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Do I buy a new fridge or somehow make my tiny one work?


SparklyUnicorn
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I'm on the fence.  I'd have to search high and low for one that would fit in the limited space I have.  I think one of those double door with freezer on bottom jobs "might" work because the doors wouldn't swing out too far (that's the biggest consideration).  Would have to measure.  But I think...it's generally only the four of us.  Surely I can make our fridge work.  But I'm constantly having trouble fitting stuff in the fridge.  I just don't know how to have fewer items in the fridge!

 

Don't know what I'm asking here.  LOL

 

 

 

 

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Is the limited space in front of the fridge or beside the fridge? I only ask because you need to be able to open most French door fridges the full 180 to get to those wide drawers inside the fridge.

 

If you do need a new fridge, look for a scratch and dent place. Sears has one near us and we got a great deal. The fridges dont just come from Sears, but from Home Depot, Lowes, the manufacturers, etc, so they had a great selection at half the price.

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In front.  It's kinda hard to explain.  I can open the door to the fridge we have as wide as necessary to get to drawers, but that door can't be even a centimeter longer otherwise I wouldn't. 

 

Scratch and dent isn't a bad idea because we keep the fridge in the pantry.  I'm never looking at it so I really don't care if it is pretty.

 

 

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Having lived with a ridiculously tiny fridge for 6 yrs (in Brazil), I vote get something big enough to work for your family. Or, change your shopping habits so you are shopping more frequently/allowing yourself to run out of stuff so the fridge/freezer never gets too full. 

 

I had to shop based on "what quantity fits in the fridge" rather than "how much of this do we use in a week" similar to how some simply can't stock up in bulk on pantry items due to lack of space. That meant more frequent grocery trips, smaller containers, more money spent on groceries & shopping trips. Large refrigerators were insanely expensive, though, so we made due. 

 

If you can afford to go larger, and the doors will work, do it. 

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In front. It's kinda hard to explain. I can open the door to the fridge we have as wide as necessary to get to drawers, but that door can't be even a centimeter longer otherwise I wouldn't.

 

Scratch and dent isn't a bad idea because we keep the fridge in the pantry. I'm never looking at it so I really don't care if it is pretty.

Most of the scratches are on the side or back. Ours had a four inch scratch on the side. You can't even see it because the cabinets block it.

 

ETA: If you shop for a French door, pay attention to the freezer space. I felt like the French door models tended to have smaller freezers.

Edited by MaeFlowers
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Just be aware that in order to be energy efficient the newer fridge's have really thick insulation, and the more doors they have, the more insulated areas they need.  This can really cut into your available inside space, as can the weird newish configurations for ice makers and water dispensers.

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Do you have somewhere to put a second fridge? (Basement? Ulitity room, etc)

 

We lived with a too small propane camp fridge for years in our solar home. I LOVE my new huge fridge in my new house!

 

And I still have a big second freezer in the basement too. We don't store drinks, except milk, in the fridge.

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Do you have somewhere to put a second fridge? (Basement? Ulitity room, etc)

 

We lived with a too small propane camp fridge for years in our solar home. I LOVE my new huge fridge in my new house!

 

And I still have a big second freezer in the basement too. We don't store drinks, except milk, in the fridge.

 

 

If you have a garage I agree a second fridge is a good idea. 

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Do you have somewhere to put a second fridge? (Basement? Ulitity room, etc)

 

We lived with a too small propane camp fridge for years in our solar home. I LOVE my new huge fridge in my new house!

 

And I still have a big second freezer in the basement too. We don't store drinks, except milk, in the fridge.

 

Tell me about your propane camp fridge!

We are looking for a silent fridge for our cabin, because the hush of the place is one of our favorite things about it, and the great room is open to the master bedroom, so if the fridge makes noise we will hear it all night.  We already know not to hook up the ice machine, LOL, but DH has heard that propane fridges are completely quiet because they have no compressor.  Is that true?

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Tell me about your propane camp fridge!

We are looking for a silent fridge for our cabin, because the hush of the place is one of our favorite things about it, and the great room is open to the master bedroom, so if the fridge makes noise we will hear it all night. We already know not to hook up the ice machine, LOL, but DH has heard that propane fridges are completely quiet because they have no compressor. Is that true?

Yes, they are quiet. But tiny. Much smaller inside than they look from the outside because the cooling works are in the back. And expensive to buy plus you need you hook up propane for them.

But, off grid & that was what we needed.

Oh, & prone to developing venting issues, so be SURE to have a working carbon monoxide detector. We had 2 different ones, both, even with regular cleaning of the burning mechanism, wound up with issues (like calling the fire dept in the middle of the night issues, good times)

I would only ever use one agsin if it was vented to the outside (theyre made to not vent out, but rather burn off the gasses)

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Yes, they are quiet. But tiny. Much smaller inside than they look from the outside because the cooling works are in the back. And expensive to buy plus you need you hook up propane for them.

But, off grid & that was what we needed.

Oh, & prone to developing venting issues, so be SURE to have a working carbon monoxide detector. We had 2 different ones, both, even with regular cleaning of the burning mechanism, wound up with issues (like calling the fire dept in the middle of the night issues, good times)

I would only ever use one agsin if it was vented to the outside (theyre made to not vent out, but rather burn off the gasses)

 

Oh, good to know.  I was worried about the venting thing, because we are not there all the time, and the idea was not to turn it off when we left.  So that's out.

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If you can find a bigger one that will fit, go for it! We had a stupid little thing for years and finally got a bigger one a couple years ago. It is so wonderful to be able to actually fit all our stuff in there! If you get fresh veggies and have leftovers, that stuff takes up tons of room. 

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Friends gave us their old fridge and we put it in the basement. It's wonderful! I put all that extra stuff in the basement and keep the stuff we use a lot upstairs in the kitchen.

 

There's a store near us that sells used furniture and appliances. Could you get a used fridge for a basement, if you have one? Or a garage?

Edited by Garga
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Do you have somewhere to put a second fridge? (Basement? Ulitity room, etc)

 

We lived with a too small propane camp fridge for years in our solar home. I LOVE my new huge fridge in my new house!

 

And I still have a big second freezer in the basement too. We don't store drinks, except milk, in the fridge.

 

I toyed with that idea.  We live in an entire 2 family.  Our main kitchen is the one on the 2nd floor.  The first floor is no longer an official kitchen, but it wouldn't be a big deal to put a fridge there. 

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I have a side-by-side, a fridge only, a freezer only, and then a mini fridge outside. And there's four of us.

 

So, yeah, you can guess that I will vote for doing whatever it takes to get more fridge space, lol. It makes life so much easier.

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This wouldn't be one to fit in between counters.  But I am liking the second fridge idea because I could get another small inexpensive one rather than a larger expensive one.

 

So yeah....hmmm.....thank you for the suggestion...

 

 

Edited by SparklyUnicorn
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