Refrigerator in your own office?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Kind of a poll I guess. Kinda bragging too, and this maybe more suited to MPSIMS.

Just got a small refrigerator in my cube. It’s gonna be great. I hate making stuff at home to bring in for lunch. Or, I’ll bring in leftovers, but only about half the time. So that means I have to drive to one of the fast food type places around here at lunch.

The office refrigerator is used buy about 25 people. It’s really not suited to leave a bunch your own stuff in.

So, I bought a 2.5 cu/ft. refer. It’s pretty roomy. Just fits under one of my desks. Heh, it’s got a brushed aluminum front, sort of just looks like another server.

I just stocked it up this morning.

-Two kinds of cheese.
-Pastrami
-Tomato
-Lettuce
-Mayo/mustard/horseradish sauce
-Pickles
-Coleslaw
-Milk
-6 pack of v-8
-Strawberries

I also brought in rye bread, some Tupperware, paper plates and bowels (might just get some real stuff), a knife, soup and cereal and that microwave instant oatmeal.

The office is already well stocked in plastic wear. They buy it by the case.

Ooh, ooh, ooh. I need a little cutting board. Oooohhh, and beagles and cream cheese too. Damn.

I’ve got access to a microwave and a sink.

I’m thinking I will be able to do a lot with tortillas, and I could easily bring in taco making ingredients (provided I do some prep work at home). Bag –o-salad will come in handy.

I’ve gotten real good at cooking an egg in a microwave, so I have that option too.

I’m also thinking it will be handy to keep a couple side dishes in it like mac-and-cheese or something that I can mix and match with a sandwich or something.

Any other good ideas for quick easy to make lunches?

I’ve got grand plans my friends. :smiley:

2

Lucky!

I’ve got a full size refrigerator in my office. Unfortunately I can’t put any food in it!

3

You can get the bags o’ salad when they’re BOGO, and then buy protein and other veggies in small amounts from the grocery store salad bar every few days, to add. This is way cheaper than getting your greens on the salad bar). You can also supplement with the cheeses/meats you’ve already brought. Hard-cook some eggs at home (ask me about my fool-proof perfect-every-time hard-cooked eggs), peel them at home (kinda messy for the office), they’ll keep in zippy bags for several days. Chopped or quartered eggs are good on the salads, and also make a nice sandwich (my mom used to put sliced eggs, mayo and pickle relish on a sandwich and call it “hobo egg salad”).

4

Does food get stolen out of the common fridge, or is it just too small? Twenty-five people doesn’t seem like a lot for a full-size refridgerator assuming they’re only storing bag lunches and the like.

I only say so because I used to have a coworker who refused to use the common fridge. Instead he would bring his lunch in one of those personal coolers, filled with ice, and keep it locked in his office. Honestly it come off as a little weird and standoffish.

5

I don’t blame you for keeping your bowels and beagles confined to your office. :stuck_out_tongue:

Good plan! I’ve been doing the bagels and cream cheese (olive c.c. in particular) thing for breakfast at work, plus a banana. Lunch is a salad or wrap with protein and dairy included, plus some OK fats like olives.

6

Autumn, check the OP a little bit closer. He wants to store up about a week (or more) worth of lunch-building materials, to prevent having to assemble a lunch at home every day. Definitely something that would either

a) take up way too much room in a community fridge (not to mention be impolite)
or
b) get stolen on a regular basis

7

Oh, I forgot to mention that my old boss had a small fridge in his office, which he kept stocked with Diet Coke and Budweiser. Even though there is a strict alcohol policy.

8

Fair enough. I don’t know what the OP’s office politics are like but some environments place a big premium on socializing and sharing common space, and keeping one’s own private food in one’s own private fridge might not go over very well. Just sayin.’ :slight_smile:

9

norinew- Whats BOGO? Good idea to keep some pre-choped veggies to add to a salad. And the Hobo egg salad too. I almost bought some relish. I could use that on an occasional hot dog too.

