apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

As long as a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke still fits!

Does the freezer work as well as the freezer in a regular sized fridge?

Good luck keeping a pint of Ben & Jerry's frozen overnight!

A full fridge is more energy efficient than one that is 1/4 full. Kudos on making a green choice!

It's cute but I just couldn't ever go there. I cook and there's just no room for leftovers in there.

All I long for is a frost-free fridge. The one in my rental apt. doesn't have a separate door for the freezer and cooling areas so defrosting is constantly a problem. It was new when I moved in nearly 20 years ago now and its still working so I can't complain too much, but oooh for the luxury of being frost-free.

i'm with ruth. i'm roasting a chicken this weekend, and a 5 lb bird just would not fit into that fridge. plus, can you store more than a pint-sized container of milk (and if so, can you still hang on to the diet coke)?

I work long hours and don't get to go grocery shopping too much, so I like being able to stock up when I do go. A small fridge would be no good for me.

Will that fridge be up on the counter or raised somehow? I just couldn't imagine having the fridge almost be on the floor to pull things and see things. Oh, the plights of being 6' tall.

Hey, whatever works. Personally, that would be hell on earth for me, since I can barely fit everything into my full-size refrigerator. I'm assuming Mary eats out a lot or orders in!

Way to go Mary! Im not sure why the other "apartmenttherapee's" are questioning your choice. If it works for you thats all that matters. Obviously if one is cooking 4 course meals they will need a full size fridge, maybe even a sub-zero. Cheers.

It's not that I don't eat at home, but I don't eat anything fancy at home. My cooking repertoire is limited to things that boil and things involving melted cheese. For anything else, I leave the house and have an expert make it.

Like anyone else, when I was planning my new kitchen, I traded out the things I wasn't really using -- in my case, the oven and the full sized fridge -- for the things I didn't have and desperately wanted -- drawers and counter space. I figure if the next person doesn't want it, they can buy a big fridge and put in a dishwasher like my downstairs neighbors. It looks like I am limited to those little tall milk cartons and only one flavor of juice at a time for the forseeable future, but I'd rather reclaim the space that the big fridge takes up and not have to chop onions on my kitchen stool again.

...

Well, AT seems to have carefully considered the way they made their points the last time we visited this issue...

Good luck to Mary. It's not always an easy choice to make, and if you cook, it may take some modification (Maybe you'll have to strip the leftovers from a 5lb. roaster into a tupperware bowl to make room) or you may find yourself ordering out more. Whatever happens, you've definitely freed up a significant amout of space in your home. Good luck!

I had a fridge that size in an apt. in Washington DC and I loved it. The great thing about it is it forces you to contstantly be "editing" -- throwing away everything that isn't fresh or that you don't plan on finishing. As a result, everything in your fridge is always fresh and easy to find. I found it ample sized for one person, but I can see why it wouldn't work for a family.
Now I live in Brooklyn and have a full-size fridge taking up a bunch of space I could use better for something else...

I have been contemplating this move for years.
I envision two smaller fridges plus a small freezer and then a counter top over the three. My only concern is the exponential compressor noise. Can anyone recommend affordable fridges that are known to be quiet?

(I've been sooo good about not making any comments about the headline to this item. And it's KILLING me!!)

OMG... you had to go there.

This is why I live in queens...I love my subzero, in addition to which there is another fridge in the pantry...primarly for beverages and ice cream.

congrats on choosing a greener appliance, mary. in my experience, we waste less food with a small fridge since we're encouraged to eat our leftovers before they go bad. does your freezer work as well as the full-sized model?

Good for Mary for making a change she's happy with. But I'm going to have to quibble with Paul and say, since when do fridges fall into the category of "unnecessary clutter"? I tend to think of the fridge as one of those things, like a full-sized bed or a bathtub, that, while not required for one's basic survival, has the potential to make one's life a heck of a lot more pleasant. Clutter? It's not like a stack of old bank statements, it's where you keep your food! Sheesh! And I say that as someone with a full fridge and absolutely ZERO counter space. Not even a sliver! You're not a better or more "humble" person for picking a li'l fridge ... your eating/cooking habits/needs are merely different and allow you to make a different choice that works really well for YOU. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE AT -- the site has been invaluable in helping me transition into a tiny studio apartment - but it drives me crazy when certain ideas/suggestions are presented as The Only True Way, instead of merely great ideas and thoughtful suggestions, which they are.

I think this just shows that everyone has to make the choices that fit their own lifestyle. No right or wrong, just right and wrong for you. Actually no, some things are still wrong. But not Mary's fridge.

i'd have to quibble with me. i think by definition, choosing a smaller fridge does indeed make one more humble ('better' is subjective, but that claim was not made in the post).

a large fridge is something that most of the world happily lives without therefore it is not a 'need' but a luxury. if you try to make your life more pleasant with a larger appliance, that is a choice not a need.

humble- ranking low in a hierarchy or scale - INSIGNIFICANT, UNPRETENTIOUS b - not costly or luxurious (a humble contraption)

Here we go again...

me, what's your deal? I think your quibble was with AT, and not me...

Hijiki, I knew you had to inject your morality into this somewhere, and I still think you need to put your judgemental attitude on ice (in a full sized fridge).

