Those are pretty much the only things in my freezer right now.
When I read over at Little Blog in the Big Woods about how he’s lived for three decades without a fridge, and believes doing so forces you to eat healthier, fresher food, I made that spirally motion with my index finger next to my ear because that’s just crazy talk. Well, OK, maybe he’s right — but I can’t get through an entire loaf of bread in a couple days, and by the time it’s wrapped up in a furry blanket of mould, it’s no use.
Then I noticed that on the inside of my fridge there were two dials — one for the temperature of the fridge and a separate one for the freezer. So if I turned the former down and turned the latter off, I could still keep all my perishables cool, just not cold.
And while I love nothing more than a chilled martini on a warm summer’s evening, the more energy I consume, the more I contribute to global warming, which turns those nice warm evenings into sweltering hot evenings — and then I’ll just want water, which is way boring.
So from now on: no more freezer.
April 19, 2007 at 3:40 am |
Now that’s just crazy talk. Well, I’m glad you are able to wean yourself off at least part of your fridge. We’re not quite ready to make that step yet, but I’m rooting for you!
April 19, 2007 at 5:19 am |
Ooh, I’d be careful with messing with the fridge temp if I were you! Now, admittedly I don’t know a whole lot about refrigerators. (And if I could figure out a way to make it work for me, I’d nix mine like the LBBW guy…) But I can tell you from my experience that a) messing with the fridge’s temp can make it go all wonky – creating drippy messes and actually using up *more* energy (or so my landlord and the electric company claimed), and b) it can be unsafe. I think it’s something like 40 degrees fahrenheit that’s the threshhold for safety – any warmer and you’re likely to grow organics of the unwanted kind. (And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any of those in my edibles!)
I have yet to discover how LBBW (and, presumably others) preserve perishable food. Do they just not eat it? Do they smoke/salt/sugar/can their perishables???
If you decide to keep your fridge’s temp low, I’d suggest investing in a good fridge thermometer so you can be sure your food is safe.
April 19, 2007 at 12:42 pm |
Wow, great idea and effort. Certainly worth a try.
You may need to play around with it for awhile to get the settings right. And ultimately it may not work out, but it’s worth some experimentation.
Some careful organization will probably be necessary within the fridge. A possibile tactic could be to buy a/some frozen goods intentionally for their frozen state to deliberately release their coldness in a planned way … and eat ‘em as it defrosts. A great excuse to buy icecream and eat it. Actually, frozen berries would be excellent … and serve as a topping on the icecream … your new diet?
Your freezer contents is good humour for the day, Vanessa.
April 19, 2007 at 2:25 pm |
Awesome idea Vanessa, I think a lot of people could do this, especially considering the majority of people I know have freezers similar to yours!!!
Cheers,
April 19, 2007 at 2:29 pm |
here is where we part company. In our freezer we have nothing but the same brand of gin and six martini glasses, all kept as cold as possible because that is how you make a great martini. The ultracold freezer will be the last thing to go. After all , it is only opened once (well, maybe twice) a day.
April 19, 2007 at 3:23 pm |
It might be worth it to stick a thermometer in your fridge for a few days. The temperature of the freezer affects the temperature of the fridge.
April 19, 2007 at 4:50 pm |
Go, You! We’re not ready to do this, either, sadly. I know it probably shouldn’t matter, but we have all wind energy, and I just don’t feel that this is a step we really will be making. A freezer for one is a lot less full than a freezer for five!
April 19, 2007 at 6:48 pm |
Love the blog, very inspiring.
What about not flushing unless it’s a #2. We do this at home and frankly it saves a lot of water! (Am 10 months pregnant and pee fairly often).
The toilet doesn’t stink and basically we are saving tonnes of water by doing this. If it’s offensive you can always just keep the lid down…
April 19, 2007 at 6:55 pm |
Yeah, if I had a family of five I definitely wouldn’t bother turning the freezer off because then at least it would be in use. But with so much empty space being kept cold I just thought it was a waste. I’ll obviously pay close attention to what I put in my turned-down fridge, too… I know stuff like salsa can get bacteria growing pretty quickly even if you can’t see it, so I might do some reading up on how long certain foods keep.
April 20, 2007 at 12:40 am |
Vanessa- Brava! I’m loving the image of you making spirally motions next to you ear-
It does help to remember the BILLIONS of folks in the world living quite successfully without a refrigerator today; most of them in warm climates.
A little nudge on the fridge part- you could start removing the stuff that really doesn’t have to be there. Someday, when you open it; and there’s only 4 things in the whole fridge- you’ll be able to make the leap. Betcha!
April 24, 2007 at 8:18 am |
Nessa, your posts continue to have me laughing out loud!
I think eliminating the use of your freezer is a great idea. I look at all the things I keep in mine – and how many of them are freezer-burnt beyond recognition – and think that I could probably live without it. I don’t know if I could go without a fridge, but I certainly don’t need a full-size one. Would a bar fridge use considerably less power?
April 26, 2007 at 1:12 am |
Vanessa
This is an amazing blog. Thanks for sending so many people to me. I will add a link to do the same for you! Keep up the good work. I like your green thumbs down section too. I can think of a few Toronto businesses I would like to add to that section for sure!
May 14, 2007 at 4:39 pm |
If you want to keep some frozen foods but don’t have enough to fill the freezer, pack the empty space with ice. A full freezer is more efficient. It’s easy to fill empty containers with water and pop them in there. That also guarantees a good supply of cheap ice anytime (often a necessity when shopping by bike or foot in the hot desert summer!) Since water expands as it freezes, though, be careful not to fill your containers to the top for freezing and be very cautious if you choose to use glass. Cleaning up a freezer full of glass is no fun and wastes energy!
April 23, 2008 at 8:19 pm |
Hey Vanessa, I was introduced to your blog just as you were finishing it up. I loved it and was sad that I didn’t a chance to read it from the start in real time. But the great thing is, because you’ve archived it, I can go back and start from the beginning and follow your blog everyday – only I’m doing it a year later!!
Anyway I have another good tip for fridge/freezer use. In the winter time take containers and fill them full of water and place them outside. Once they’ve frozen put them in the fridge. They’ll keep the fridge cooler, until the ice melts. In the summer use the freezer to do the same thing. Both fridge and freezer will use less power.
May 12, 2008 at 1:15 pm |
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