Kitchen Fridge Organization
VIDEO TUTORIAL
In this step-by-step tutorial, I’m showing you how to organize your kitchen fridge so that when you open the fridge and see all the healthy options you have to snack on and healthy ingredients you have to make a simple, healthy meal, it will be easier to make healthy eating choices.
Remove everything.
Clean the fridge shelves.
Buy clear containers.
Separate your food into categories.
Place herbs in mason jars.
Place large veggies in the bottom drawers.
Video Tutorial
THE PROBLEM
A disorganized fridge…
is stressful to look at
leads to food waste when you forget about an ingredient and it goes bad before you can eat it
contributes to buying duplicates of the same item
makes it harder to make healthier choices
THE GOAL = make all of the healthy food choices clearly visible and easy to reach and restock
I wanted to be able to open the fridge and at my eye level be able to see healthy fruit options as snacks.
I wanted dinner planning to be less of a chore.
I wanted to be able to look in my fridge to see what we already had and be able to meal plan quicker.
I wanted to throw away less expired food because we forgot we had something.
the before
Remove everything.
I took everything out of my fridge and placed it on the kitchen island.
It’s easier to visualize how much space you have to work with when you can see the space empty.
Clean the fridge shelves.
This is what I underestimated.
I thought it would take me like 10 minutes to quickly wipe down the fridge. I guess I haven’t cleaned the fridge in a long time because it took me about 45 minutes to wipe down all of the shelves, remove the fridge door organizers and clean those.
TIP: Make sure you account for how long it will take you to deep clean or just quickly clean the fridge.
3. Buy clear containers.
I searched online for a long time to find the perfect clear plastic organizers to fit the dimensions of my fridge. To no luck.
I looked at the Container Store, Walmart, and Target and they were way too expensive.
I couldn’t justify spending $24-$40 for a single container so that it would fit perfectly in my fridge.
I bought this 8-pack of clear storage containers from Amazon for $41.
They are shorter than the length of my fridge but I am okay with that.
I chose this pack because I could fit 5 containers across a shelf in my fridge.
TIP: Measure how many containers you can fit on a shelf before purchasing a pack of containers.
I also found the egg holder on Amazon for $10. It holds 14 eggs and there is space in between the eggs to fit another layer of eggs.
I love this holder! It looks much cleaner than a cardboard carton, I can easily see if I need to restock the eggs and I can grab one quicker than opening a carton.
Win. Win.
4. Separate your food into categories.
TOP SHELF:
herbs in mason jars (ex: dill, cilantro)
large salad box (that won’t fit into a container)
open space to the right for Tupperware with leftovers
MIDDLE SHELF:
eggs in $10 egg holder
apples
berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
lemon and limes
BOTTOM SHELF:
dairy products
cheese
cream cheese
yogurt
sour cream
meat
chicken breast
ground beef
chicken sausage
small veggies
bell peppers
zucchini
brussels sprouts
mushrooms
5. Place herbs in mason jars.
6. Place large veggies in the bottom drawers.
BOTTOM DRAWERS:
large vegetables that don’t fit into the containers
cucumbers
broccoli
cauliflower
celery
carrots
RIGHT FRIDGE DOOR:
butter
condiments like salad dressings
milk and juice (tall liquids)
LEFT FRIDGE DOOR
condiments like hot sauces, cooking wine, soy sauce etc