The fridge is one of the most regularly used appliances in the house. Everyone has access to the refrigerator. A lot of unnecessary items pile up not only inside, but on the outside of the fridge. You may have empty boxes tucked away on top of the refrigerator, artworks of our budding little Picassos, certificates, notes, lists, and finally some expired food items.
The fridge has a lot going on, and sometimes it can be
difficult to keep track of your produce and organise your fridge. Efficiency of
the fridge may be reduced if you have to spend time rifling through the clutter
each time you need something. This is why it is so important to have
decluttering your fridge as an essential part of your house cleaning routine.
Over time the average fridge can get really dirty and
overcrowded. What do you think when you
open your fridge? Do you wince a little? Do you recoil at the smell that you
just can’t seem to put your finger on?
Then my Goddess, it’s time to tackle that fridge and all the clutter it
so dutifully holds. I know that cleaning
out your Fridge can be a daunting task, but after it is done, you can be safe
in the knowledge you won’t be eating anything, erm, how can I put this –
undesirable.
Start with a full surface clean
Take everything out of your fridge. It’s time for a full surface clean to remove
any spills, stains or crumbs that may be in your fridge. Remove your shelves and give them a nice hot
soapy bath, this includes any drawers.
This will kill any bacteria that has treated your fridge like a
playground. Dry them as thoroughly as
you can and leave them for a while to air dry. Next wipe down all of the
interior of the fridge. I like to use
hot soapy water, pat dry, and with a microfibre
cloth give it all a spray and wipe with anti-bacterial spray. Don’t forget the doors and seals of the
fridge, grease and grime can build up in the little crevices of the seal. I like to use a cotton bud dipped in some hot
soapy water to remove any crud that’s built up.
By removing all of the items it will allow you to take an
inventory what you have in the refrigerator and discard anything you absolutely
don’t need.
Discard any Expired products
Fridges get cluttered because we keep foods and leftovers
with the best intentions of using them in the future…and we either forget about
them or just simply don’t fancy eating it the day after, and the item can get
pushed in to the void we call the back of the fridge and forgotten about. It’s easy to do, and like the me in the
“Cluttered Dawn Days” I’m sure you have come across something in the next week
or so and … well let’s just say if it had legs, it would walk itself to the
bin.
Now is time to discard all unnecessary things in the fridge.
- · Leftovers – Either use them or discard them
- · Spoiled or Stale Food – Discard
- · Nearly empty bottles – Use them or discard
- · Food you’re not going to use – Discard
The best way to avoid this mammoth task in the future is to
choose one day a week to do a quick mine-sweep of all of the above products.
Well done, it’s
time to put everything back again. Now there are plenty of re-organising ideas
around, but the main rule is to maximise the use of space. Avoid the clutter
and keep what is necessary to be saved.
Place food in square, stackable containers or round ones.
The shapes of the containers help to restore order and maximise space. I use square containers to store my ham and
cheese for the lunches, and I use rectangle
storage containers for bacon.
If you tend to use leftovers, you can store them in smaller
bags or plastic containers before placing in the fridge.
Keep unopened cans of food and beverages in cabinets. You should never keep tins/cans in the fridge.
Take inspiration from Restaurants
Restaurateurs organise their fridges with food safety in mind. Their way of doing it
is to organise based on
the temperature the foods need to be cooked to.
When food is organised this way, any cross-contamination that
occurs won’t be a problem because the food that’s contaminated has to be cooked
to a higher temperature than the food sitting above it that may have dripped
down.
So how do we
adopt their way of organisation?
1. Upper
shelves: Leftovers, drinks,
and ready-to-eat foods (like yogurt, cheese, cooked meats).
2. Lower
shelves: Raw
ingredients such as uncooked meats.
3. Door: The Fridge door is the warmest part of the fridge, so
only condiments should go there. You really shouldn’t put eggs or milk in the door, as they should be placed in a colder part
of the refrigerator. However, I
do use the fridge door for storing my milk, because no sooner is the bottle of
milk open, then it’s finished within a day or so. If I have an extra bottle of milk, I do store
on one of the lower shelves.
4. Drawers: The drawers in a fridge are
designed to hold produce at specific
humidities, it makes sense to store fruits and veggies there. But they’re
usually at the bottom of the fridge, so we risk contaminating our fresh
vegetables if we put meat on the shelf above.
A couple of solutions
If you have two
drawers, make one of them exclusively for veggies and the other exclusively for
raw meat.
If one drawer is
above the other, use the lowest drawer for meat. If they’re side-by-side,
either drawer would be fine. Clean the drawer you’re using for meat often.
Need both drawers
for fruits and veggies? If it’s unavoidable to put raw meat above other foods,
improvise your own meat drawer by using a clear
plastic bin that will
catch any accidental drips and keep the meat safely away from everything else.
Check your temperature settings
Help your food stay fresh longer by taking a minute to make
sure your temperature settings are appropriate. A refrigerator should stay around 37°F
(3°C) and 40°F (5°C).
Use your Freezer
Some food items last longer when frozen. You can store them
neatly in containers or bags and, I have put some large containers in my
freezer. I store potato/vegetables in
one, meats in one and any bread products in the other. Not only does it create more space in the
fridge it reduces clutter, items last longer and you can fit much more in the
freezer without having them fall out on you.
Take advantage of your Fridge
Most people do not use their fridge at its full capacity.
The purpose of a fridge is to cool and preserve items, but there are also a few
compartments with specific uses. The handy-dandy
egg holder. Storing eggs in the egg
holder instead of an egg carton in your fridge can save you loads of valuable
space. This is extremely important if
you are trying to organise a small kitchen.
Add It to Your House Cleaning Routine
All your hard work will be in vain if you don’t keep on top
of it. Make cleaning the fridge a habit
or part of your regular house cleaning routine. The fridge can get cluttered
easily and very quickly. Therefore, to
maintain order, you must be consistent.
It doesn’t have to always be a full declutter and clean,
just check for expired or spoilt food items and discard them. Place leftovers or perishable foods in an easy
to see location.
Try to avoid putting food items on the top of the fridge as
you might forget them.
How do you organise your fridge? Do you have any specific days that you clean out? Drop me a comment.
Believe in Yourself, You got this, Now GO Declutter!