hour or so to get all of the ice out if you keep changing cool water to hot water. I use the largest pots I have and as many as I can fit on each shelf. One you get all the ice out, clean every thing well and wipe dry with clean kitchen towels. Then turn it on and you are ready to go!

Hi Mary, this may help you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqkN6ZVXw_w