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.

Comments

[goudananda.livejournal.com]

I think this one depends on how you deal with food. The amount of energy used for a fridge/freezer is fairly low if you get an energy saving model that's fairly new. I dream of having a large deep freeze because I could buy higher quality grass fed meats at a discount for later use. I think the energy expenditure for that would be well worth it.

We currently have two fridges and use...both. When Andrea's kids all come to town it's actually needed to have space and so that I don't have to go to the store every other day just to buy milk.

Heating elements especially central air and heat use more electricity than anything else, but I know how you feel about cold. :P The fridge/freezer...are pretty small comparatively. Personally I think you need a sauna. You could raise your core temperature several times a day and make the variable temperatures throughout the year much more tolerable in addition to it's aiding you with pain.

[gailmom.livejournal.com]

I think I need a sauna too. :P (she says while wearing three layers of clothing adn fingerless gloves). I'm pretty proud of the fact I haven't turned on the heat this season...I'm aiming to make it until the party on the 18th...which will be on a night scheduled to be in the 30s, so I will probably end up having to turn on the heat then unless we get enough human bodies in here to warm the place up. :)

My fridge is only a few years old but...it just is never full unless it is full of party food. The rest of the time I have one crisper drawer, the bottom shelf, and some very old condiments in the door...and that's it. Seems wasteful, I just can't decide if it really is. :S

gah!

I appreciate you taking time to comment though. :D

[gailmom.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting idea, thanks for sharing it. :)

[gryphynshadow.livejournal.com]

In just a couple years you'll have the kids over at your house a whole lot more. They'll both be teenagers, and you know Monkey boy already eats his own weight in food each day... once he hits his teen years he'll eat your weight in food each day, plus a couple of snacks.

My opinion? wait till after the kids are grown and gone. When it's really just you, then you can reevaluate the situation.

I also like the idea of having jugs of water in the empty space, both for the making the fridge run better/more efficiently and for helping keep the temperature constant should the power go out. Water is a great heat sink; you can store quite a lot of the energy of the temperature change in water, which would be quite efficient. :)

Keep the biggie fridge for now, when the kids are off on their own then evaluate again.

(Plus, you've admitted to being in a hypo?manic state right now... question all large lifestyle changes, and question them hard.)

<3

[gailmom.livejournal.com]

To be fair I've been thinking about this possibility for a while (and have the "fridge free" bookmarks to prove it)...but your point about teenagers is a good one.

hmm....