Organizing your fridge can seem like a formidable task. After all, it is one of the most popular hotspots in the kitchen. If your fridge isn’t organized; expired groceries, forgotten leftovers, and other items can add up, making it messy and tough to navigate.
Organizing your fridge keeps food from easily expiring and allows you to access what you want quickly. If you would like to keep your fridge neat, here are nine steps to improve its appearance.
Go Through Everything
The first step in decluttering a fridge involves taking everything out. This helps you gain a better understanding of its contents. An empty fridge is easy to clean and organize. By removing its contents, you can check the expiration dates, toss expired and unwanted items, and clean its surfaces.
Find Practical Spots for Each Item
When each food item has its proper spot, it lasts longer. For example, you can create zones for each food category. The top shelf and door are usually warmer, while the middle and bottom shelves are colder. As a start, keep condiments, sodas, and other canned perishables in the door, along with dairy products, eggs, and spreads on the upper shelf. Meats, milk, and other items that can expire quickly can be stored in the lower shelves with vegetables.
Get Rid of Packaging
Bulky packaging and containers consume space and make it harder to locate items. To make your fridge look neat, remove the packaging around fruits, eggs, cups of yogurt, and soda cans. Taking snacks and other items out of their packaging clears the visual clutter.
Label your Storage Bins
Labelling your bins allows you to access things faster; it also ensures that you can put them back in place properly. Although many people might be adamant about labeling, it is a great way to initially organize your fridge and can help your loved ones find what they are looking for effortlessly.
Prepare your Groceries Before Storing Them
Fruits and vegetables require meticulous care because they can expire quickly. Before you store them in the fridge, put them in storage containers to grab them when needed. You can go a step further and separate them with a divided drawer rather than tossing them all together into one drawer.
Segment your Drawers with Dividers
Refrigerators with large drawers are suitable for storage but are harder to organize. To keep track of all your items, use dividers to separate items within a drawer. This prevents things from getting mixed up and improves the longevity of the produce.
Make Use of Stackable Bins
Stackable bins and containers are a great way to store food. They make you take advantage of the extra shelf space within the fridge. Stackable bins for example, prevent things from overcrowding and can save you time and money to store more items instead of investing in a new fridge.
Consider Glass Jars
Glass jars are great for storage and are safer than other containers because they don’t release harsh chemicals or break when frozen. You can store smoothies, juice, herbs, and fresh fruits and keep them fresh for a longer period; they can also brighten the appearance of your fridge.
Get Creative
There are so many ways to organize your fridge; the possibilities are almost endless. If you are creative enough, you can add a custom-made Lazy Susan; it keeps leftovers from getting lost in the back of the fridge. You can include magnets or add extra containers. Adding a lining to your shelves eases the cleaning process and makes them look neat.
At times, even after your best efforts to clean up your fridge, clutter returns. Nevertheless, this isn’t an excuse for giving up. Keeping your fridge neat and organized is a continuous effort. Not only does it increase the shelf life of your products but enhances food safety and helps you access what you want faster!
David Messiha | Staff Writer
