An unorganized fridge can instantly evolve into a greater problem. From neglected leftovers to missing ingredients, an unorganized fridge can pose a menace and danger to your health and budget. The exciting news is that you can effortlessly avoid these problems by using a few simple organizational strategies. By keeping your fridge organized, you can actually make the most of your available space and keep everything fresh and ready to eat.
Clean and Sort
The first step to organizing a fridge is to clean and sort all of your fridge items. Lift everything out of the refrigerator, going through expiration dates, mold, or other signs of spoiled food as you go. Remove and throw out anything that is past the expiration date or looks nasty. For leftovers or food in plastic storage containers, if you’re not certain how long it has been in there, throw it out. When it comes to your food, it’s best to err on the side of caution.
With everything out of the fridge, take the time to deep-clean your fridge’s interiors. Taking advantage of hot, soapy water or a mild bleach solution, wipe down and dry all surfaces, including inside drawers and bins. By doing so, you will begin with a clean fridge for your new organization system.
Label Everything
The next step for an organized fridge is to create a checklist of how long your food has been there. Although admittedly quite a lot of pre-packaged foods will be made with an expiration or sell-by date on them, for fruits and veggies or food that you take home or that is leftover from meals, you must have a system to keep track of when it was added to the fridge and when it will have to be thrown out.
One suitable tip is to take advantage of a dry-erase marker to write the dates of meals and takeout on the container. You could do the same thing for other perishables, using the inside of your fridge. By jotting down the date of both when you brought them home and when they need to be used, you can better make certain that you are using up the groceries you buy before they spoil and avoid eating leftovers that can make you sick or ill.
Use Containers
Keeping loose items tidy and organized in a fridge can be tough, especially for things like fruits, vegetables, and even small condiment jars. To prohibit clutter and make sure that you have everything you’re looking for at hand, take into consideration using a lot of clear storage bins to group loose items together. Think about investing in some quality reusable food storage containers with tight-fitting lids. This can help you to store food safely and bring down waste by reusing your containers many times.
You can furthermore employ a dry-erase marker on the bins and storage containers to keep track of the dates things were bought. Utilizing bins and storage containers in your fridge will make space for larger items elsewhere and more easily track expiration dates of perishable items.
Develop a System
As you start replacing items, it’s imperative to develop a system for storing everything. This has two benefits: first, that you will always be aware of where things are, and second, that it can make your food last longer and make it safer. For instance, take heed that certain items should be kept in certain places.
Meat should always be kept on the lowest shelf to keep it from dripping and contaminating other food. Also, never store milk in the fridge door – it can spoil quickly each time it is exposed to warm air frequently. You can additionally separate your fruits and vegetables, and take advantage of trays for disordered items to avoid spills.
Plan Ahead
In the case that your fridge is clean and organized, the most relevant thing you can execute is to make a plan to keep it that way. Even the most organized fridge will yearn to be cleaned, and old items are thrown out once in a while. Deem developing a cleaning schedule to make certain that your fridge stays organized. As an example, you could choose a day of the week or month to go through everything, rotating and updating your fresh produce, and wiping down fridge surfaces. By doing this always, you can avoid the frightening deep-clean and purge of your fridge (and freezer), a job very few delight in.
By following these hassle-free suggestions, you can keep your fridge clean and organized week after week with less effort than you ever thought possible!
Are you in the market for a new rental home? Let Real Property Management Uintah help! You can view our listings online or speak to one of our professional Fruitland property managers today.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
