5 Tips to Organize a Fridge
Have you ever eaten a gourmet meal in a messy restaurant or enjoyed fine dining in an unorganized fast-food restaurant? You haven’t, have you? So then, why would you cook healthy recipes and create healthy meal plans at home in an organized kitchen and make use of an unorganized, messy, overstocked fridge? Why wouldn’t you want an organized fridge when it prevents food wastage, saves money, saves time in the kitchen, and prevents spoiled food?
Sure, an organized, tidy fridge may leave teenagers and little ones finding the chocolate pudding or truffles faster, or the father in the family grabbing that cholesterol-enhancing beef patty you once cleverly hid among the clutter, but it makes for convenient cooking. And better yet, despite that, it may eventually lead to an unhealthy obsession with fridge cleaning and organization, the many benefits of an organized fridge and kitchen far outweigh the cons.
Let our team at Twigs Cafe provide you with some fun tips and hacks to organize your beloved fridge—the centerpiece of any well-groomed and beloved kitchen.
Organize Your Fridge According to Shelves and Zones
When it comes to your fridge, ensure you break down the organization of your fridge into compartments and shelves. The upper shelf is the perfect place for items that need refrigeration but don’t need cooking, for example, your leftovers and your deli meats. Then, your middle and lower shelves are ideal for dairy products like milk, yogurt, butter, and cheeses as it’s cooler.
As the coldest part of the fridge, the bottom shelf and pull-out drawers found here are perfect for meat and fish products, and fruit and vegetables. Be sure to keep them separate, though. The warmest part of the fridge is the door, which should see the placement of condiments—not the eggs or milk as a common belief may have it.
You could also go the alternative route and organize your fridge according to shelf similarity: one shelf for fresh fruit and veg produce, one shelf for meat, and one shelf for dairy. You can also verge on the crazy side and organize your fridge by color: all greens in one place, all yellows in the next.
Make Use of Trays and Clear Baskets when Organizing Your Fridge
We at Twigs Cafe “… Advocate the use of trays, bins, and baskets throughout your home—and that extends to your refrigerator. Just as it’s visually pleasing to see pantry shelves compartmentalized with the help of bins and lazy Susans, a refrigerator that takes advantage of these organizational tools is a joy to behold and use.”
Organize Your Perishable Foods with Expiry Dates and Reminders
Sure, food in your fridge may go in and out as quickly as lightning, but nevertheless, it’s important to organize and store your perishable foods that possess the shortest shelf life at the front of the shelves and the products and produce which have the longest shelf life at the back of the fridge. Better yet, use labels and written reminders to ensure your favorite pate, dip, and cheesecake is enjoyed first before it expires. This brings one of our favorite organizing tips—custom labels.
Organize Your Fridge with Custom Labels
Why wouldn’t you want to organize your fridge and use labels and stickers when there are a whole bunch of cool custom labels to use for your craft beer, wine, homemade preserves, or any edible delight? Perfectly custom-sized and shaped for clear labeling, you can add nutritional info and dates to any bottle, tub, container, or jar. The great thing about custom food and drink labels is that they withstand any temperature and adhere to any type of surface.
Go the Extra Mile and Tack Up a List to Your Fridge Door
With your inner fridge organized and cleaned, with every shiny apple in its place and jam of preserved pickles in its pristine position, it’s time to take your organizational skills to the next level. What we’re talking about here is the expert organizer level. So, tack up a dry-erase sheet to your fridge door and keep an updated, daily tally of what’s in your fridge, what’s about to go off, like old eggs, and what’s new to the fridge after your weekly grocery shop. Don’t forget to keep organized by listing all the food, produce, and ingredients you’re missing and need to purchase at your next shop visit.
Now, Let the Organizing Bug Bite
With the above-mentioned hacks and organizing tips from Twigs Cafe, we hope your healthy meal plans and healthy recipes are made that much easier. For healthy eating ideas, easy healthy recipes, cooking techniques and hacks, healthy meal plans, and health and wellness tips, be sure to read our blog.
About the Author
Twigs cafe staff is comprised of editors, writers, food & drink experts, nutritionists, and researchers to create informative and helpful content for health-conscious people.
