Side by side vs French door ?

You mean you don’t like buried food you find with freezer burn 5 years later? So side by sides making a slight comeback much more organized space but very limited in the width. Since people use the fridge 70% more often it made sense the french door design.  Its a toss up arguments on both sides.  when using ice and water in the door a side by side to me is the most reliable as the icemaker is where it should be and that is in the freezer.  Side by side may be good for you but nice to have an extra freezer somewhere as well for bulk items.  Sounds like you need a nice side by side!  look how organized!

omgosh, I’ve hated the sXs that came with my house the whole four years I’ve had it (ancient) but you’ve just made a very persuasive argument for them. Perhaps I’ve hated it because it’s old and tiny (not age shaming😉).

Refrigerator storage, convenience, and organization, are all about contiguous shelf space, not total volume. French doors are all superior in that for the refrigerator section, which is 70-80% of use. You can fit a sheet cake, pizza box, and giant box of meal subscriptions into a French door, and you cannot in a standard 36” side by side.

The freezer organization is where many French doors can fall down a bit, even though it’s volume can hold a full sized turkey and lots of frozen vegetables.  But finding one with multiple pull out drawers or inserts can mitigate that. As can using the freezer drawer for only immediate needs, like ice cream! And then using a separate upright freezer to augment your longer term frozen storage. That’s my tactic, as the pandemic food instability took my habit of bulk buying for budget’s sake to the extreme. Good luck!