Who knew that my new year would start with my fridge/freezer going belly up?
I suppose it is understandable that this particular item would throw in the towel eventually, as it’s probably somewhere in the neighbourhood of 15-17 year old.
I really liked my fridge/feezer (I spend a long time looking for the right one when I bought this) so I tried everything under the sun to find a solution to making it hang around a little longer.
It stopped turning itself off all together! The fridge was nice and cold inside, but the outside of the cabinet, was turning awfully hot. So I tried putting it on a timer, a timer that would turn it off for a while, and then on for a while, hoping this would help.
Unfortunately somewhere in the midst of that, I was stupid enough to turn the thermostat down a little from where it originally was, with the result of it no longer cooling properly. It didn’t help turning the thermostat back up, so I figured that it obviously had to be broken.
Next I did was get a new thermostat, make sense right? Well guess what, after having spend a back breaking evening changing the thermostat on the darn thing (we had to just about take the fridge/freezer completely apart to do the swap) it turns out that it did not help 😦
No other choice but to go out and get a new one! With all the new stuff out there, you would think this would be a great opportunity to get one with all the bells and whistles… and I guess I could, if it hadn’t been for one tiny little issue!
I have a height restriction. You see, I store my microwave on top + one of the sensor for my house alarm sit’s in the corner above the microwave. So I’m limited on how high the cabinet can be, not only for me to be able to reach into the micro (I’m tall but not that tall 😉 ) but also for the alarm sensor to detect people moving around.
I could of course reorganize my kitchen to try to fit the microwave somewhere else, but I’m not really willing to do so, as I only have three options for what to do with it. End up with next to no counter space (which it’s small enough as it is), put it on my dining room table (not a good look) or get rid of the microwave all together (ehhh.. don’t think so).
So off to the store we went, hunting for a cabinet no more than 180cm tall. Turns out fridge/freezers have grown a bit since last time I bought one. They had some lovely cabinets, with great interior layouts, but guess what, they were at the smallest 190cm and that just won’t work.
After a couple of hectic days looking, I’m now the “proud” owner of a new fridge/freezer. I didn’t really ever find the “perfect” cabinet, but I’ve found one I think might work! It wasn’t too expensive, it covers most of my needs and it’s the perfect height.
Should I by any chance find that I can’t get used to the layout (turns out I can’t change the interiour around like I’d like to) it’s quite fortunate that the store have a 30 day return policy 😉 I’m hoping it won’t come that that, as the only other cabinet I kinda like is waaay expensive, a tiny bit noisier, have quite a bit smaller freezer, but is slightly more energy efficient!!
For now at least, my new fridge/freezer it’s sitting in my kitchen and I’m hoping it will grow on me 😉
The old one? They took it with them when the new was delivered, and to date it’s my my biggest item out-the-door!
One fridge/freezer out, one fridge/freezer in! I suppose that is one way to start the new year 😉
Minimalist Sometimes 
Glad it all worked out, but sorry you had to go through that. Right after the holidays is never a good time to have to spend extra money on something big like this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think the fridge picked the date on purpose – January 1st – just to challenge me a tad 😉 Fortunately the weather have been cooperating so it’s been possible to keep food outside (colder outside than any fridge 😉 ) and everything in the freezer was temporarily located at a friends place. On the money note! I wouldn’t have minded spending that money on something fun like a holiday instead 😉 But guess this is what emergency funds are for anyways…
LikeLiked by 2 people
I guess. A holiday definitely sounds like more fun. But it’s good you had the money stashed aside. And I’m always impressed with your ability to try your hand at fixing things…like thermostats and the like. Very cool indeed. I can put stuff together and take them apart but electronics are out of my realm of DIY projects.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope the new fridge works out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m sure it will.. if I can just get around the fact that I can’t swap the interior around.. who the heck makes a fridge where you can’t move the shelves around??? And why did they not tell me this before I bought the darn thing 😉 Oh well…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was gonna suggest just keep the food out in the snow for a few months! lol
Glad you found one that works height wise.
You can change thermostats in those things??? Wow! You are definitely one handy woman! you could get a job as a repair person! lol
So wonderful when they take the old thing with as they go!!!
Melinda
LikeLiked by 1 person
You should get a medal for your refrigerator resurrection efforts. In the US, homeowners are likely to replace their appliances for no better reason than the color has gone out of style (“Harvest Gold” comes to mind).
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think we have some in Norway too, that changes things around just because… 😉
Me? I tend to try to fix things, I think it’s the “handyman” gene that comes out to play 😉
This time around though, it didn’t work out 😦 I guess it really was time to get a new fridge/freezer… after all it was kinda old…
LikeLike