If your fridge broke...

DancingLady

DancingLady

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I recently heard that s pretty large number of people are "one broken fridge away from foreclosure ". My roommate and I had an interesting discussion about this subject and we concluded that it is in fact possible to survive without a fridge for a lengthy period of time if you really had too. you would not be able to keep milk, but if you cook only for one day at a time and eat mostly beans and rice and vegetables, you simply cook for one day at a time and purchase fruits and vegetables every couple of days, rather than for the week. Do you think you could do this to avoid losing your home?
 
There are coolers available that you can use to keep food fresh in for a few days, they are used for camping sites. Also we must remember our grandparents may not have had a refridge and lived well without one. We have gotten use to having the comforts of modern living. I would have to change the way I shop for food and cook only what can be eaten in one to two days.
 
Yes. It's all about what you buy, how you buy it, and how you use it. I have a large pantry that has a cold floor. I can keep milk, butter cool. Other things like meat and other perishables can be bought as and when needed. If our grandparents could do it, then so can we.

people from my generation would be much better at doing this as we didn't grow up in a society where it is almost vital that they must have every gizmo and gadget going to be able to survive. These days people can hardly get out of bed without having their mobile phones In theyre hands, let alone being able to do without other things. Yes it's a pain having to shop everyday, but it may actually save you money in the long run, as when you do a shop once a week of a fortnight we tend to buy more than we need anyway
 
I have lived without a fridge for over a year. It is perfectly possible. Even recently in the last 3 years when my fridge gave up and the warranty people were playing exceptionally hard to deal with (It took over 1 month to sort out a new fridge!) we managed without any issues. Eggs don't need to be kept in a fridge. Most things can be kept cool one way or another including milk if needed. Our fridge failed in the middle of a hot summer (25-30C in the UK is hot) and we coped. OK we had the freezer for the usual stuff, but there was no need to shop everyday, (but remember we don't do meat/fish/dairy etc in this household). The main issue was veg going off much faster than normal, so we simply kept most of it covered with a wet tea-towel on the draining rack with the end of the tea-towel in water. As the water evaporates it chills the surrounding area and the water also kept the veg fresher. Sadly we don't have a larder or pantry anymore, otherwise that would have been exceptionally useful.
 
Picking up on what others have already posted.
Loss of a fridge can be got by. It'd force a change in how you live, and not just foodwise.
Houses are kept artificially warm these days. This means an increase in the requirement for keeping food in edible condition by non natural means.
 
I was born and raised with a fridge in the dining room. Whenever there would be a severe storm and electricity would be cut off, that's the only time that we recognize the value of our fridge. There was a time that we had no electricity for almost a month. Naturally the fridge was out of service. There was on stock of food nor even cold water to drink. When the power came back, we kissed our fridge, hahahaaa. Sometimes you only realize the importance of things or people when you miss them.
 
Then you should buy food and cook it immediately. Mostly greens need be prepared while fresh, you won't store them nor long. Consider buying potatoes, you do not need to store them in a fridge. Unfortunately you will not be able to store fruit juice juice for long so eating fruits.
 
I was going to comment that I didn't think this was possible but seeing the comments above, I guess it is possible. I've never tried living a fridge-less life and almost all the leftovers we have go straight to the fridge so I wasn't really sure how that would work if I don't have one. But I guess having coolers would be a good substitute for a fridge and it'll really cut down your electric bills considering fridges take up a lot on your bills. I don't think I would try this soon though (because my mom would think I'm crazy) but I'll take note of this when I do move out from my parents' house.
 
keytcee said:
I was going to comment that I didn't think this was possible but seeing the comments above, I guess it is possible. I've never tried living a fridge-less life and almost all the leftovers we have go straight to the fridge so I wasn't really sure how that would work if I don't have one. But I guess having coolers would be a good substitute for a fridge and it'll really cut down your electric bills considering fridges take up a lot on your bills. I don't think I would try this soon though (because my mom would think I'm crazy) but I'll take note of this when I do move out from my parents' house.
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You'd have fewer left overs to place in the fridge in the first place, after a while. You'd be rethinking about your food habits.
 
At a glance it might seem like a hopeless situation but I know we can survive well without a lot of the modern amenities the fridge included. Because we have grown so accustomed to it we would naturally miss it but I think a lot of times being without what we consider 'must haves' can be a good thing. It often teaches us some vital lessons. Still I don't want to be without mine but I'd survive and the electricity bill might make the inconvenience worth it.
 
I've had to manage without a fridge before, around a year ago. The UK is by no means a hot country so I was able to manage pretty well. I've got a tiled kitchen floor which stays quite cool so I just kept the milk on the floor, in a dark corner. This seemed to do the trick but I didn't risk buying any other foods other than on a day-to-day basis.
 
just had a talk with a business starting up a mail order food distribution they are using frozen gel packs ,in a poly box with lambs wool ,will keep food to temp for 36 hours
 
I definitely think it's possible. I tend to shop a few times a week for fresh produce anyway so that side of things wouldn't bother me too much. I like to eat yogurt with my breakfast and not having a fridge would be difficult for that but I could always turn to toast and a cupboard safe spread such as peanut butter.

I think it's all about being flexible and thinking outside the box. It's definitely achievable, it would just require some strategic thought.
 
DancingLady said:
I recently heard that s pretty large number of people are "one broken fridge away from foreclosure ". My roommate and I had an interesting discussion about this subject and we concluded that it is in fact possible to survive without a fridge for a lengthy period of time if you really had too. you would not be able to keep milk, but if you cook only for one day at a time and eat mostly beans and rice and vegetables, you simply cook for one day at a time and purchase fruits and vegetables every couple of days, rather than for the week. Do you think you could do this to avoid losing your home?
Click to expand...

I survived without a fridge for years after hurricane Katrina. I kept a few things in my aunt's fridge next door, but there was never any space and it was especially frustrating until I was able to get a small half-height one from a friend. It didn't hold much, but it did the job until I was able to get something larger. I still only purchase produce for a few days because of my schedule.
 
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