Autumn Almanac Just did a real count. 32 people total, Five different departments. Don’t really know who actually uses it though. It also gets filled up with leftovers from meetings (some are catered).

Anyway, no problem with theft. Though I don’t think most people have a problem with sharing say some mustard or something. And there is enough room to just bring in a tupperware from home. I did do that when I brought something from home. But stuff gets disorganized and moved around REAL fast. A lot of people do store Milk for coffee, or orange juice and some cream cheese and other odds and ends in there.

There isn’t much room to have a bunch of sandwich making stuff in there. This way, I can easily keep the basics, buy some stuff for the office when ever I do regular shopping and still get some more variety with out having to find out what I really have in the ‘office’ fridge.

10

I’ve had a small (~2 cu ft) fridge in my office for the past 6-7 years. I first got it when I was working at my old company, because the office fridge was way the hell down the hall and I just wanted something handy to keep some sodas in. Five years ago I came to a company that provides free soda, and the office fridge wasn’t far away, but I already had the little fridge and my officemate liked the idea of us having our own (and we had the room for it). It’s been here ever since. She brings her lunch in every day and uses our fridge for that, but I mostly just use it for my water bottle and the occasional soda. I also go through phases where I’ll bring in cheese, yogurt, Jell-O, etc. It’s handy. :slight_smile:

The fridge is mine but my officemate and I chipped in to get a cheap microwave cart from Target: the fridge sits on top (instead of on the floor) and I use the storage underneath for some soup, instant oatmeal, etc.

11

BOGO = Buy one, get one free. Bag O’Salad is the perfect lunch item…very quick to prepare, infinitely customizable, very healthy.

Be careful what you stash in the new reefer. Office coolers get really ugly when you forget things in them over a long weekend, for instance. Monitor your contents carefully, or you’ll end up with 6 month old tuna stuck in the back, where you never bend over far enough to see it. Make it a rule to clean out and throw away or take home any fresh veggies, fruits and the like every Friday without fail.

12

So, does the policy only allow for imported beer? French wines? Inquiring minds want to know! :wink:

13

:slight_smile: Officially it’s no alcohol without it being served at a legit party with Security present. Unofficially the grad students sneak beer in for Friday afternoon wind-down sessions.

14

I’ve had one in my office for a few years now and most of the time it sits empty. Seemed like a good idea at the time but I am too busy to shop for home let alone stocking the mini fridge behind my desk.
You seem to be taking full advantage so good for you.

15

I have a very small fridge, which is all I need. Access to microwave (but I rarely use it).

I got intersting responses (mostly appreciative) to cooking in a crockpot last week (for an event). Might try that in the winter when I have enough to share!

16

No office refrigerators allowed, allegedly because of electrical/HVAC issues (which if true reflects gross incompetence by management, since these offices were constructed to order less than a decade ago).

17

In honor of office drones everywhere - please do not cook eggs in the microwave at work!

It stinks, bad.

18

We have a big office frig, where the good stuff disappears quickly and the bad stuff refuses to go away. Fortunately, my supervisor lets me use her little frig.

19

Also, fish cannot be reheated. Ever. Its one of the commandments Moses broke over the orgy member’s heads, but was never copied down.

“Thou Shalt Not Twice Cook Thy Fish, Lest Through Thy Stink, Thou Shalt Be A Pariah Amongst Men”

20

I had one <sniff>. The customer service girls stole it. Stole it. As in, they came in an hour early, got a hand truck from the back and wheeled it right out of my office and into theirs.

I moved my desk into their office for 4 months trying to torture them into giving it back. It didn’t work. We’ve even been through a total turnover, but it’s been gradual enough that the girls know not to give me back the fridge. I gave up and went back to my own office.
Now I stop by every morning and drop off my diet cokes and use it as a chance to chat.

My friend that also works here (she runs one department, I run another) has a refrigerator for her employees. It’s stocked with Bud Light and Captain Morgan’s. One time we needed more room so we emptied a filing cabinet and lined the drawers with ice and made a four-tiered cooler while we grilled.

It’s nice.