Things To Consider When Purchasing A New Refrigerator

When Clay and I bought our home a couple years ago, (wow, has it really been 2 years already?) it came furnished with an old, nasty, off-white refrigerator. This thing had not been cleaned in….. ever? The gaskets had/have gunk on them, making the doors not stay closed properly. There were spills that I, to this day, can still not get up! They are caked on like glue. So, I bleached the heck out of it, scrubbed for 2 hours on more than one day and prayed for a new refrigerator. Fast forward 2 years and we’re finally going refrigerator shopping! There’s a few things to consider when purchasing a new refrigerator, though.

This is a sponsored post, written by me, on behalf of Best Buy. All opinions are strictly my own.

Things To Consider When Purchasing A New Refrigerator

1. Width:

We live in an old cabin in the woods, built in the 1970’s. The kitchen was sort of a last minute thought when this house was built. So there’s minimal space and the “fridge hole” is only about 32 inches wide. So a standard size would fit there. BUT, I want a bigger refrigerator and I really don’t want to have to give up one i love if it doesn’t come in the size I need. So, we’re going to do some rearranging in our kitchen. The microwave cart can go in the space for now and the new fridge can go on a different wall.

2. Height:

This goes along with width. If your only spot to place a new refrigerator is in the designated cabin space, height may be an issue. I’m moving mine to a solid wall so height isn’t a problem. If I wanted to keep it in the same spot, there’s cabinets above it, so I’d have to measure and get one the same height, or raise my cabinets. Our current one is pretty short so I’d probably opt for raising those cabinets or removing them altogether!

3. Cubic Space Inside:

Along with width and height, you need to make sure it will hold all your food! Is the space in side the refrigerator and freezer large enough? Different models, in the same height and width will offer different amounts of space inside based on features it includes. For instance, a model with an ice maker may have less freezer space than one without.

4. Style/Type:

Refrigerators come in all sort of styles now. There are traditional refrigerators with the freezer up top and the refrigerator in the bottom, side-by-side, freezer on the bottom and fridge space up top with s single door, freezer on the bottom and fridge space up top with doubled doors, with out without an ice maker, etc… I definitely want one with the freezer on the bottom. I prefer the double doors, versus the single door and I don’t need an ice maker because we use a cistern and drink from bottled water. So, we make ice with trays and a jug of water.

5. Features:

I don’t even know where to start on this one. There are TONS of new features available since the last time I was refrigerator shopping! Today’s advanced technology has allowed refrigerators to be taken to a whole new level. A few things to consider when looking for refrigerator features are ice maker (one or 2). Did you catch that? 1 or 2? Some brands like the LG InstaView™ Door-in-Door® Refrigerator with Craft Ice™ come with Dual Ice Maker and Slim SpacePlus ice maker.

The Craft Ice™ maker automatically makes batches of slow-melting round ice. You know that big, round ice that you see in Bourbon drinks and cocktails? You normally have to use a special mold and make just a couple at a time. This refrigerator does it for you automatically with the push of a button! Fancy! So, I live in the woods in an old cabin. Does that mean I can’t have fancy schmancy? Uh no! I’d be down for that Craft Ice™ maker in a second!

An additional ice maker on the door produces traditional cubed or crushed ice. Best of both worlds!

This particular refrigerator also features some of the other cool tech I was talking about like this:

• Instaview Door-in-Door® – The LG InstaView™ design lets you see inside your refrigerator without ever opening the door—simply knock twice on the unique glass panel that offers quick and easy access to your favorite foods, an adjustable bin that fits snacks and drinks.
  The bin glides smoothly up and down and locks into place with minimal effort
• Linear Cooling maintains consistent temperatures within 1°F of the setting
• Smart Cooling uses digital sensors and an array of vents for total cooling control
• Door Cooling + delivers blasts of cool air that reach all areas of the refrigerator
• Electronic controls: Make operation simple.
• Measured fill: For clean, fresh-tasting water.Water dispenser uses LT1000P replacement filter: Delivers filtered water with one touch.
• PREMIUM LED interior lighting: Bright lights to illuminate interior.
• Door alarm: Alerts you when the refrigerator door is accidentally left open to save energy.

It also features a drawer divider, 4 split shelves, 3 fixed shelves, cantilevered shelves and more. That’s one heck of a refrigerator! With 4 kids, Clay and myself, all still living at home, I think I am leaning towards a this tech-smart refrigerator!

A couple more things to consider when purchasing a new refrigerator include color and price. I was going to mention how well it cools but that is sort of covered in the specs for the LG InstaView™ Door-in-Door® Refrigerator with Craft Ice™. You want to make sure you’re getting as much bang for your buck as you can. If your refrigerator doesn’t cool well and your freezer doesn’t freeze well, you’ve wasted your money.

6. Color:

Do you want black, white, stainless steel, brushed nickle/stainless, off-white or even a bold color? I want the brushed stainless. We’re redecorating the kitchen and giving it a face-lift. I want the new appliances to reflect that. We’ll be getting a new stove too and I want them to look classy and nice. Why a new stove too? Oh boy. It also came with the house and is in as bad a shape, only it’s clean. I have to constantly unplug it and plug it back in just to bake anything. It will time out, the timer will start flashing all zeros and the oven will shut down or not come on at all. It’s weird. Plus, I want it to match the new refrigerator and the stainless steel microwave we already have. I’m gonna fancy-up this little cabin!

7. Price:

So, this may be the biggest thing to consider. We don’t have a huge budget. But there are some places you can buy on a payment plan. You can purchase your new refrigerator with a credit card and make payments that way or you can simply save up a little at a time and then buy. That’s what we do. We budget a little each week for the “fridge fund” and when we ave enough, we’ll go shopping! That time is now by the way because I can’t stand this nasty thing any more!

So, there you have it, a few things to consider when purchasing a new refrigerator.

What are some fridge shopping tips you have? Would you consider a tech heavy refrigerator like the LG InstaView™ Door-in-Door® Refrigerator with Craft Ice™? Or do you prefer plain? I used to but the older I get, the more convenience I want!

I can’t even begin to tell you just how much I want the LG InstaView™ Door-in-Door® Refrigerator with Craft Ice™! I would set up a second water line, to better filtered water, just so I could use the ice maker! If Best Buy sent me one, I would, seriously, ugly cry for a week in gratitude!

Leave us a comment, below, with your thoughts!