How to Organize Your Fridge… and Keep It That Way
Can we all agree that the easy part of getting organized is the actual start to organizing? The hard part comes a few weeks down the line when you’re unloading your big grocery store run. It’s tempting to just throw everything into the fridge and freezer… thus losing all progress you’ve made. Or what about when someone else in your family starts getting into old habits of throwing the leftovers on the wrong shelf… It can be easy to get off track, but ain’t nobody got time for that! So we’re not only going to dive into how to organize your fridge, but also how to keep your fridge organized. With the help of my Container Store favorites, anything is possible. Don’t lose hope.
Speaking of Container Store, if you aren’t a member of the Container Store POP! program, what are you waiting for? It’s free to join + you get great perks, like discounts, easy returns and point accumulation. PS- if you were wondering, POP! stands for Perfectly Organized Perks.
HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR FRIDGE
If organizing, well anything, isn’t your strong suit, it’s okay to ask for help! Enlist the help of your significant other, children or a friend. You’ll be surprised how many people you can convince to help you when wine and pizza is involved.
First things first: take photos and do inventory!
I have a french door fridge, so I took photos of both doors, as well as the main part of the fridge. These photos also serve as a great before/after moment once your project is finished. There is something truly gratifying about seeing progress! Once you have your photos, make a high level list of what products you have.
We have lots of drinks in our fridge, noted. Our fridge has a few built in organization features: deli/cheese drawer, fruit drawer and veggie drawer. We take advantage of those drawers already, but one thing that we haven’t mastered is the in-door storage. Why is the jar of pickles in the middle of a prominent shelf? Unless they are something I’m always reaching for, they shouldn’t take up the prime shelf space. The eggs are taking up some deep fridge door space… think of how much else could fit in that spot if I could move the eggs! These are all things I notice while studying the photos and taking inventory. I challenge you to truly look at everything and question why products have a home where they do + is it a home, or just where the products ended up?
Draw your dream fridge!
Now is the fun part, at least to me: you get to design your dream fridge space! Grab another piece of paper and your notes about the fridge. I also open up the Container Store website on my computer and head to the kitchen section. It’s helpful to know about the organizing products as you’re creating homes for everything in your fridge. Having a home for everything is the key to keep your fridge organized.
This is the time to take measurements for height and width. You want to be as precise as you can with what you order– but let’s be real here, you’ll probably have to play around a little bit. I had my initial order planned out meticulously and still ended up changing a few things.
Place your Container Store order or head to the store.
The fun part, right? Here’s what I ordered for my fridge! But you can’t go wrong with any assortment or products. No two fridges + family needs are the same.
The not so fun part… clean out your fridge!
Don’t give me that look. I know cleaning out your fridge is NOT an appealing task. I personally hate cleaning my fridge, microwave, oven, etc, and send subtle hints to Austin that it needs done. But this time around, I took charge and you can, too!
Empty out your fridge in a strategic manner. Check expiration dates on condiments and open containers and check for mold. Be diligent with this and your new pretty fridge will thank you later. As you empty the fridge, sort your products by categories: salad dressings, drinks, jars (jam, salsa), squeeze bottles (ketchup, syrup), food storage containers, deli meats and cheese… you get the idea. Once the fridge is empty… clean that baby up! Wipe it all down, you don’t have an empty fridge often, so now is the perfect time to get into it.
Start to organize your fridge based on your plan.
I know we haven’t ordered the Container Store favorites yet- but stick with me. Start placing your products in your fridge based on your plan. I started with the storage inside my fridge doors because no products are involved. I was able to put salad dressings in one section, tall bottles (syrup, ketchup, SOMETHING) in one, short jars and bottles (salsa, jams, spreads, lemon juice) in a deeper one, milk carton and water bottles in a tall and deep section and mid size bottles (soy sauce, bbq sauce, marinades) in one.
Next up, fruit, veggies and deli. Again, these didn’t require any purchases because they are built in homes. If your fridge doesn’t have this, I highly recommend creating homes for these categories.
Lastly, I started placing my Container Store favorites in the fridge without my food and drink products inside them. I was able to move shelves around based on my measurements form earlier and get a better visual of how everything will fit. Once I felt comfortable with the layout I designed, I started adding in the food and drinks. The hope here is that everything ends up with a home! If you fill up all the space and still have a few products without a home, take a step back and evaluate. Maybe you aren’t taking advantage of the depth of your fridge? Are the shelves not the right heights? Could anything be stacked?
HOW TO KEEP YOUR FRIDGE ORGANIZED
The key to keep your fridge organized is making sure everything has a home. If labels help to point people in the right direction, I highly recommended purchasing or making your own.
Give everyone in your household a tour of the fridge. Walk them through the spaces that products belong in. The more your family understands why things belong, the easier it will be for them to put things away without confusion.
When you go grocery shopping, make sure you unload everything to the proper home. It may feel like extra work, but in the long run we’re talking a few extra minutes, max.
If you have guests using your fridge, it can feel awkward to tell them they can’t place things in certain spots, trust me, I feel you. But, a lot of people will ask you where they can put something or where to get something… use that as an easy, polite way to explain your process.
Life isn’t perfect, and you will probably feel unorganized at some point. The best thing you can do is stop it when you first notice it vs putting it off for later.
SHOP MY CONTAINER STORE FAVORITES
BEFORE AND AFTER FRIDGE ORGANIZATION
Thanks to The Container Store for providing products for this post. All thoughts and opinion are my own.If you liked this post, you may also like: 7 Bathroom Organization Tips To Transform Your Bathroom Storage, Master Bedroom Closet Makeover with Container Store, Our Flooring Revamp with Nebraska Furniture Mart and Kitchen Cabinet Organization.
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