Monday, May 9, 2011

no-fridge alternatives

Ok
If we all agree that the expensive part of building a tiny house is the appliances, and you don't have any money, the logical solution is to figure out ways you don't actually need the appliances.
For example: Fridge.
A tiny propane fridge will cost you out the ear. Therefore, in a fit of panic, I googled "living without a fridge" and came up with some very comforting solutions. I feel better now.
Let me help you feel better too.
The first I found was a blog about someone choosing not to use their fridge. Living Without A Fridge is definitely worth a look. 
Poking around on her blog is interesting, and she brings up a lot of good points. Using the outdoors in the colder months is a good idea.
Mother earth news has a good article or two as well. 
My curiosity piqued by what I found on this blog, I started to wonder about evaporative coolers, and hit on something that would work well for the warmer months. The Zeer (seen in more detail here). It is definitely something I want to try to do. While wikipedia says it costs about a dollar to make... I have no idea how much a large terra cotta pot like that would cost here in the US. Definitely more than a dollar. Still, if you were to improvise with a large planter or something of that sort, which might cost as much as $50 (I'm totally guessing here), and it worked, it would still be a lot cheaper than a refrigerator.
A picture of a Zeer
Another option, if we were going to be in one place for a while, would be to dig a hole in the ground, put a tightly closing container in it (5 gallon bucket maybe?) and cover it with something (old carpet maybe?), for a sort of redneck-mini-root-cellar. 
So, I guess in conclusion, the more I think about things, the less things I think I need.
-Zay

1 comment:

That One Guy said...

I think I'm a bit to attached to me fridge. Where else would I put all the food I want to grow mold on?!

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