Hey Guys!

I am back, refreshed, and ready to push out the remainder of the year with all of you! I know you are hard at work on Cyber Monday shopping,  but the past week while Thanksgiving was running a muck, I had a chance to really give my new Maytag Fridge a run for its money and wanted to tell you about it..just in case you are out shopping for a fridge! With $400 worth of groceries, plus everything else I already had in there, the Maytag® Ice2O® French Door Refrigerator with Easy Access Refrigerator Drawer aims to help you organize your foodie life.

The real question is…can it?

Specs for the Maytag® Ice2O® French Door Refrigerator with Easy Access Refrigerator Drawer from Maytag:

Finally, a refrigerator that handles snack attacks. This 25 cu. ft. Ice2O® refrigerator features the Easy Access refrigerator drawer with flexible storage for up to five bags of groceries. Using the exterior refrigerator drawer saves energy by keeping the refrigerator compartment closed while frequently used items are accessed. It’s perfect for after-school or midnight cravings. As expected from Maytag brand, it’s designed with long-lasting components including refrigerator drawer glides 2X Life tested to 300,000 openings and closings and Strongbox™ door hinges.

Easy Access refrigerator drawer

The Easy Access refrigerator drawer fully extends, holding up to 5 bags of groceries and providing accessibility even in the back. Two removable, adjustable dividers and one organizer create flexible storage options. Plus, this convenient counter height drawer is easily accessible to the whole family, including children.

How is the Maytag® Ice2O® French Door Refrigerator with Easy Access Refrigerator Drawer working in my home?

The idea behind this fridge is to keep snacks in the middle drawer. Basically the items your kids and you grab the most, keeping the rest of the fridge efficient and cooled for items that do not need to have constant access. Unfortunately there are a few flaws to this design in my household.

1) Maybe my kids are not the right age, but my 7 year old is in and out of the fridge as quickly as I am and she rarely goes in except for a drink as it is. That means access to the main part of the fridge as all of our drinks are much taller than the pull out drawer. We don’t drink a lot of individually packed items like juice boxes, so our “snack” drawer is being used as a main part of the fridge. Namely for the vegis.

2) Speaking of vegis, the snack drawer is not really meant for that. It’s pretty cold, which is good, but not so good for fresh. From my research online, it appears to be 35 degrees, which is exactly why my vegis with water in them seem to freeze up and crystallize. To be honest, I cannot figure out where fresh vegis go at all in the fridge. The drawer inside the main part is super small and would not house lettuce, much less more than one vegi. I have found it to be a bit of a logistical nightmare for someone who eats at on of fresh fruit and vegis that need to be cooled, but not frozen.  Mom Suggestion: Having a temperature adjuster in the middle drawer would give the fridge a huge variety of usages.

3) The drawer in the fridge we are using to hold our sandwich meat and cheese, but again, its not a huge drawer.This is causing me to have to run to the store more often on an item that is used daily in my home. I am not a fan of putting meat with the rest of the food so I just have to restrict how much I buy.  Mom Suggestion: Deeper drawer

4) The ice bin takes up a lot of room, but I am OK with that as I really REALLY love having the water and ice in the front. I love how it counts the water oz so you know how much you are drinking and that it’s filtered.  The ice is an oblong type shape so you can use it in water bottles as well, which is great for the kids and will come in handy over the hot summers here on the gulf coast. Mom Suggestion: None, its pretty good and the ice bin isn’t too loud.

5) I love the freezer bins. This isn’t my first time around the block with a lower freezer and my last brand had just two long open bins (one top/one bottom). It caused for a ton more mess. This one has two separate lower bins and two separate upper bins (so four food areas), which has been a lot easier to organize. Mom Suggestion: None. This is done really well and much better than my last fridge.

6) While the doors on the side DO allow for milk (gallon) storage, we generally have up to 4 gallons of sweet tea and milk in our fridge, so we keep it all inside. We also have a ton of condiments and its hard to see them if shoved into the fridge, so we keep those in the doors. Mom Suggestion: A special spot for the eggs would be great!

This is how Maytag envisions it being organized:

This is my actual home:

All in all it has some pluses for my home and minuses for my home, but overall I grade the fridge a B-.

It is not perfect for me, but it is roomy, has tons of ideas and slots for food types and shapes, and the water/ice in the door and freezer organization has a major plus. However what I have learned in this process is that how you would like a fridge laid out will really be according to the type of food you buy. So when making an appliance selection, you need to open it up and imagine where the majority of your food purchases will sit. The great thing about Maytag is that it is a dependable long lasting brand that has a warranty and stands behind their product(s). They also have a large selection of other fridges if this one isn’t the right fit for your family’s needs.

You can learn more and discover all the new technology for your kitchen by going to Maytag, Maytag on Facebook, or Maytag on twitter!

~Trisha
See pasts posts of mine at My Kitchen is Getting an upgrade and installation at Out with the old, in with the new Maytag.

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.