Why I don't need a big refrigerator

Why I Don’t Need a Big Refrigerator

Sometimes peoples’ comments on my change in lifestyle amaze and, let’s be honest, annoy me. Case in point: I mentioned to an 80-something acquaintance that I am considering getting a small, maybe under-the counter refrigerator for the Auntie Flat. I figured that it would force me to buy less food and, therefore, have less of it rot in the refrigerator before I got to it. It would also give me more counterspace.

“Well,” she said, “what will you do if there’s a snowstorm and you can’t get out for a week?” She seemed oddly pleased at the prospect.

Her response was so unexpected that it stopped me for a minute. But just a minute. First, I told her, we don’t have storms like that. I know the rest of the country thinks Denver is buried under several feet of snow for most of the winter, but the truth is that the sun usually melts our snow in a day or two. In the almost 60 years I’ve lived here, I’ve never been snowbound for more than a couple of days, and that was mostly by choice. If I didn’t have a single crumb in the house, I could survive a couple of days without food.

I quickly came up with several more answers.

In addition to food in the refrigerator, I have food in cans and in boxes and bags in the cupboard. I also have a small separate freezer.

If I couldn’t drive, my neighborhood boasts food stores and tons of restaurants within walking distance.

I live in the city, not in some isolated spot miles away from other people. I’m pretty sure my neighbors would help me out.

Finally, my brother and sister-in-law will be living just a few yards away. I could always raid their refrigerator or hitch a ride in their four-wheeled drive SUV.

In fact, that’s one of the major reasons we are embarking on this housing adventure—to help one another out.

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