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We’ve been living in the new house for about a week now and really need to get a refrigerator. I’ve been looking around online and have been dissatisfied with my search results. Here’s my dilemma…
Since we live in the country, and have a bunch of kids that eat a lot, we need a separate freezer to store food. The freezer will go in the pantry so it will be close to the kitchen. This got me to thinking that we really could do without the freezer part attached to a standard refrigerator. I mean, I should be able to save money by purchasing a freezerless frig right?
Come to find out, there aren’t many products like what I’m wanting. The first option that I found was refrigerator drawers. These are very attractive, but way too expensive. I did eventually find freezerless refrigerators and the prices aren’t bad. But one feature is missing from all of them – a cold water dispenser.
Although an ice maker would be nice, I don’t mind using ice trays. But I must have a cold water dispenser. We have excellent tasting, chlorine-free well water and all of us, kids included, drink a lot of it at home. I realize that I could keep a pitcher of water in the frig but I know it would ultimately result in less water consumption. I could purchase a free standing water cooler but I don’t like the idea of my water sitting around in a plastic container, not to mention the hassle of refilling the thing. *sigh*
So what to do? I can’t be the only one wanting something like this. Please share your ideas and suggestions…
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I would simply buy a regular refigerator with the freezer – I would find one with the largest refigerator portion I could. This will provide you not only with chilled water but ice also. One of the main reasons I say this – is it will save you not only time, but money.
The problem with freezer chests is stuff manages to sink to the bottom, causing you to leave the door open while you search for the item you are looking for. The other catch is that any open packages – no matter how well sealed will tend to get spilled.
The only item I will caution you about is ongoing costs. I love my LG Refigerator, but I don’t love the fact that I have to spend $60 every 6 months for a new filter. I wish you guys the best of luck & congrats on moving in
Sean,
Thank you for your response.
I agree with you about chest freezers…they can be a pain. We were thinking of getting an upright freezer because a chest won’t fit in our utility room. It is almost a necessity where we live and with a family of our size. When you have four hungry boys, and a girl that can out eat any of them, you have to stock up and we save a lot by buying in bulk and freezing portions. Needless to say, most of our meals are cooked at home and eating out is reserved for special occasions.
I hate grocery shopping and if it wasn’t for produce, I could avoid the grocery store all but a few times a year. In the future I hope to have a greenhouse to grow fruit and veg year round. One day…
I have only one idea, but it still leaves you WITHOUT a water dispenser. Sears has the freezerless frig. But none of these have water in the door. I hope you come up with a good idea. This seems like such a simple request, but I looked at a ton of sights to help you and this is all I could find.
Eva,
Thank you for the effort…I really appreciate the help. I’ve also looked at a gazillion websites and cannot find a thing.
I’m usually not a picky person but saving money and eating/drinking healthy is very important to me, especially where my kids are concerned. It makes me happy to see them drink water without complaining. We still buy powdered kool-aid type drink mix but we no longer keep a pitcher of it in the frig. The kids can have it whenever they want as long as they make their own drink and they’re usually too “busy” to do that (lol). Initially, they tried to drink milk with everything but that is now limited to cereal only. I still make sweet tea occasionally and we drink soda when we’re out and about.
We could just add ice cubes to tap water but that makes it tastes different. I know I’m sounding picky again but whatever it takes to keep us healthy. Besides, I’ve lost 15 pounds since we made this change last year (summer 2008) and you can’t argue with that.
Sadie, we have a freezerless refrigerator and love it. We do have an ice maker in the kitchen also and an upright freezer in the hall not too far away. I love our “all” refrigerator! The ice maker also suplies ice for coolers in summer for picnics and boat trips. I enjoyed reading your blog. Is the insullation in yet? Love, Lady
Hi Lady…so nice to hear from you! Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving me a comment 🙂
What is the brand/model of your refrigerator and ice maker? Does either have a water dispenser?
No, we don’t have insulation yet because we have to install the HVAC system first. We have the heat pumps but the linesets have been on backorder for weeks. Jason called around and apparently there’s a shortage so all we can do is wait. The cold hasn’t been that bad except for first thing in the morning which makes it hard to get out of bed. We have a couple of space heaters and I’ve been making “camp” fires outside every day. Of course the kids love the fires and have been roasting lots of hot dogs and marshmallows. Good thing we have a lot of wood to burn.
Love,
Sadie, Jason, & kids