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tammyte

Best fridge/freezer combo for large family?

tammyte
9 years ago

I have searched GW as best as I can. I have searched the web. I am so utterly confused. LOL

We are a large-ish family and my kids eat a lot. The oldest is just turning 12yo so I know we won't be needing less space anytime soon. ;-)

We cook mostly from scratch, eat whole foods and such. We don't live in a place where we can go outside and pick our lettuce from the garden year 'round, so we need ample refrigerator space for produce. Especially during our humid summers. Leaving anything other than apples, bananas, onions and potatoes out of the fridge is unheard of around here.

I have been thinking I would do an all fridge all freezer combo but now I am second guessing. Can I find this for around the same price as a nice size french door fridge over freezer? How do the fridge/freezer capacities compare?

Right now we are in a temp home and just happen to have two refrigerators with a freezer on top in the kitchen plus an upright freezer in the laundry room. One of the small freezers is just for our ice trays and a bin to hold the ice as there is no ice maker and we go through a lot. Both refrigerators are full 90% of the time unless it's grocery day. The upright freezer is new to me and I am slowly filling it up as I see sales so I'm sure I would use the space.

What do you think would be my best bet? Of course budget matters. Thanks!

Comments (5)

  • lascatx
    9 years ago

    Are the appliances you are using yours? Will they move with you? The small upright freezer?

    If you have two fridges 90% full most of the time, that means that grocery day only leaves 10% or so to fill. Sounds to me like you may be storing more food than you need to get through a week. To my way of thinking, a fridge should only be 90-100% full on grocery day or when getting ready for a gathering. Be careful not to over buy and then waste. That's twice the potential science experiments.

    And yes, if you give yourself more space, you will tend to fill it. The bigger question is whether you will be working through that food or whether you will have things that start losing quality in 6 months, a year, 2 years -- and you start tossing things. Not to mention the stuffed shelves with frozen things that can drop and break toes and foot bones. Buy what you need for regular use with a little room to spare for special occassions, not what you can fill.

    The budget all fridge/all freezer combinations I've seen people doing are something like the Frigidaire or Kenmore twins -- looks like about 16.7 cu ft and very basic (wire shelves and no drawers). They have models with solid shelves and drawers that run double or more what the basic one does.

    I'm not sure what you were thinking the budget range was for a French door model -- there is a pretty wide range depending on features. If you are thinking of getting two units, I would also consider something like a pair of these next to each other with one door reversed so they would be like a giant armoire fridge (think it is an LG made Kenmore)

    You could spend the same amount on one french door with dispenser model

  • tammyte
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks. I'll look at that option.

    Okay, maybe not full 90%. LOL We go to the store a couple times a week sometimes. I really don't have much waste. We don't have many left overs and if we do, we use them within a couple days or send in my husband's lunch.

    I think a lot of my space issues could be corrected if I actually chopped up the veggies the day I get them but that doesn't seem to happen.

    One of the fridge/freezers is ours and could go with us. Probably in the garage for overflow? The freezer and other fridge will stay here. They are old old old and pretty gross, but they were here and we are using them happily. :)

    The freezer would mostly have veggies that we use quite often, some berries and then meats I get a good deal on.

    I tend to buy items on sale and use what I have. So if I see cream cheese on sale I get a bunch to tide me over till it's on sale again. I won't buy if not on sale (unless there is some super special occasion). So that means I would need a large space for all that cream cheese in the fridge at first. Same for cottage cheese. That's a super easy side dish here. Currently I use one fridge for all the current stuff and the excess goes in the other fridge. That works nicely and keeps the kids from opening more than one container of something.

    Off to look at the one you mentioned. :)

  • lascatx
    9 years ago

    If they are old and gross, let it go. Newer ones are more energy efficient and likely to keep your food better.

    I have an earlier version of the fridge I posted as my overflow fridge in my utility room. I really like it and was surprised how much nicer it is than the one we replaced.

    We didn't plan on it but I went with a built-in in the kitchen. Actually, separate fridge and freezer too. Having separate compressors and circulation does give you better food storage properties. Produce will last longer and I thought I ought to mention that, but it doesn't sound like that is an issue for your family. Wasn't a factor in our purchasing, but it was something we noticed.

  • Texas_Gem
    9 years ago

    I have a family of 6 and we go thru a lot of food. My current setup is a standard fridge w/freezer on top in the kitchen and a freezerator in the garage.
    If you don't know what that is, it looks like a standard top freezer fridge except the top is the fridge and the bottom is the freezer and you can change the fridge part into a freezer.

    After analyzing my family's cooking/eating habits, our plan is to replace the kitchen fridge with a French door model and install a side by side in our walk in pantry.

    I, personally, can't go all freezer or tiny freezer/ reg fridge for my secondary storage as I use both fridge and freezer a lot.

    I haven't actually bought the new appliances yet but I am looking forward to when I have them.

    I currently do a lot of make ahead meals which I freeze in my garage fridge so when we have a busy day I can pull them out of the freezer and pop them in the oven.

    I store excess veggies and drinks in my extra fridge space but it isnt a lot of space. If I know I won't be using the veggies soon then I prep them and freeze them.

    There is no one right solution, what is perfect for me and my family would be terrible and result in a lot of wasted food and/or else electricity for another family.

    I suggest paying very careful attention to how you use what you currently have. Do you find yourself constantly running out of fridge space? Freezer space? Do you store more things frozen than fresh? If so a regular fridge of your choosing plus a full size freezer might be best.

  • tammyte
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    It seems difficult to really get a good feel for how we do things. In this temp home I have maybe 5' of actual counter space. That has a small microwave, blender (used a few times a day) and another spot where I usually have my electric skillet. The small bit of counter left is where I chop veggies. LOL

    Before we moved here I would do more things up ahead and freeze. I still do that with ground beef but nothing else really right now.

    What I see as our possible uses:

    1. Freeze ahead:
    -gluten free/egg free baked goods for my youngest child
    -gluten free baked goods for the other four kids
    -make ahead treats/snacks for myself

    I do these some already but not in the quanities I would prefer.

    -browned ground beef
    -grilled chicken
    -raw meats I get on sale
    -casseroles prepped and ready for oven

    2. Produce storage
    -We use a lot of lettuce. Most of the kids like salad and dh and I eat it quite a bit.
    -bell peppers - these I should really chop in advance but don't do that right now for lack of counter space (and forethought) Honestly though, if I chop them up, I usually just freeze them.
    -celery, carrots, zuchinni, asparagus and other odds and ends.
    I tend to make soups with tons of veggies. So one day my fridge might be filled to the brim and the next day 50% empty, but I have dh stop at the store on the way home that night.

    3. Containers
    -I like to make broth and store in jars in the fridge. I might have 6-8 quart jars one day and then none the next.
    -I keep a few other jars of various items.

    We don't have a lot of condiments or sodas. Mainly drink water or prepare our drinks fresh. Except almond milk. That I purchase in cartons.

    So I FEEL like I would utilize quite a bit of fridge space. I would like to buy a half/whole cow. That would use up a lot of freezer space.

    I tend to his costco and other specialty stores about 1 hour away from here and stock up on things in the freezer. Special bacon, special allergy free deli turkey, special pepperoni are three things I get for sure. I might have 12 packages of the turkey which take up an entire shelf in the upright freezer. But then I use those up over a period of 4-6 months before I get more.

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