I am really leaning toward seeing about converting one of the upright freezers in the workshop to a refrigerator.  It's the cheapest route right now that I can find, and while I don't suppose I'd mind a nice new fridge, I don't want to spend the money to get one.  An older, used one might not be bad, but you take your chances on if it will last...or work any better than what I have in the kitchen right now.

Obviously, we need to rethink our way of life around here. Not having left-overs to deal with would certainly help the fridge situation.  We can purchase, or re-bottle, smaller amounts of condiments we use regularly...mustard, ketchup, salad dressings and mayos.  I don't need to keep eggs in the fridge.  I'm not storing them that long...even buying them, I buy a case every other week.  That isn't so long.  I could easily them up with noodles, baked goods and even freeze some now and again.

I don't know about the milk, though.  That has me wondering still.  I don't typically have alot of dairy in there....some block cheeses for slicing for sandwiches, sometimes sour cream and/or cottage cheese.  We have pickles and jam in there (I can most things in quarts...).  Lunch meats are moved from the freezer each week for the menfolk's lunch needs.  My butter is from Sam's right now, the 5# bucket.  I am really looking at this from a different angle now after reading and talking with folks today.  I think we can make a change to no or very limited refrigeration needs pretty easily.  Guess I'm just a bit nervous to actually take the plunge.

Refrigeration alternatives

I have gotten so caught up in the various ways of perfecting refrigeration that I have failed to realize that one of the best schemes is to reduce the need for it by pursuing alternatives. Anybody who uses a refrigerator seldom considers what mankind did before the refrigerator was developed. Some may remember cutting ice from lakes, storing it in well-insulated buildings, and the daily task of transferring small chunks to the “icebox” in the house. But let’s go back still further in time.

In the pre-icebox era, how was food preserved? Basically, people used one or more of four techniques: root-cellaring, canning, dehydration, or controlled supply. Let’s look at them one at a time.

26. Build and use a root cellar.
The secret to the root cellar is that it’s tucked down into the midst of the biggest thermal flywheel we know—the earth. In a 12-hour span, air temperatures may vary as much as 100 degrees F above ground. Several feet into the earth, however, there may not occur a one-degree change. Season to season, the same in-earth spot may vary by only 10-20 degrees F.

Finish this article and find several others at Backwoods Home...   

Now here's an idea...I already have 2 uprights, although I get his point of the vertical doors.  I only have 1 chest freezer right now, but still....an idea...

Man Retrofits Chest Freezer for Refrigeration

And this idea is rather interesting...

Electricity-Free Refrigeration


Well, maybe neither is an ideal replacement, but it's a start at seeing what sort of options I might have aside from hitting Best Buy or Sears with every penny of that Economic Stimulus Rebate check.  I really don't want to stimulate the economy with my rebate check...I want to hoard it for a while.


Of course, as soon as someone gives me some great advice on living without a fridge -- and the family not rebelling at the idea -- I could take that stimulus check and buy this....now that is a dream stove!

36" 6 burner Gas Range