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Is your fridge too big? My sister is considering downsizing her big city fridge (it’s about half the size of a normal fridge) after a conversation with a friend.
I have a German friend, Walli, who has a smaller refridge which sits in a larger closet-like space in her kitchen. She said the huge refridge was “the first thing I threw out” when she moved into her house in NY. Hers is about the size of my fridge, which makes so much more sense for a 1-2 person household and a smaller kitchen.So I am supporting appropriate-sized refrigerators for American families. We’re so used to these monsters we don’t stop to think that they may not be necessary. All that food gets lost in there and can go to waste! And how many jars of condiments do we really need?
Now if I was feeding teenagers, I can imagine needing more space, but I don’t think the average couple does.
Plus, there’s the cost of electricity needed to power a bigger fridge. I used the above link to see how much money I would save by replacing my older fridge. My 1992 GE fridge costs $144 a year to run, while a newer Energy Star fridge would cost $64 a year to run. So I would save $80 per year in electricity by upgrading, which I would recoup over the life of my new fridge. Some cities or states offer rebates if you upgrade, further reducing my upgrade cost. Or, I can sell my fridge on Craigslist.
There are a lot of ways to reduce your electricity bill if you can’t replace an appliance. On the other hand, if you have a second freezer because you are a freezer diva, you are already used to paying more electricity in the name of grocery savings.
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Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
I downsized my fridge a year ago and it has been a great! Since I have soo much less space, I buy less food. I use the food I buy so the waste is dramatically reduced. I strongly recommend it for smaller households!
What about advertising a trade on like craigslist?! I needed a bigger fridge because we had another baby, and would of loved the option to trade someone and pay a few bucks for their larger fridge and give someone our smaller fridge. Versus us buying new one and having our old one put in trash!
When my 2nd fridge in the garage died last year I almost went crazy. Downsizing to a single fridge was a problem and I had to borrow space in my neighbor’s freezer. I’m single and don’t always want to cook,
When I cook soups and stews (which you can’t make for just one meal), I always freeze the extra portions so I always have something good to eat that doesn’t have all of the extra sodium and fat that comes in canned goods. I also don’t want to keep eating the same thing every day for a week so I freeze the extras. My frozen chicken soup, which I made in September, came in handy when I was sick the other week. I used 3 portions and still have enough for 3 more meals. I can make a large pot of soup for slightly more than the price of a single can of soup at regular price. When I build up too many containers in the house I know that it’s time to start cooking again.
I also take advantage of sales and freeze meat.
I periodically inventory my freezer so I know what I have. The freezer does not have to become a graveyard for food.
Smaller fridge sounds sensible to me. We are presntly looking for one for a condo.
has anyone ever used an 18″ dishwasher in place of the standard 24″ size? They clain to hole 8 place settings.
@Jackie I used a very tiny dishwasher for years, though I’m not sure exactly what size it was. It was made to fit partly under the sink, hence its smallness. The dishwasher worked fine, but we did loads very frequently because it filled up so quickly.
Thanks for your reply. I will keep researchin others opinions before I decide. No rush on a decision yet.