Refrigerator Joy
We got a refrigerator - but it wasn't what we expected
We have a refrigerator!
Yes, I’m excited. And you may be thinking, so what? Everyone has a refrigerator. But you have to admit, we take this household convenience for granted. Until you don’t have one.
Decades ago, the freezer in my sister’s apartment wouldn’t thaw. If you’re of a certain age, you know what I mean. At some point, there is more white crust in your freezer than food. So my sister did what most of us did in desperation: she took a screwdriver (or a knife) and started hacking away. Well… that didn’t go as expected. Except that it resulted in a new refrigerator. A new refrigerator is nice, but it’s a hefty expense.
A few Christmases back, the power grid went out in Ketchum/Sun Valley. In Picabo, where I lived, it only lasted a few hours. But up north where it was packed with visitors for the holidays, it lasted two days. People were besides themselves. All that food that spoiled! Which is a bit interesting considering it was winter and folks could theoretically just put their food outside. But when you have a large refrigerator packed with all your normal needs and doubled for guests plus special treats… I suppose it’s a challenge to pack all that into coolers or directly in the snow.
It’s hard to imagine living without a modern fridge. My mom was born in 1934 and she use to tell the story of her father buying a gallon of ice cream when she was a kid and the family of five had to eat it all in one sitting because there was no room in the freezer for leftovers. I expect her family’s fridge looked something like this:
In the scheme of things, this household essential is actually quite new. The first home electric refrigerator was invented in 1913 and had a cooling unit on top of the icebox but mass production didn’t happen until five years later.
Until the 1940’s, about 92% of homes still had a non-electric ice box made of oak, and even this wasn’t a thing until the 1860s. The ice box was simply an insulated cabinet with a compartment containing ice and fresh ice would have to be inserted into the fridge every week. Meanwhile, the ice would melt and be collected in a pan under the ice box. The system worked and seemed miraculous at the time. But by modern standards, it was a hassle. So, by the early 1940s, almost 45% of homes had replaced their ice boxes with an electric fridge and popularity continued to soar. Today, almost 25% of American households have two refrigerators, while 0.5% (over 1.5 million) have none.
There are many things we need for our Sicily house. Like a mattress. We still need a mattress. And new toilet seats. And a stove, and a washer and dryer. And living room furniture. But we did get a sink hooked up in the kitchen when we were there in February. And, under the direction of Pepe, our local contractor, we had the bathroom under the stairs “decommissioned” and fitted as a laundry room. We shopped and shopped and shopped for washer/dryers until we were utterly exhausted and thoroughly confused. In the end, we walked away. As much as I need to wash my clothes, this isn’t a priority.
A refrigerator though! Every day I wished for a fridge. A cool box to hold cheese and olives and wine. And our leftover pizza or a freshly-filled cannolo that I wasn’t yet ready to eat. And the bottles of water that became tepid in the heat.
The challenge was that I had my heart set on a retro fridge. The house is, after all, historic and dates back to the 1930s. While I didn’t want something authentic to that era (I mean really, that would be insane), something that looked like it was from the 50s or 60s would be cool. Something like this:
We looked – in retail stores, used stores, and even Facebook marketplace – but couldn’t find anything we liked. So we came back to the States and I finally searched the Amazon Italy site. And there it was. A retro-ish refrigerator that could be delivered to our door for no extra charge.
Except by the time we were ready to order it, the price had gone up and I wavered. I’ve always been frugal but now I look at every purchase in comparison to other things we need – or – I want. Technically we don’t need new toilets or bidets since there are already three of each there, but I want new toilets and bidets. And while they each only cost about 100 or 125 euro… that adds up.
So I decided against the retro fridge and we opted for a modern Bosch instead. A much larger capacity for only 520 euro. Hey, that’s a savings equal to two new bidets!
Most refrigerators in Italy are small and hidden behind cabinets. It’s actually a pretty sleek look.
I would love to have a refrigerator hidden from view. If only it didn’t mean compromising on size. More than that, we’re not ready to install the full kitchen because we’re still waiting for the walls to dry out, which we’re told could take another year. And then new drywall needs to be put up. Meanwhile, we need a fridge.
Enzo texted yesterday that the refrigerator had arrived. YAY!!!! And then he sent this photo:
Why was it in the foyer of the house, between the front door and the stairs and not in the kitchen? Well, he explained, it’s quite tall and needs to be “lowered” to get through the doorway. And then today, he sent this and I can’t stop laughing.
We have a refrigerator. A VERY TALL refrigerator. As Tom says, our next purchase might be a stool. :)
Tell me your refrigerator stories. Your wins and your woes. If you’ve purchased one (or more), how did you decide which one to buy? What features do you like best and why?
That is a gorgeous fridge, albeit a bit tall! My mother used to tell me that when she was a child, she remembered the "ice man", delivering blocks of ice to cool their "icebox". She was born in 1913, but don't think they had the means for an electric fridge. Thanks for this info and neat photos!
That is one bizarrely proportioned fridge! As I was reading your story, my ingrained version of the European vs American fridge kept bubbling up. (To be clear, my Euro version is based on my childhood years in Germany.) Which is to say, modest fridges, vs the absurdly large. Buy only what you know you will eat — preferably that day — vs buy way too much and forget what you have because it’s buried somewhere under the carrots you bought last month. Eat strawberries when they are in season, not in December. Asparagus for a few weeks in the spring, and make it a celebration. When I spent three months there a few years ago (no car, no dryer, no microwave, tiny fridge), I would hop on my bike, ride to the nearest market, and savor my purchases, buying only what would fit in my basket and (when I went overboard) in my backpack. Back at my apartment, I’d haul my clunker bike down a flight of stairs to the basement of building, and carry my treasures two flights up to my little place. I loved it!