UKers Why the tiny refrigerators?

[TheLastLazyGun]

Hello!

THIS IS NOT A DIG! I am just very curious.

I watch a lot of British TV and I am always so amazed at the small to tiny refrigerators I see in your homes. Some are about the size of the tiny ones we had in our dorm rooms in college.

We Americans can't seem to live without our big fat refrigerators and still never have enough room!

I'd love to do with less, but how do you do it?

Have any of you lived in NA with fat frig and also overseas with a tiny one? What is the secret?

Do you shop daily? Where do you find the time?

We love our cold beverages which take up a lot of room in our refrigerators. Do you not share our obsession? Maybe that is the key.

On one of my British TV shows they did a complete "Americanized" remodel of their kitchen, yet their frig was still half the size or less of a typical American one.

Are you limited on size for some reason?

Do you have separate freezers? It seems some of your homes do not even have a freezer compartment on the frig.

Thanks

QC

You have to remember that to British eyes, everything in America is big. Your cars, fridges, houses, skylines. Even your people are big.

Our small refrigerators are more than big enough. Don't forget, we also have kitchens cupboards packed with food, too.

[MissMelsWell]

My "big" fridge (about 20cu) gave up the ghost about 5 months ago and Ive been too lazy and cheap to buy a new one. LOL. Im using a small under the counter fridge I dragged home from work. I shop pretty much every day, and you know, it' actually OK. It's just big enough to hold some beverages condiments, and the previous days leftovers which we always take to work with us for lunch.

I consider myself "in training" for moving to a small condo/apartment where it's likely I won't have a full sized fridge anways due to a lack of space. haha.

[Bonecrusher]

You have to remember that to British eyes, everything in America is big. Your cars, fridges, houses, skylines. Even your people are big.

Our small refrigerators are more than big enough. Don't forget, we also have kitchens cupboards packed with food, too.

The doll houses are super-sized as well!

[Ashotep]

Thanks for the reply! This really intrigues me.

Yes, I agree, space plus maybe "the way it's always been" does account for the small refrigerators, but I wonder "How they do it?"

There are only 3 living in our home now and our fat frig still gets overcrowded all the time.

Right now my frig contains pretty standard American refrigerator fare:

1 gallon of milk

2 half gallons of orange juice

2 twelve packs of canned soda pop

2 pounds of butter

3 mustard, 1 ketchup, 2 mayo jars, 4 salad dressing bottles,

1 shelf of leftovers

1 drawer of cheese and lunchmeats

2 drawers of vegetables

2 dozen eggs

10 bottles of water

3 jars of jelly

a few miscellaneous condiments: pickles, hot sauce, Worcestershire, soy sauce, Tajini,

a roast for tomorrow

a whole chicken for this week

some miscellaneous items in plastic containers

The door compartments are crammed full and the shelves have little space left.

UKers what is usually in your small refrigerators? What on my frig list would you never have in yours?

Do you drink most beverages at room temperature? Eat out a lot? Drink a lot of tap water?

Thanks

Can I come over to eat?

[Ashotep]

You'll not find a tiny refrigerator anywhere around here not even in a mobile home or tiny apartment. The only place they use them is in the dorm, office, RV or for beer. I use to have a little refrigerator but it was for cold drinks to keep us from opening the door of the big one so much.

My 18 cubic foot refrigerator and deep freeze is full but I still can't find what I want to eat.

[Eldorado]

Corner shops. No need to stock up when you can buy fresh just five mins walk away.

[DKO]

I know my boss, who moved here from England said he had to up-size a lot of his items. Larger fridge, car, furniture. He said he was used to trying to make everything compact and snug. Even when he bought his first house here, he wanted to make a storage area up in the roof-space, but found he had nothing to store up there, he found plenty of room in the house.

[MissMelsWell]

You'll not find a tiny refrigerator anywhere around here not even in a mobile home or tiny apartment. The only place they use them is in the dorm, office, RV or for beer. I use to have a little refrigerator but it was for cold drinks to keep us from opening the door of the big one so much.

My 18 cubic foot refrigerator and deep freeze is full but I still can't find what I want to eat.

In big cities and high density neighborhoods where apartments and condos are small you'll find them for sure. I see them in Seattle apartments and condos a lot.

[Bonecrusher]

Corner shops. No need to stock up when you can buy fresh just five mins walk away.

And they open on Christmas day!

[tipsy_munchkin]

And they open on Christmas day!

yep a lot of them are. We have two near us that always are. Though i get my fresh from a butcher/grocer at the end of the st. whos not open bank holidays and Sundays. I never like to store fresh more than three days in advance. with no car its far more convenient as the supermarkets often work out more expensive if you can't take advantage of things like but one get one free.

[BiffSplitkins]

We've got an 18cu ft. fridge. It's definitely not big enough for our needs, especially around the holidays. I keep trying to make extra room in it, but my wife keeps filling up my beer crisper with vegetables.

[Bonecrusher]

yep a lot of them are. We have two near us that always are. Though i get my fresh from a butcher/grocer at the end of the st. whos not open bank holidays and Sundays. I never like to store fresh more than three days in advance. with no car its far more convenient as the supermarkets often work out more expensive if you can't take advantage of things like but one get one free.

They do fill quite a niche when the big boys are closed for business.

I love their willingness to help people stuck for certain items like cigarettes and booze.

A Xmas party is absolutely useless without both items when you consume then by the ton.

Well I do but other people will surely be up the creek without a paddle if they didn't provide this service.

However they do get opened by people who don't celebrate Xmas in the traditional sense.

And if it wasn't for their religious beliefs Christmas would be incomplete.

