Day 9 – How to Declutter Your Fridge Challenge (Printable)

Day 9 – Decluttering the Fridge – 30 Days to an Organised Kitchen

Following on from Yesterday’s task  of Decluttering and organising the top and front of the fridge – today we will be decluttering the inside of the fridge.

    

When is the last time you decluttered your fridge?  Does the thought of decluttering fills you with so much anxiety, that you just close the door and promise yourself you will do it another day?  If so, let me just say that you are not alone - most people, whether they care to admit it or not have avoided cleaning their fridge.

Gather Your Supplies

I recommend that you gather a few supplies before starting today’s challenge:

• Rubbish bag – for discarding old and expired food
• Sink of hot soapy water
• Cleaning supplies for cleaning the fridge and freezer
• Label Maker or labels and a marker

Empty the contents

Begin by emptying the fridge.  Everything out – I mean everything. Whilst you’re removing the items - check to see if they are in date, or expired.  Anything that has gone past its sell-by date, or gone off – immediately discard into the rubbish or the compost.  

Things aren’t always as they seem.  An unorganised fridge often appears fuller than it actually is.  Look how full my fridge looks at the beginning - it looks so full, wait until you see it once everything has been decluttered and discarded.

Just because something is half full, doesn't mean it should go back in the fridge. If it's expired, throw it out.  Why would anyone put this jam jar back in the fridge is anyone's guess?

Remove the shelves

Remove your shelves and clean them off with soapy water and leave them to dry. Whilst they are drying, it’s the perfect time to wipe down the inside of the fridge.  

 

There appears to have been a spill in the fridge that I had not seen.

If you find that the fridge is smelling a bit funky – mix a paste of baking soda and water and use it to clean your fridge, as it not only cleans but it removes odours too.

Oh, how gross!!! That is a dehydrated carrot that I had in the drawer, just in case you were wondering.

I use the hoover to clean out the vegetable drawer in the fridge before taking it out and cleaning it.

Hmmm, these were once lovely plump chilli peppers

Did you know that an unclean and cluttered refrigerator can promote bacterial growth and cause food to spoil more quickly? Proper air circulation is essential for keeping food cold and fresh.  So, organising your fridge is not only beneficial for your health but also for your purse 😊

By removing the shelves you can get to those hard-to-clean places.

 

After I finished washing the shelves, I used the window vacuum to ensure that the glass shelves aren't streaky.

 

Return the Items

The next step in organising the fridge is to organise the items that you have left and return them to the fridge.  I wrote a post explaining the best way to organise the fridge according to the professionals.

I made a fridge inventory list to keep track of any leftovers and condiments.  You can download the fridge inventory here.  

FREE Fridge Inventory

Tomorrow you will get a copy of the Matching freezer inventory

Categorise the items you'll place in your fridge, and then try to organise and designate areas, for each item.

I Keep the cheese and ham in the containers ready to grab when I am making packed lunches for the children.

I took my eggs out of the carton and put them in the egg rack that came with the fridge - The only downside is that it holds 6 eggs, I am going to replace it with a larger one.

No more yucky dehydrated carrots in the vegetable drawer anymore.

This stage is where you decide if you want to use containers to keep like items together.

How to Organise the fridge Shelves, Drawers, and the Door

Bear in mind that the items that are to be returned need enough free space for air to circulate, allowing them to breathe.

 

Some possible categories you may wish to use in the fridge.  Which categories you decided to use will depend on how many items you have and what type of foods you store in the fridge. Sorting like-for-like items is a way to keep your fridge sorted.

·       Milk and Juices, these should be placed on a shelf in the coldest part of the fridge (I know I keep my milk in the door because once it’s open – it’s typically used within a few days) (Shelf)

·       Fresh Fruit and Vegetables (Drawers)

·       Dairy products and cooked meats – such as cheeses and ham – (Shelf)

·       Eggs (although the door of your refrigerator may have a space for them, the best practice is to keep eggs on a shelf, and not on the door because the door opens and closes so has more temperature fluctuations)

·       Condiments (door shelves)

·       Raw Meat (ideally should be placed in a drawer – if not, on the bottle shelf, so no spillages contaminate other products

·       Place for thawing/marinating things (these should be placed in a bowl to avoid spillages)

·       Snacks (typically in a container on a shelf for easy access by kids)

·        Leftovers

Wow, how much expired food did I have in my fridge?  I am actually disgusted.   

Organising Solutions for your fridge

Here are some ideas for containers that you can use when organising your fridge

Drink can organisers

Keep those unruly cans in order.  If you have more than one organiser – you can stack them neatly on top of each other.

Fridge Shelf Drawers

Pull-out drawers – Allow you to group your items– these are fabulous if you require more space in your fridge.

 

Fridge Shelf Organisers (set of 8)

These not only allow you to group certain items, but they allow you to quickly and easily remove them from the fridge – they can help you to reduce waste.

 

Lazy Susan Turntable

Lazy Susan’s are useful when space is short in the fridge, as they turn to allow you 360 degrees access to the items – I would use these to store the condiments.

 

Fridge Thermometer

If you are not lucky enough to have a built-in thermometer on your fridge, you can buy thermometers that you can place in your fridge – Just don’t store them in the door, as the door temperature fluctuates

As you can see, you don't have to have fancy containers to organise your fridge.  I just used some food storage containers that I had spare and put chalkboard labels on them

I couldn't get rid of this lolly,

 And finally - Here's how the fridge looks now it's been decluttered and organised.

Habit Builder:

Once you have Organised your Fridge, you will want to maintain the organisation.  However, without some simple habits in place, your fridge and freezer can quickly turn into a jumbled chaotic mess.  The good news is these habits will not take a lot of time. 

 

Here is a list of 4 handy tips to maintain organisation in your fridge.

·       Be mindful of your leftovers

·       Clear out the expired/gone-off food weekly

·       Follow The First in First Out (FIFO) rule

·       Have a “Shop your Fridge” week

 

 I hope you found this post useful, don’t forget to join me tomorrow for the Declutter, Organise and Maintain your Freezer.

I really appreciate you stopping by and want to say thank you - because without you I wouldn't be here. Believe in Yourself, You got this, NOW Go Declutter!