This holiday weekend is a time to be thankful!
If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve seen my “gratitude posts” Â – I’m getting in the spirit! Â But after Thanksgiving, it’s also a time for bargains. Â The Black Friday sales are an opportunity for big savings. Â Especially on major purchases, this is the best time of year for getting a deal.
As a brand ambassador for Maytag, I’ve been experiencing the conveniences (and joy!) of having new kitchen appliances. Â Our old appliances were in different states of disrepair, from not working entirely to minor problems. Â I knew that it would be nice to have new ones, but I was surprised by how much of a difference it really made to be able to depend on them to work!
It was Rosie’s birthday last week and one of our family traditions is to have special birthday pancakes for breakfast. Â We’ve done it every year for her and it’s the way to start a very important day! Â With our new Maytag stove, I didn’t have to think twice about whether we would be able to start my birthday girl’s day with a smile.
My New Kitchen!
My favorite of the new appliances?  The refrigerator.  Hands down.  We are one of those families that tries to be frugal and put leftovers in the fridge.  But we are not one of those families that takes out the leftovers and eats them!  Yup, science experiments.  You know what I mean, that container in the back of your fridge that contains… well, who knows what it used to be!  With our new Ice2O®, that doesn’t happen (as often) because I can see so much more in the fridge.  That’s one of my favorite features – the design means your contents are more visible and things are easier to find.
Freezer Drawer on Maytag Ice2O
Our old fridge was a side-by-side and I hated the freezer.  Nothing seemed to fit well.  Occasionally, like in an old-fashioned cartoon, when you opened the door things would spill out!  And talk about not being able to find things?  We lost turkeys in there!  Isn’t the freezer drawer on my Ice2O®  beeee-you-tiful (sorry for gushing, but I warned you, I’m in love!)?
And I’m saving the best…. are you ready? Â The snack drawer is truly a thing of beauty.
Child: Â Mom, I’m hunnnnnnnngry!
Mom: Â Check out the snack drawer, remember you can have anything in there but the pop. Â Your choice!
Silence  (you know that magic sound you almost never hear)
Picture a play date – lots of hungry kids that can just open the snack drawer and help themselves!
What food do you snack on?  Do you have a snack bin?  In our pre-Ice2O® days, we snacked on chips, pretzels, trail mix, candy or cookies.  Now?  Grapes, strawberries, green peppers, walnuts.  I’m sad and embarrassed to say that having healthy food ready-to-eat and easily accessible makes that much of a difference, but it’s true.  Having the snack drawer set up the way that we do, encourages me to wash and cut fruits and veggies when I come home from the store and re-fill the containers.  Having the ready-to-eat fruits and veggies so handy means we eat them instead of unhealthier choices.
Are you in love yet?
What I disliked most about our old fridge was having to screech at guests who were headed for ice and water, “NO, sorry, that doesn’t work.”  *blush* *sigh*  Now, *happy sigh*, not only does it work, but it makes kickin’ crushed ice for margaritas.  *big ‘ole happy grin*
I’m still working on trying to organize our refrigerator in the easiest way for our family, but here are a few tips I ran across while trying to figure it out:
1. Â Group Similar Items
We keep all the cheeses together, all the meat together, all the beverages.  Then when we are looking for something, we know the general section and don’t have to search the whole refrigerator.  Do you keep your eggs on the door of your refrigerator?  I noticed that our Ice2O® didn’t have an egg tray, but then when I was reading up on placement of items in the refrigerator, I found out that eggs absorb odors, etc. from other foods!  They should be in a closed container and in the most temperature stable area of your refrigerator – which is in the center, NOT the door!  Huh, who knew?
2. Â Clean, Cut and Have Produce Ready-to-Eat
One of the drawbacks of fresh fruits and veggies is that you can end up with waste if you don’t eat it within the fresh period. Â If you have it all ready-to-eat, you are more likely to use it.
3. Â Clear, Clear, and Did I Mention Clear?
Use clear containers whenever possible, so you can see what you have!
4. Â Clean out your Refrigerator When You Come Home from Grocery Store
When you do your weekly grocery shopping, before you put away the new groceries, pull out anything that needs to be thrown away.
Ready to see the Maytag Ice2O® Refrigerator in person?Â
Here are some of the stores I found online that sell the Maytag Ice2O® Refrigerator with Snack Drawer, but check your local stores to see what you can find and the Black Friday After-Thanksgiving deals!
To connect with Maytag:
Disclosure of Material Connection: Â I wrote this post participating in an Maytag Moms Dependable Kitchen Ambassador program by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Maytag. I was provided with a Maytag kitchen appliances set, including a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, and range to facilitate my post.