Two years ago, my fridge was publicly shamed on the internet. Now, that’s all changed.

Two years ago, an article was published on Mamamia titled: "I went full Marie Kondo on my girlfriend's fridge. I'll never be the same."

For the uninitiated, Marie Kondo is the host of the Netflix series Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. But she does more than clean. She declutters. She’s that woman who forces you to remove everything from your cupboards until you start yelling, “WHY DO I HAVE 14 PASTA STRAINERS AND 22 TEASPOONS BUT NOT ONE SINGLE FORK” and then run from your house in tears.

According to Kondo you should probably come back. And face your pasta strainers. Decluttering is meant to improve memory, lower stress levels, improve sleep and even improve eating habits. 

Anyway. Back to the fridge.

My partner wrote that article. And he was talking about my fridge.

This is what he uncovered.

Marie Kondo would have a... conniption. 

Marie Kondo quits. Her... industry.  

Marie Kondo explores possibility of relocating to Mars.  

Marie Kondo begins shouting which she NEVER does.  

Because we generally tend to get along, we decided to move in together this year. There was just one… problem. Sometimes I’d find him rocking back and forth in the corner late at night muttering, “But… what if… AVOCADO MOULD… why are… TOMATOES EATING THEMSELVES.”

I promised him I would change, but I also doubted myself. How was I to know how long a vegetable can be kept in the fridge? Didn’t all fridges form inexplicable wet puddles that are also a little bit sticky?

And then, it happened.

Samsung kindly asked if I’d like to try their 2-Door Family Hub Refrigerator. 

Holy no I do not even know where to begin. It is by far the best thing that’s happened to me in 2020. 

It has a SCREEN on it. And when you drag down the screen it shows you what’s INSIDE THE FRIDGE. YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE TO OPEN THE DOOR. DO YOU UNDERSTAND. This is the FUTURE.

Meet the love of my life. 

Before I go any further, I need to make something explicitly clear. While I work in digital media, technology is not always my friend. I am impatient and illogical. I bought a new phone recently and cried for six hours trying to get my old stuff onto the new thing. If this fridge, with its computer screen and built-in speaker was going to make my life harder instead of easier, I wasn’t having a bar of it.

But it’s magical. I know this isn’t the explicit purpose of a fridge, but the first night she was in my house, I invited friends over to crowd around my fridge and watch YouTube videos. Then we went to the whiteboard app and drew pictures. Then I shouted “DOES ANYONE NEED ME TO ORDER AN UBER FROM MY FRIDGE” because that’s a function I felt needed to be broadcast."

Her name is Bixby, and she’s the third, very welcome, addition to our relationship.

You can ask her things like: “Hey Bixby - set a timer for three minutes” or “Hey Bixby - play the Hamilton soundtrack on Spotify” or “Hey Bixby - add Goat’s cheese to the shopping list” and she does it without even complaining. 

Bixby can also give you a morning briefing as you make your coffee. She’ll give you some of the news headlines and an overview of what’s on your calendar today. You can ask her for the weather forecast, and tell her to add a few things to your to-do list.

The Samsung 2-Door Family Hub Refrigerator has two doors: the one on the left is the freezer and the one on the right is the fridge. 

Now, for the screen. The home screen tells you the date, if any of your food is about to expire (more on this later), and you can have a bunch of personalised photographs on it. The rest of it works similarly to a tablet.

This is what the home screen looks like.  

There are a bunch of apps, one of the most useful being the shopping list. When I open the fridge and notice we’re almost out of butter, I write it on the shopping list, which syncs with our Woolworths account. 

We can order all our groceries from our fridge and you better believe I’ve been showing every visitor in our home how easy it is. 

When products go into our fridge, we can also identify them (through the inside camera) and set an expiry date. Then we get notified when it’s time to use up the rest of that chicken. That means no more yellow spinach. Or weird… smells.

Inbuilt is also an endless list of recipes. You just punch in what ingredients you’ve got left (say, eggs, onion, tomato and half an avocado) then a selection of recipes will pop up and Bixby will talk you through the cooking process.

OH, OH. And you get an alert on your phone through the SmartThings app that tells you when your partner has left the fridge door open. And then you get to yell at them to close it. The app also lets me check what's inside the fridge while I'm at work, mostly so I can say to my boyfriend: "I saw you take the last of the chocolate. I literally saw you." 

The Samsung 2-Door Family Hub Refrigerator has seriously reduced our waste, which is something I’m particularly passionate about. She takes on the mental load so that neither of us have to, all while looking like a chic grown-up with a matte black finish, flat doors and actually being more spacious than it looks thanks to the SpaceMax technology.

And I haven’t even told you about the ice machine yet.

This is living.  

All I’ve ever wanted in life is a fridge that can make ice. And pours you cold water. Every time I use it I mutter to myself, “You’ve made it, Jessie. You’ve really made it.” 

When we’re not using the fridge (which is… rarely, given we can pretty much write a novel from it) it plays a slideshow of our favourite pictures. 97 to be exact. All of the dogs. Every time we glance over at our Bixby, our much-loved personal assistant, we smile at a picture of a sleeping dog.

Joy in an image.  

Since our new addition, there has been no public shaming on the internet. I’ve turned a new leaf. There are no strange wet puddles or vegetables from my youth.

Bixby simply wouldn’t allow it.

Find out more about Samsung's 2-Door Family Hub Refrigerator right here.

Family Hub™ requires an internet connection. Apps and services are subject to change without notice. Data usage fees may apply. Bixby is Samsung’s brand of artificial intelligence (AI) / Internet of Things (IoT) voice assistant. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are require. Compatible phone smart phone required Android 4.0 and higher or iOS 7.0 and higher. Requires download of Smart Home app.