This week, we finally replaced the side-by-side refrigerator/freezer that came with our house.
I hemmed and hawed about buying a new fridge for months because the old one technically worked fine. It cooled. It froze. It usually didn’t freeze produce or cause anything to spoil. The seal was even fine.
But it also was missing a handle for the freezer door and the configuration just did not work for the size of our family, the amount of produce we prep and consume in any given week, and for our meal prep habits.
We were fortunate to have a second refrigerator and freezer in our basement. Since having our newest child back in May, however, the constant running up and down to grab items from this surplus storage (that really became more everyday storage) was becoming more challenging. I knew that dashing to the basement multiple times per day was going to be unrealistic once our little one started rolling (which she just did!) and crawling around.
And I honestly just needed to take something out of my brain. The game of tetris to squeeze groceries and meal prep containers and regular leftovers into our refrigerator was becoming tiresome. And with multiple children opening and closing the fridge and rifling around inside, messes were inevitable.
So my husband, A., and I decided to take the plunge and use some gift money we received for my birthday and our anniversary toward our dream refrigerator.
We chose a model with a convertible middle drawer, which I knew would be so helpful for kids’ snacks. We will save so much energy just keeping the doors closed more when the boys go into the fridge to grab fruit or veggies.
I also knew I’d prefer a french door style with a drawer freezer since we primarily need the refrigerator space upstairs. I don’t access the freezer daily for much, so as long as we had the capacity to store ice, breastmilk, and smoothie supplies, I knew it would be enough.
I can’t stress how much I love this new fridge! I invested in a couple of acrylic drawers and two lazy susans for the inside (because this fridge is DEEP). And then I labeled it all! It’s so great.