My leftovers don't go bad as fast as they used to. Why? Because my 16-year-old fridge likes to pretend it's a freezer, and we all know frozen food has a much longer shelf life. But when you go to pour yourself a glass of milk and get only shards of ice . . . it's time for a new fridge.
We've been waiting for February because NY is offering a Energy Star rebate. Replace an old appliance and get back cold hard cash. Truly, this fridge is sucking up energy like crazy. The gasket has come away from the door and there's a BIG gap. The fridge runs overtime, and -- you have a big electricity bill and frozen milk. (And frozen leftover potatoes, salad, celery, onions, and on and on . . . .)
I watch SPICE UP MY KITCHEN on HGTV on a regular basis, and in all the renovations not ONE consumer has ever bought a fridge that wasn't stainless steel. (They also buy stainlesss microwaves, dishwashers, and stoves, usually with at least 6 burners and a grill. How much energy do THEY save?) Ever seen the inside of an autopsy room? Okay, maybe not in person, but on TV? What do the meat lockers look like? Stainless steel.
No, thanks. Not in my kitchen.
Of course, the options for anything but stainless are pretty slim. In fact, there were only four "bisque" (used to be called "almond") fridges on the sales floor. (They also had one white and one black one, too.) Since everything else in my kitchen is bisque (except the microwave, it's white. They didn't have any bisque ones), that's what I went for. Wow--fridges have gone up in price in the last 16 years. But a bisque fridge costs at least $400 less than a stainless steel one, and as we're recycling the old fridge, we're going to get a total of $105 bucks back. It's still a bite for someone who gets paid twice a year (April is a l-o-n-g way away), but it's time. Still, for all the price, there aren't a lot of bells and whistles. (No ice maker.)
The best thing is the door will whole gallon containers. I don't have to buy my milk in a half gallon jug anymore. (Yup, I drink a gallon of it a week!) And this fridge is 4 square feet larger than our last one. Plenty of room for all those half jars of of jam, pickles, mustard, and chutneys.
I was in and out of the appliance (I bought locally--yea me!) in less than an hour. (It would have been shorter, but I had to wait while my mother bought an Energy Star washer and dryer.) Now to wait for delivery. It's going to be ten days. Why? Because just about everybody else in the area was waiting for the Energy Star rebate.
What was the last major appliance you bought?
We bought a new refrigerator, dishwasher, and built-in oven about 18 months ago when we spruced up our kitchen. Our original built-in oven was wonky (hey, it was new in 1960!!!), and the dishwasher & refrig had also seen better days. (All were included when we bought the house in 1993.) While I went stainless steel for the dishwasher & the oven, the frige presented a BIG problem. The cabinets are original w/the house. They are (were) in good condition and they were designed around a specific space for a refrigerator. H'mm. Refrigerators have GROWN in size since the late 50's when these cabinets were originally installed, so I had to hunt and hunt AND hunt to find one that would fit in the available space. There simply wasn't any other place to put a frige ... unless we pulled down every cabinet in the whole darned kitchen & started over. I finally found one -- in white -- with a freezer below. With a couple of inches off the cabinets overhead (had to call in a carpenter to do that), it fit. Just. With about 3/8 of an inche on either side. Whew! And that gallon of milk fits perfectly in the door, so anytime you're in the neighborhood, stop by & I'll pour you a glass. :-)
ReplyDeleteI really couldn't tell you the last time my family bought a new appliance... I've had the same refrigerator since I was 7 (I'm now 21!)
ReplyDeleteI bought a brand new refirgerator in January. Our old side by side was just too small and after all this time thinking it was 25 cu. ft. it was only about 19! No wonder it was too small.
ReplyDeleteI bought one those french door with freezer on the bottom numbers and I have to say that I love it. I never thought I would like that style but my mother in law recently pusrchased one and I fell in love. It also helped that I bought a dinged up model of the floor at Best Buy so it was a steal! And you can't even see the dings.