The Culture of Small: One day, I’ll own a smaller fridge

[“My mom would occasionally look in the freezer to see if there was anything there she could use for supper. As I recall, the freezer was only big enough for two ice cube trays and half a bag of Birdseye frozen peas. So, not much help there.” A recollection from 1959 - G. Harrison]

One day, I’ll own a smaller fridge

Positive news.

76% is reportedly “the amount an ENERGY STAR appliance can save a household in energy costs over the course of an appliance’s lifetime, according to the Bosch Green Machine Index.” (Aug. 4, London Free Press)

Sounds good. I tip my hat in the direction of ENERGY STAR.

But we may be wasting the advantage of making things run more economically. I mean, have you seen the size of refrigerators lately? A friend has a fridge with a pull-out freezer the size of a small nation.

What? Is a food shortage coming?


[“My mom’s fridge was never this full!”: photo and story link]

We may be wasting the advantage of making appliances more energy efficient in much the same way we wasted more efficient home construction methods by increasing the square footage of the average house. “Build it better, then bigger, so we can fill it with more stuff” must be our motto in North America.

76%. Advantage wasted.

Because my wife and I live less than two blocks away from a grocery store (one that will keep things frozen for us until the time we actually need them), I think there will soon come a day when we can get by with a fridge one third the size of our current ENERGY STAR model.

But, does any company make them in such a small size, with a freezer that would accommodate a couple of ice cube trays and a few pork chops?

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Deforest City should become a leader in all things small.

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