Organizing your fridge can seem daunting, but once it’s done, it feels SO good. Am I right?! Now, keeping it organized? That can be the tricky part, especially with husbands and kids who always seem to come up with the excuse, (you know it all too well) . . . “I can’t put it away because I don’t know where it goes. . . ”
In our house, I like to have a home for everything that lives inside. The old saying,
“It’s the little things that make me happy”
This resonates deep inside my soul, especially when it comes to all of my mixing bowls being in the right spot, and having my pantry and refrigerator clean and organized.
Let me start out by saying, I am in NO WAY a professional when it comes to organization, but with a little help from my old friends, also known as TJ Maxx and Home Goods, I was able to come up with what works for our family . . .
Here are five tips and tricks to help you get started organizing your fridge:
1. To keep your shelves organized, purchase some clear plastic fridge bins.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money at the Container Store to get the job done. Check out your local TJ Maxx or Home Goods, or even the dollar tree. Use divider drawers in your crisper bins! It’s best to group your greens on one side and your other veggies, such as onions in another.
2. Empty everything out of your refrigerator and give it a good deep cleaning.
Throw away anything that is expired and place a deodorizer at the back.
3. Map out your fridge and bins for what you want to keep where.
Keep in mind that the refrigerator door is the warmest part of the fridge, so only condiments and butter should go there. It’s best to not keep your eggs or milk in the door, they should be placed in the coldest part of your fridge. When you’ve come up with a plan, share it with your family.
4. We sit down and menu plan every Sunday and then buy what we plan to eat for the week.
That’s all that is in our fridge outside of the condiments. Doing this not only helps keep your fridge organized, but this weekly plan also helps to not waste food because it’s not stuffed to the brim, and you can actually see what is inside. There’s nothing worse than an old cucumber at the bottom of the vegetable drawer leaking water everywhere because you forgot about it! Make an “Eat Me First” bin for foods that going to expire within the next few days or the week.
5. Clean out your fridge WEEKLY of anything that is expired.
We do this the night before garbage day. You will be surprised how much easier it is to keep up with your hard work of organizing your fridge and keep yourself from wondering, “What is that smell?!”
With back to school, I hope that these five tips help you keep your fridge organized, reduce food waste, and save money!
Disclaimer: I somehow still seem to end up at the store at least three times a week just for bananas. Someone in the house is always secretly eating all of them. *Cough* MY HUSBAND *Cough*
