Am I nuts?

[gailmom.livejournal.com]

I think I've said before that I traded out my top loading washer and my dryer for a front loading washer and teh clothesline.

That has worked really well and I've been very happy with that choice.

I gave up the dishwasher for a while, but with continued entertaining and no housemate, putting a newer more efficient one in for use when things get backed up or I have a bunch of folks using plates in one night has turned out to be a good thing.

So now what I'm wondering is....what do I do with the fridge?

I have a chest freezer I plan to hook up before spring, so we can raise and butcher a run of chickens to be our happy meat during the year.

i don't use my freezer much now, and I really barely use my fridge. With the exception of parties, my fridge is typically only 1/4 to 1/3 full. I just don't use that much that needs refrigerated.

The question then becomes, given that fridges are most efficient when they are full (like washers, dryers, freezers and dishwashers), how much more efficient is my big fridge than say, this would be? Technically it only uses about 100 kwhrs less than my Amana, but that is presuming they are both full, which my Amana never is anymore...

Am I nuts to be thinking of trading down to the small fridge and the chest freezer from the big fridge and chest freezer, so that I can get some more counter space, have room for my recycling center in the kitchen, AND possibly cut down on my carbon footprint/energy use?

I'd like to make a decision by the time I'm ready to hook up the chest freezer, so feedback and thoughts would be appreciated, if anyone has any for me.