I havn't got a car either but there's a few shops and a mini Tesco within walking distance.

My idea of fresh food is anything not in the freezer and the more exposed the better.

Btw I take the advantage of the "buy one get one free" offer with the books.

However not with groceries because there is always a catch with the promotions.

It has been documented on Watchdog quite a few times.

[Beckys_Mom]

We have what we call an American side by side fridge freezer..

[Q-C]

Thanks for all the replies!

I am jealous of the "corner butcher" type shops you have in England/Europe. That would be great for daily shopping.

Bakeries and produce and cheese shops too.

Yes, some areas/cities in the US have those too, but never where I've lived. It' pretty much the mega mart. Unless you want to drive into the city which is quite a distance.

I think maybe walking more or traveling by bus... maybe causes you to carry less groceries too.

We are used to driving our vehicles and loading them up for the week.

I'd love to do the local daily shop thing though!

Edited December 27, 2012 by QuiteContrary

[Eldorado]

And they open on Christmas day!

I kid you not. Our corner shop is open Christmas Day and New year's Day for a couple of hours. Owned by (old) Big Joe from Bombay who proudly declares his kids are from Glasgow! (I like Indians... they are genuine and have an admirable work ethic)

Edited December 27, 2012 by Eldorado

[tipsy_munchkin]

I kid you not. Our corner shop is open Christmas Day and New year's Day for a couple of hours. Owned by (old) Big Joe from Bombay who proudly declares his kids are from Glasgow! (I like Indians... they are genuine and have an admirable work ethic)

Ours is owned by Harry. Hes great and he gives credit if your a bit short.

[Bonecrusher]

I kid you not. Our corner shop is open Christmas Day and New year's Day for a couple of hours. Owned by (old) Big Joe from Bombay who proudly declares his kids are from Glasgow! (I like Indians... they are genuine and have an admirable work ethic)

I love these guys.

There the type of people that keep the UK ticking.

And they also manage to keep the cabs running at stupid o' clock.

[Miss Shadows]

Thanks for the reply! This really intrigues me.

Yes, I agree, space plus maybe "the way it's always been" does account for the small refrigerators, but I wonder "How they do it?"

There are only 3 living in our home now and our fat frig still gets overcrowded all the time.

Right now my frig contains pretty standard American refrigerator fare:

1 gallon of milk

2 half gallons of orange juice

2 twelve packs of canned soda pop

2 pounds of butter

3 mustard, 1 ketchup, 2 mayo jars, 4 salad dressing bottles,

1 shelf of leftovers

1 drawer of cheese and lunchmeats

2 drawers of vegetables

2 dozen eggs

10 bottles of water

3 jars of jelly

a few miscellaneous condiments: pickles, hot sauce, Worcestershire, soy sauce, Tajini,

a roast for tomorrow

a whole chicken for this week

some miscellaneous items in plastic containers

The door compartments are crammed full and the shelves have little space left.

UKers what is usually in your small refrigerators? What on my frig list would you never have in yours?

Do you drink most beverages at room temperature? Eat out a lot? Drink a lot of tap water?

Thanks

I don't know if this'll mean much, I'm in NA not the UK, but when I first moved out I was extremely young and working like mad but only made so much with school going on and my age further complicating...anyway I had a tiny fridge, usually I kept handpicked fruit, string cheese, and raw tortillas in it. I lived off that plus tap water and cup-noodles, and the neighborhood the apartment was in was a very 'tight' area, where I walked to a bodega 2-3 times a week, 10 minutes each way. Anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it...

[acute]

UKers Why the tiny refrigerators?

Almost EVERTHING in the UK is tiny!

The world has been given a false impression (via the medium of costume drama) that we all live in palatial homes, set in acres of landscaped gardens. The truth is... We are the 4th most densely populated country in Europe, and much of our living accommodation is the smallest.

I often imagine an American visiting England for the first time, looking at what they might see as a 'modest' home, and then realizing that it is split into four separate dwellings!

[Q-C]

Almost EVERTHING in the UK is tiny!

The world has been given a false impression (via the medium of costume drama) that we all live in palatial homes, set in acres of landscaped gardens. The truth is... We are the 4th most densely populated country in Europe, and much of our living accommodation is the smallest.

I often imagine an American visiting England for the first time, looking at what they might see as a 'modest' home, and then realizing that it is split into four separate dwellings!

Yes. I am intrigued by how you manage with them.

I do love the English countryside. It is gorgeous! If I could retire there I would. And buy my own small cold box.

We have our share of very small dwellings, some connected, some not, here too. We also have a lot of area to expand our suburbs and chase out the wildlife.

Edited December 31, 2012 by QuiteContrary

[David Brown]

Us Americans are like Refrigerator God's. 

[internetperson]

On 12/31/2012 at 1:03 PM, acute said:

I often imagine an American visiting England for the first time, looking at what they might see as a 'modest' home, and then realizing that it is split into four separate dwellings!

I was disappointed how very similar everything is. Nobody was on horseback wearing armor while toting the english flag, nobody was rocking a barrister wig, and accents weren't over the top. Also lotta american establishments. First store I saw when stepping off the plane was a damn TGI Fridays. Now I know if I want to visit a strange land then I should just go to California. 

We may not need giant fridges anymore but I wouldn't be surprised if they were chosen over smaller ones post ww2 when folks took off to the suburbs and would have to drive long distances to get to the store. 

[MWoo7]

MAybe nobody eats much, not like its 20 or 30 below all the time and who downs a couple gallons of raw milk at dinner anymore eh!?!?!?  That's about as nice as I can say for being a busy bee busy body bunch I guess. 

Edited October 13, 2018 by MWoo7