My wife likes to buy whole watermelons from Costco and she typically cuts it in half and uses up half a shelf. Then there are other pieces which she puts on another shelf. The thing is that we store things in the fridge and I usually don't buy as much stuff that has to be stored when she does that. A better solution would be to buy slices, or eighths which the supermarket sells. But she likes the cost savings of getting whole watermelons.
I've thought about getting a mini-fridge for the basement but those things are usually grossly inefficient.