Reducing the Refrigeratorby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 31 Jan 2008 10:23 AM In this day and age everything seems to be super sized. But, there are times when smaller is better. Here is how to replace that current refrigerator with a different system that will save you money. Refrigerators can really be energy hogs. If you are single, have a small family or don't cook much, then a standard refrigerator is just a waste. My father is a good example. He lives alone and eats out most of the time, either at restaurants or in the homes of friends and family. Some times I try to convince him to take a bunch or frozen meals that he can reheat. Last year, when his refrigerator broke down, he didn't replace it. Instead, he purchased a mini-fridge. This works really well for him. The mini-fridge is just enough to hold milk, eggs, leftovers, cold cuts and snacks, such as fruit, pudding and more. If you want a little more flexibility, you can add a chest freezer along with the mini-fridge. This way, you will have a lot of freezer space and just the right amount of refrigerator space. This will cost you a lot less than buying a traditional refridgerator/freezer. It will also save you a ton on energy costs to run the smaller mini-fridge and the chest freezer. Chest freezers come in different sizes, so you can find the right size for you. Storing freezer food in plastic bags and flat will allow to get quite a large amount of meals into the freezer, so to err on the side of smaller rather than larger is probably a good decision when choosing a model. If you purchase pre-frozen meals, they will stack nicely. Breakfast and snack foods can be frozen and then heated in the microwave very easily, expanding your meal options from the freezer instead of the refrigerator. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: Conquering The Grocery Waste (1) Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags apartment, frugal, Food, thrifty Discuss this article
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