Friday 4 September 2009

A difficult decision.



Nine months ago we took on the challenge of living without a refridgerator. For most of this time we have survived quite well. We progressed from iceblocks in a cool box to an insulated cupboard on an outside wall, regular swapping of iceblocks ensured that for the most our food was chilled and all was well. But, over the summer, things haven't kept so well. Food has spoiled quickly and I've had to throw it away.
At the start of September I decided to reintroduce a fridge to our household. It is smaller than our original fridge, and secondhand from freecycle. When we need to replace it we will buy an A rated one.
Living without the fridge, we kept very little in it and food spoiled. Now I can keep leftovers to eat the next day without freezing them , chill fresh produce when needed and make homemade yoghurt that won't go off before we've finished it!!!!!

It was a difficult decision but I think, for us, at this point in time, the right one.

7 comments:

  1. I love hearing my mother talk of not having a fridge - having a cool lader etc...I admire what you are doing.

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  2. At least you can say that you've given it a go. You wouldn't have known if it worked for you or not if you hadn't tried it.

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  3. Yeah I think it was the correct decision to get one back. You only have to factor in the cost of the waste (environmentally as well as financially) and the rubbish miles from the stuff you can't recycle against the energy from your fridge and you'll probably break even; definitely even enough not to beat yourself up about it. x

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  4. I have met many people who live without TV's but not anyone living without a refridgerator, I admire the fact that you did try to live without one, but needs must come first. So I agree with Jo and Lucy, You tried!

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  5. We lost our power here for eight days last year. After that I didn't plug the freezer in for a year! I think it's great you tried going without the refer! I couldn't do it..not here at least. : )

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  6. We live without a freezer but have a small A+ graded fridge. We have made big cuts in other areas of our energy use to compensate for this though. Well done for trying to live without either :-)

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  7. I agree with what Lucy says.
    My partner and I lived without a fridge or freezer for 2 months while we lived on our 30-foot sailboat in Ontario. There was only two of us and I enjoy cooking small fresh meals all the time so I can see why we didn't have trouble dealing with it - Actually it was a really great experience!
    By the way I really enjoy your blog, it's fantastic and I admire the lifestyle you live and the things you teach your children. I hope to see more posts in the future!

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