Inside my head

I haven’t been writing much recently (obviously), because I haven’t had anything to say much. Not that things haven’t been happening, but I haven’t had an urge to let words out. But sometimes you read something, and suddenly the urge is there.

So, I read something that stimulated my thoughts: living without a refrigerator. I find this to be a fascinating idea, although I would be more inclined to work with a SMALL refrigerator.

However, I’m not sure how well it would work with a city lifestyle. Partly, of course, it is the convenience factor that Greenpa mentions. But it’s not just convenience, too. It’s cost, and, well, choices. What things do you think are important? If, for example, you have a young family, having that ready and quick source of milk may be very important to you, if you think that milk is good for the health of the young one.

But even more than that, the idea of shopping EVERY DAY to pick up those things that have to be refrigerated is abhorrent to me. I try to avoid going to the store too often — and gas costs just make that urge stronger. That urge is due to the desire to avoid spending money and a simple lack of time. Because of the lifestyle that exists in so many cities, where commutes are long, the actual time that would need to be spent going shopping every day is extreme.

Now, I do think that working with a small refrigerator is more possible than many might think, because the large refrigerator is a matter of convenience, and a reflection of the overly busy lifestyle that many have chosen. And while that is certainly their choice, I do not necessarily think it is a good one. But I would add that before small or no refrigeration in the home could be implemented by the majority of people safely and functionally, a lot of education needs to happen. Because people no longer KNOW what’s safe for food. Like the people who put oil in the refrigerator when it’s really not necessary, a lot of people are clueless about what is actually dangerous and what is just convenience and what is frugality in action.

I will interestedly reading more of the posts on that blog and other places to find out how less or no refrigeration in the home could work. And I am definitely looking for some way to get solar power into my home without breaking the budget or having to do all the work myself (just not an area that I feel the need to maintain myself, thanks very much).