How to Organize your Refrigerator
Moving into my most recent apartment, I was shocked by how small our fridge was. It was essentially half the width of a normal one! On top of not really having the storage to keep everything I typically would, I also felt it was harder to keep it organized than if I had more room. Add on that I now have a roommate (hi husband to be) who does not share my same love for fridge organization, and you have my very calculated recipe for stress and disaster.
I knew that something had to be done in order for me to stop constantly thinking about the chilled mess behind those shiny silver doors, so I sat down and made a plan and brought it to life. It was easy, took less than an hour to do, and is completely maintainable.
Understanding your Personal Organization Needs
When you decide to organize your fridge, you need to stop and think about your personal goals. I know that sounds silly. Goals? For fridge organizing? Yes. Goals – they are important so that you are satisfied with the work you put in and aren’t constantly feeling like more change is necessary.
For me, my goals were:
- Everything to have a place
- Fresh fruit be in my eyesight so I gravitate towards it
- Organizing on a budget – I don’t have the money to spend $250 on supplies. The changes needed to work with my personal financial allowance
Questions to Ask to Make Your Organization Goals More Clear
Some questions you should ask while mapping out your personal organization plan/goals:
Do you have kids?
If yes, you need to make sure snacks that they may want (or you want them having) are within their reach. On the other hand, you need to make sure the things you don’t want them getting into (think breakables like eggs) on higher shelves
Are you always on the go?
If yes, you’re going to want a space for pre packed lunches or fresh washed fruit to sit so you can grab on your way out the door
Whenever you have tried to organize in the past, what has been the biggest frustration?
If your answer is that it never stays organized, you need to think about labels for the different shelves. Labels help others in the household know where things are supposed to go.
If your answer is that leftovers are always taking over, you need to make sure to have a basket or a shelf available just for leftovers that you eat out of throughout the week. That shelf should never be too full!
Investing in the Right Organization Items
In this section, I am sharing with you the items I personally purchased for my fridge organization on my budget. Feel free to pin these infographics to your Pinterest for safekeeping until you are ready to start your personal organization process!
Shop the Photo:
Shop the Photo:
Drawers | Clear Bowl | Wine Racks | Basket
Why I bought what I did (and not other items):
Open format organization items (like bins, stackable wide dividers, etc) only invite in more clutter or disarray. While I love my storage basket for holding our leftovers, I try not to give too much “decision space” when it comes to organizing. Everything needs an assignment and to stay where it should. It keeps things from getting messy again quickly!
Before you Start Organizing
Now that you are committed to the process, have your goals, and have ordered your supplies, you are ready to attack the fridge organizing process!
Before you can start organizing:
- Take everything out. Yes, everything. If doing this freaks you out, do it section by section, starting with the bottom
- Once everything is out, clean every inch with a multi purpose cleaner. Use a toothbrush or sponge to get dried stuff out of crevices. Then, go back over everything with a window cleaner to see it shine like new.
The Quick Steps to an Organized Fridge
Now you are ready to filter through what you have and organize. For the pre organizing phase of absolutely anything home related, I use a system I made up called the DECK System. It can be used for any room, cabinet, or area clean!
D – Dispose
Dispose of anything immediately that is gross, mostly empty, isn’t liked, or hasn’t been touched.
E – Expiration
Now go through the remaining items and look at those expiration dates! Yes I’m talking every salad dressing. Rule of thumb: unopened, non dairy based condiments can be kept for 2 months past the printed date. Everything else must go ASAP! This same rule applies for makeup, detergents, you name it.
C – Combine
Combine anything you have multiple open bottles of. Choose the bottle that is cleanest or most full and pour any others into that bottle using a funnel.
K – Keep it orderly
Now that everything is cut to a minimum, it’s time to organize! Grab those items you just bought and use them to organize your fridge.
How I Organize my Fridge
Check out this video from my Instagram to see how I utilized all of the items I bought to create a clean, usable fridge.