you'll learn to plan your meals better. take everything out that you need before you start...
Let's also take into account how many ingredients you may need from the fridge when you plan ahead. Certain meals may require multiple trips to/from the basement (however far away that may be) depending on how many - and the size of - ingredients involved.
Also, what mjmj said, re:kids.
Not having the fridge readily available in the kitchen would suck, though, so that only works if you have a dedicated freezer.
While this may be OK for single or couple without children, it's hard to imagine it for family with 4+ members.