Being humble has nothing to do with anything. I have a half size fridge and I'm keeping it. It's good for yogurts and beer and rotisserie chickens... but not for a week's worth of food. But I'm not cooking anymore, so I'm buying takeout every night and it's not cheap. It's luxurious. You seem to know about the evils of luxury...

cool it paul, why are you taking offense? i let the last argument go politely despite your continued antagonism and now you're getting all heated up over what? i chose my words carefully so as not to offend you again. where am i being judgemental where's my attitude?

me claimed the choice does not make a person more humble and i argued that it did. now do you disagree with the logic or are you just eager to pick a fight here?

Well, hijiki, a lot of the world lives without most of the stuff we have in our apartments. Are electricity, running water, and a week's worth of frozen foods and milk "needs"? No, you got me there! But I still don't think exchanging one appliance for another in a slightly smaller size makes you "insignificant," "unpretentious," or low ranking in hierarchy or scale. I also think truly being humble involves not advertising the fact that you are humble.
Word to Ruth ... let's all continue to make the apartment choices that are right for us and refrain from judging too harshly those that have made different choices. Let's all leave our feelings of self-righteous superiority at the door, eh, hijiki?

p.s. to Paul ... I was merely disagreeing with what you said about AT considering more carefully his points this time 'round. Sorry if that was unclear. I (heart) you, Paul.

the caps belong to merriam webster... not my emphasis. i think you probably know that the last part of the definition (the bit you left out) is what was relevant here. i just don't see where i'm judging anyone or where i am being self-righteous.

i am correcting your statement that a smaller fridge doesn't make one more humble because, as i explained, i think it does. it's my understanding that consuming fewer luxuries is more humble than consuming more... why is that so offensive? is it untrue? i didn't claim one was 'better' or 'superior' to the other. i didn't even imply it. that's all. i'm sorry you don't like what i'm saying but there's nothing between the lines unless you put it there.

I also don't think a smaller fridge makes a person less costly or luxurious. Sorry if that was unclear. I thought it was obvious. As Paul helpfully pointed out, trading in one "luxury" (a full-sized fridge), often means replacing it with another (ordering a lot of takeout). And, when all is said and done, you still HAVE a fridge. It's not like you've really abandoned the luxury of having refrigerated foods. And even if you DID, I still don't think that would *necessarily* make you "humble." If the corporate lawyer in the massive penthouse apartment tosses his fridge because he eats out at the finest restaurants every night and never cooks, is he more "humble" than the person who cooks their own meals every night in their tiny, basement apartment? Is he "greener"?

Sorry, Maxwell ... I know it maybe seems like I'm making a HUGE issue out of your choice of one word. And I guess, at this point, I am. But only because hijiki is pressing the issue and I'm stubborn and argumentative, not because I was really so enraged that you called yourself humble. Again, love the site and I'm sorry if it reads like I'm picking on you a little too hard.

I'm done with this.

Love the site... it's pretty amazing... But this whole issue is just giving me bad juju, and I need good juju, no sermons, no proselytizing, and a big phat phridge in my next home.

there is not necessarily a cause/effect relationship between a small fridge and eating out more. it is equally likely that a smaller space to keep food encourages you to use that food before buying more thereby reducing the waste of forgotten food. it also discourages buying lots of heavily packaged frozen prepared foods. it is also just as likely that a person buys fresh food at a farmers' market multiple times a week and uses canvas bags. often, people choose smaller appliances as one part of an entire lifestyle choice with the specific purpose of leading a more humble life in the eyes of the planet.

we can make all sorts of scenarios and mine are no better than yours. the point, though, is that given the same lifestyle habits, the decision to use a smaller fridge means your needs are more humble than if you chose to keep a larger fridge. in mary's case, we are talking about her lifestyle being a constant. now if she keeps those same habits and chooses to reduce her fridge size then her bottom line would be more green and more humble than before. clearly a fridge is not clutter to you, but in her case the large fridge was clutter because she wasn't using it.

i'm sorry i am also stubborn, but i made a pretty innocuous statement and got attacked so i'm defending myself. i do agree with paul that the words were much more carefully considered in this update.

Mary! Where did you find that great little refrigerator? I've been looking for one that size but haven't succeeded. I love it, and I agree with the "moving up by moving down" heading. I think it looks chic!

Aulaire

Cat fight... I bet on hijiki...

hijiki and paul at it again! Maybe I should give the "winner" my extra fridge magnets...

...in answer to the repeating question, my freeze pops and frozen strawberries are still rock-hard two days later. I actually first considered Avanti because my vet stores vaccines and medicine in another model... It's also nice and quiet. I barely notice when it comes on, but I could hear the old one over my radio.

I don't feel any more humble with my mini fridge, although I think it's kinda cute and I like that I have something that actually fits me. As someone who's lived in New York my entire adult life, I do feel a little smug that I have a smaller house and don't have to drive ever, but I'm really no better off than anyone else out there because of it...

Aulaire -- it's an Avanti. I got it at PC Richards, since I could "visit" it and see exactly how much space I got. Their website is a pain to use, but you should be able to find it elsewhere online. I know that there's also a two drawer fridge/freezer by U Line, but it was waaaay out of my price range. Summit also makes a competing model in stainless, but I don't know who in the city carries it, and I did want to actually look inside the fridge.