Replacing an Appliance

Ever since we bought this house, 6.5 years ago, C and I have wanted to replace our refrigerator. It is small and not fabulous. But every time we looked at replacing it, we would realize that we could only replace it with another refrigerator exactly like it because of the height issue. The over the fridge cabinets come down far enough that there is only one model of refrigerator that will fit in that space. If we wanted to replace our fridge, it would be with one exactly like it except newer. That wasn’t what we were looking for, so never saw the point in spending the money.

In the next week or two, we will be replacing the refrigerator. Now it isn’t because we want to but because it needs to happen. The fridge has started freezing things kept in the back while barely keeping things up front cold. The door doesn’t always close all the way, even with nothing blocking it, and part of the seal has started to rot away.

However, just because we have to replace it, it doesn’t mean that we want to get an identical model. We want a slightly larger refrigerator. We want one with a bottom drawer freezer. We don’t need side by side doors, but the bottom freezer is something we really want. But whatever we get, it means we have to make some modifications- because the space hasn’t changed size.

In this sense, our previous desire to replace the fridge is paying off. We know not only the new refrigerator we want, we also know what we need to do so that it will fit. Our summer of creating shelving in the basement means that we actually have the ability to clear out the over the fridge cabinets and take them down.

We’ll still have to find storage space for some baking goods (flour, sugar, etc), but I think we’ll be good to go. With any luck, this weekend  J will help us take the cabinets down and we’ll head off to the store for a new refrigerator. It’s kind of sad how excited I am about this.