Organizing your fridge is essential since it makes your fridge look good, reduces food wastage, and makes food preparation pleasurable. An organized fridge also makes cleaning more effortless and prevents disease-causing bacteria from accessing your groceries.
If you’re learning how to organize a kitchen, your fridge should be one of your top priorities. According to WRAP, UK households produce five million tonnes of edible food waste per year. The high number is simply because many people don’t know what’s in their fridge.
Here are seven effective methods to organize your fridge:
Clean It Well
The first important step in organizing your fridge is taking everything out and thoroughly scrubbing all the dirt. Remove the shelves and drawers, and clean them with hot water and soap. Wipe down the interiors using non-abrasive cleaning methods to avoid destroying the plastic. Afterward, place a box of baking soda to prevent unpleasant smells in the future.
Use Clear Containers
Remove your items’ packaging and invest in clear food storage containers. These would enclose your grocery items and other food essentials and keep them together. Label the containers according to the type of items or by expiry date. Besides clear containers making your fridge look organized, they’re much easier to remove and clean than shelves and drawers. These containers also ensure you see what’s available.
African man in medical mask and gloves with new purchased food in paper bag putting meal in fridge at home. Afro guy putting delivered groceries in refrigerator
Sort Your Shelves
If you’re used to placing your groceries in just any available space, it’s time to change that. Organizing your shelves helps reduce wastage since you’ll know what’s available and where it is. Here’s how to start:
Top Shelf: This is one of the warmer shelves, so avoid storing perishable items here, like fresh meat. Instead, consider storing leftovers and stuff you need to eat soon.
Middle Shelf: Consider storing dairy products, like milk, cheeses, butter, and yogurt, or items that can be left uncovered, like berries. Since these shelves have much vertical space, they’re suitable for taller containers.
Bottom Shelf: This is the coolest spot in the fridge, so items stored here should have a lower risk of spoiling. The bottom shelf is ideal for storing fresh meat and fish. Storing raw food on the bottom shelf minimizes the risks of cross-contamination.
Drawers: These should be designated for storing salads, vegetables, and fruits with their original packaging. They’re also a perfect space to store herbs and other fresh produce to prevent them from freezing.
Door Shelves: These are the warmest section of the fridge and are most likely to experience temperature fluctuations. Therefore, store foods with natural preservatives, like condiments, juice, and jams.
Check Expiry Dates
When storing food in the fridge, take time to check the expiration dates of all the items. While some of them might be consumed past these dates, most of them can be harmful once they’ve gone beyond their shelf lives. Go through sauces, jellies, and jams you haven’t used in a while and either use them or toss them out. It’ll be much easier to find any item you need when you’re not going through endless cans and bottles of stuff you’ll never use.
Keep A List
One of the ways to take your organizing process to the next level is by keeping a list of all items in your fridge. This lets you know what you have in your fridge without sifting through it. However, you don’t need a list of all the items in the fridge. Instead, write down what you bought recently or what items are about to expire soon. This way, you’ll know what you’re missing and keep track of items’ expiry dates.
Keep Perishable Foods In Front Of The Fridge
Food wattage often results from not knowing what’s in the fridge and when it expires. As the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” Therefore, it’s essential to keep food items with short shelf lives at the front. If you move things in and out of your fridge more often, designate a separate shelf to store these items and label them for easy remembrance.
Label Everything
It might seem obvious, but labeling your containers can improve your organizational skills. Labeling helps you and your loved ones find what they need quickly and ensures the items return to their proper places in the fridge. You can either use labeling stickers or handwritten scripts that are easy to read.
Conclusion
Organizing your fridge may take a little more time and effort, but it’s worth it as it helps save money and reduce food wastage, all while promoting cleanliness. If you’re wondering how to organize your fridge, don’t hesitate to incorporate the above tips as they’ll surely help.
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