Updated on March 13, 2023
It’s likely that your refrigerator might need a thorough cleaning if you’re like the majority of people. Expired condiments and rotting veggies may be found lurking in the back of your fridge if you’re not vigilant. This is why it’s so important to keep your fridge organized!
As soon as you’re hungry, you don’t want to waste time looking for the proper component. You want to be able to simply locate the item you’re seeking for within the refrigerator. Having a designated “home” for each kind of food might make it easier to keep track of everything.
Quarterly, or roughly four times a year, you’ll need to thorough clean your fridge. Even if your fridge is unique, there are a few tricks you may use to keep items neatly organized inside of it. You’ll have a sparkling refrigerator in no time if you follow this simple advice!
What to Do Before Organizing Your Refrigerator
Cleaning and disinfecting the interior of your fridge is a must before you begin organizing. A cleansed refrigerator reduces the risk of foodborne disease and contamination, making this more than simply a cosmetic advantage. Follow these simple techniques to clean your refrigerator quickly and easily:
- Empty the fridge entirely.
So that you can quickly remove dirt, stains, or solidified spills from the fridge, you should remove everything from the fridge. If you’re concerned about food spoilage, working in portions is one option. Alternatively, you may keep your perishable food items in a cooler with some ice.
- Wipe down all surfaces.
Sanitize your fridge with a disinfectant wipe or some paper towels and a disinfecting spray. Inside the door compartments and on every shelf level are included. The drawers should be taken out, soaked in hot, soapy water, and then cleaned and reinstalled.
- Reassemble the fridge and add a deodorizer.
Keeping a deodorizer in your refrigerator can help keep it fresh and free of bad odours. When it comes to deodorizing, baking soda is one of the best. Instead than purchasing special fridge packs, you may just put an open container at the rear of your device.
How to Organize Your Refrigerator
Now that your refrigerator has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, you can begin planning your strategy. Mentally segmenting the fridge into pieces and working through each one sequentially is a good strategy for decluttering.
There are different sorts of goods that should be kept in the top, lower, door, and drawer sections, therefore it is critical that you arrange correctly. You have the option of organizing the fridge section by section, or you may start with the area of the fridge that most appeals to you.
Upper Shelf Hacks
Raw meat and vegetables should not be kept on the refrigerator’s top shelves, which are the highest points. Leftovers, beverages, and ready-to-eat goods like yoghurt, cheese, and deli meats should all be kept on the upper shelf.
A well-labeled, organized pantry is essential for these goods, which tend to have a shorter shelf life than other pantry staples.
1. Make an “Eat Me First” Box for About-to-Expire Foods
What about the boxes you purchased a long time ago?? Use a “Eat Me First” container to store anything that’s about to expire. As a general rule, it’s better to be safe than sorry if you’re unclear whether anything has gone bad or not. Use this chart from Foodsafety.gov to learn how long leftovers may be stored safely if you can date them.
2. Use a Lazy Susan to Easily Find Food
In the back of your fridge, food may go bad until it’s far beyond its sell-by date. You can keep all of your food goods within easy reach with a lazy Susan! Refrigerator lazy Susans are just as helpful as they were for spice storage. Snack containers and condiments should be placed on top of open jars so that they may be easily accessed.
3. Hang Baskets to Utilize Wall Space
Baskets with suction cups that attach to the side of your refrigerator are readily available. In the refrigerator, they’re great for storing little items that could otherwise get misplaced. In addition to string cheese, you may also use tiny cups of hummus or pre-made lunch meat and cheese rollups. Stick the basket to the interior of your fridge.
Lower Shelf Hacks
Once the top shelf is in order, you may go on to the bottom shelves. In this section, raw materials are safe to store since they are below ready-made meals. You may keep things like pre-packaged, raw meats for a future dish on the lowest shelf.
The bottom shelves may be used to keep any additional ready-to-eat foods that don’t fit on the upper level. While keeping meat is a no-brainer, here are a few tips for other perishables that aren’t quite as obvious.
1. Group Like Items Together
Make it easy to find what you need by grouping like products together in transparent plastic baskets. There are a variety of possibilities for the contents of the baskets. They might be filled with leftovers, smoothie components, or sauces.
2. Use File Organizers to Store Snacks
File boxes are becoming a thing of the past as more and more paperwork is done online. These boxes, on the other hand, are ideal for storing a wide variety of food. Everything from little containers of chopped vegetables to yoghurts, pouches of applesauce, and pouch beverages may be stored in the refrigerator. Label them so that you can keep track of them easier.
3. Use Curtain Ring Clips to Hang Bagged Items
Wire shelves or bars on the shelf edges of many refrigerators are becoming more popular. Use the area below your shelves if you have bagged things like shredded cheese or lettuce by hanging them from the edge! These ringed curtain clips will be necessary. Hang your wrapped bags from the curtain ring clips as required.
