The main problem is that your freezer is probably one of the Frost Free freezers. It periodically goes through a defrost cycle to keep the freezer from building up that large layer of ice inside that we remember from our childhood. This melts your store-bought ice a little and re-freezes it into a fun block of joy. Your best bet is to store your ice in a freezer that does have this feature, or buy enough ice to only last a couple of days at most so the defrost cycle doesn't affect you that much.

My grandmother always stores ice in a brown paper bag (like a lunch bag from grammar school). She claims it keeps the ice from sticking, and I do it if I'm trying to make extra ice for a party or something, but I cannot promise it actually makes a difference.

Well, the reason the ice turns to a giant block is because it partially melts, and then the loose water refreezes and locks the whole thing together, right? I'd try to transport the ice from the store in a cooler or at least one of those thermo-insulated grocery bags to prevent melting, and then before putting the ice in your freezer, try to get rid of any melted water by draining the bag (maybe clip the lower corner of the plastic ice bag and give it a good shake). Toss it in the freezer and close the door right away, so the freezer doesn't have time to rise in temperature, which should prevent the ice from melting further once it's inside. Good luck!

After my last party, I had a whole bag of ice left and the cubes were stuck together. I wrapped it in a tea towel and banged it against the floor a few times to break it up (sorry downstair neighbors). I left the bag open, mostly ripped along the side and the cubes stayed separate for at least a week.

Don't chip at it when you need ice - instead, take the whole bag out of the freezer and slam it on the kitchen floor a few times, and voila.

At least, that's what I've been doing for years, and it loosens up the ice fine. Maybe not so great if you have neighbours below you, though.

If you want to stay on good terms with your downstairs neighbors, wrap the bag in a towel, put it on your counter and give it a few whacks with a skillet or a meat pounder.

I keep a little hammer on top of the fridge for this very reason. It's kind of embarrassing at parties to open the freezer and hammer the ice, but it does break them back into cubes pretty easily.

Tiny individual plastic bags.

What you're supposed to do is bang it on the kitchen floor every time it freezes into one hunk.

;)

I'm currently renting an apartment sans ice-maker as well. My solution to the bag problem is simple - every other day, I just grab the ice bag and give it a firm whack against the wall or floor. (I prefer the wall because it's cleaner, but you might not have wall near your freezer.)

If you remember to do it often, BEFORE it seems to be getting frozen, you don't have to slam it around like you're trying to kill someone. With some freezers you might even want to do it once a day. I've found as long as I do it every other day, all it takes is the one firm hit, and it doesn't even have to be that strong. Basically it dislodges and mixes all the ice, and keeps the bonds from getting stronger.

As Kmberly Joy points out, keeping the ice from melting on the way home from the grocery store is key too. If you have a habit of keeping the bag in the door of the freezer, it might also help to make room for it in the main compartment since this is less prone to defrosting.

I use an old insulated ice bucket! I don't buy ice, but I make it in cubes, when it is frozen, I empty trays into the bucket and fill them back up with water.
It also works great with bagged ice, empty the bag into it, and the bucket keeps the ice from melting or tasting like the freezer.

a lewis bag. essentially nothing but a canvas bag. works amazingly. ice doesn't melt together because the bag breathes off excess moisture. if the ice does clump up, it only requires a shuffle between hands to break it up again. stellar.

here's a link to a seattle company: http://mcsology.com/ I've used a bag that used to hold grass seed (after a washing, of course).