How many times do you open the refrigerator door?

[crosses]

I was reading a thread in another forum that said you should not open your refrigerator door more than 10 times a day and shoot for under five. I counted the number of times we opened the door yesterday and came in at 26. It probably counts as more since DH sits in front of the refrigerator with the door wide open for five minutes each time deciding what he wants. How amny times do you open the door each day and do you have any good ideas on how to cut down on the number of times you have to open the door?

[PrincessPerky]

About a billion! Once for the water for my drink and once for the milk for the kids, and once for the tea for DH, and then of course agian to put it back. THen there is the billion times in cooking, need cheese now grab it, ready for the bacon grab it. I am sooooo bad about the fridge. Not that it stays open, but that I am in and out nad in and out all the time! I prolly hit 10 for prepping one meal.

[akaivyleaf]

I've never really counted.

Lets see, I open the fridge to get my coke in the morning, and the Freezer to get my frozen prepared food for lunch at work. When I return I open the fridge to get the fixings for dinner (I'm usually pretty good at getting out everything at once, but I hadn't thought of this being a frugal habit) I probably go back in though, and then of course putting back the ingredients that need to go back. After I'm done cooking, I have to refrigerate my leftovers and freeze my next day lunch portions, so thats both the fridge and the freezer opening. I generally don't go back into the fridge. I can drink water from the tap, and if I drink juice, I generally drink it while I'm cooking. I'm not a snacker so I don't stand and contemplate what I want.

So that makes about 6 times a day for me. Since its just me, its only 6 times a day. It would be magnified with each family member capable of opening the fridge.

Too me though, this is really micromanaging or being micro frugal. I could imagine limiting the number of times and would I really see a measurable difference on my power bill?

[amomof4]

I had to giggle on this one. It's like asking, how many licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

As many as it takes, but probably a lot.

[crosses]

OK -- I tried to do the 5 times a day and even the 10 times a day and there is no way that I'm ever going to get to that number. I can already say that it is unrealistic for our family. I could probably do 20 times if I really lay the law down.

[Tree0164]

I have never counted by my fridge has a lock on it so the kids do not go in and just steal food. They have to ask mom.

[flowergirl]

I've got 4 boys...3 teenagers in this....So the fridge door is opened ALOT here! lol

[PrincessPerky]

stealing food??? I thought kids needed food?

[midnight]

Does anyone know how much it costs in energy each time you open the refrig door? Knowing that would make a big difference on how important it is to not open it so much.

[MargaretKur]

How many times? I have no idea, LOL.

We don't use the light bulb in our refrigerator, we don't leave the door open long when we do open it.

One thing that's helpful is to keep a thermometer in your refrigerator! There are some made specifically for refrigerators. Mine has a blue freezing zone (so it can be used in a freezer as well), a white refrigerator zone for safe temperature range, and a red danger zone for temperatures that are too high for the refrigerator.

I strongly recommend keeping such a thermometer in each refrigerator for health reasons.

Of course, not opening the refrigerator door keeps the temperature consistent.

[PrincessPerky]

You know my lightbulb burnt out eons ago and sheer laziness of finding out what size it is has kept us from replacing it, maybe I should chalk it up to frugality .

[leewill72]

we would never have that few times of opening the door with 4 kids. the 3 yr old alone is always 'taking inventory', much to my dismay.

Wish i had a lock on the refridgerator door, i have a food stealer myself.
Yes, kids need food, but not when they are helping themselves to ice cream at 8 am, or shoving their pockets with as many cookies as they can fit before school starts so there is nothing much left for the 5 other family members. We provide oatmeal for breakfast, and they add brown sugar to it, but that is no longer cost effective when they use 1/2 cup brown sugar to 1 cup of oatmeal, so they are eating plain for awhile.

[PrincessPerky]

Heh, not stealing food then, stealing sugar! Fingers in the sugar bowl makes sense as a problem. Sugar bowl beeing a relative term for cookies and the like.

In my experience locking the fridge wouldn't help. When you don't have enough, kids tend to hoard. Now not having enough realy means there is only so much sugar one kid needs in a day, but still the natural reaction is the 'chipmunk' hoarding. Also the lack of trust implied when my mother wanted to lock our freezer was not a good thing for our relationship. But that might just be my family.

I can't see limiting it much as a family. I like when my son gets the milk out and such. 'Sides I can only it so much in my hand at one time, so I have to keep opening it when I cook. I tried less, but that means leaving it open more, and that means having to get the youngest out of the way to shut it again, all in all it just plain ain't gonna get opened less than a billion times aday.

[contrary1]

I had my fridge moved into the living room for a week while getting the floor re done in the kitchen. That seriously cut down the number of times I opened the fridge!
I'm usually pretty conscious of taking all my items out at one time........and I don't have kids that go to the fridge on their own. So, I think we can come in under 10.
The area I could get better at is after a meal............ I find myself not getting all the food ready for the fridge at once, but putting things away as I package them up. I'll start grouping them tonight. No idea why I can get everything out at once, but I have been putting them all away one or two at a time!

[Ima saver]

Since I don't cook much, I can probably limit it to under 10, but unless it is opened a lot, I don't see where that will make much difference in your power bill. I am trying to be frugal, but I don't think I will go that far.

[shelbylovesmelby]

no idea how many times it's opened. But I'm sure it'll be plenty when my 3yr old gets the strength to pull it open *lol*