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How to Organize Your Refrigerator, the Right Way

Refrigerator organization requires constant tuning and maintenance over time, unlike other places in your house that tend to change only occasionally.
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Last Updated
:
March 23, 2023
by
Editorial Staff

Learning how to organize your fridge is a very important part of house maintenance. If you are fond of popping into the kitchen each morning to grab a cup of coffee, a snack, or a meal, you should be very disciplined about placing things in the fridge.

However, if you're like most people, this isn't always possible. You may place everything in there at the last minute, only to find that you don't have any eggs left for breakfast.

So in the morning, you will have to make due by freezing everything, which can get quite messy.

Do you want to know how to organize your fridge? Then you need to ask yourself first how you are going to get it all organized.

Is the mess going to come from the food you have got on there, or is it more likely to mix different foods, drinks, and leftover food?

If you have lots of leftover food, then that means that it is more likely that the excess food will end up on there.

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1. Clear it out

clear fridge out first
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If you find that you have leftover food in your fridge but you haven't used it in a while, then you need to make sure that you clear it out as soon as possible.

The longer you leave food in your fridge without using it, the more germs and bacteria will build up in there, making it very difficult for you to clean.

You may find that you cannot remove all of the food from your fridge after you have cleaned it, and this is why it is so important that you clear it out as soon as possible.

Otherwise, the smell of items such as leftover food will get into the space between the bars. Unfortunately, you will smell foul odors all over your kitchen.

2. Clean your fridge

clean your fridge
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The most important thing that you have to do is not to put perishable items or frozen food into the fridge because this will make it full of bacteria.

Instead, if you clean it with a vacuum cleaner, it will be better for your refrigerator because you can remove all the dirt from it, and it will not get spoiled.

Now, you can use many different ways to clean the fridge, but here are some of the most simple ways that you can follow.

If you want to know how to clean the fridge, then you should start by opening it up completely and removing all the contents inside. After that, you can either do it manually or with the help of the vacuum cleaner if you are planning to do the job with your hands.

First, you have to take all the plastic bottles and other containers out of the fridge. This is the easiest part of cleaning the clean fridge to organize a refrigerator.

After taking out all the garbage and other unnecessary items from it, you should place them in a clean and soft cloth to avoid leaving any marks on them.

Then you have to clean the shelves, drawers, and other shelves with many items inside them using the brush or tissue paper. If the drawers are filled with plastic items, you should clean those as well.

And the last thing you have to do is wipe the fridge base with a clean and soft cloth to prevent dust or stains from sticking to it after cleaning it. These are some of the most common ways that you can use to clean a fridge to organize a refrigerator properly.

After that, you will be ready to store all of your food properly in the correct container. This is the key to keeping foods fresh and helping them last longer.

This might be a bit of a daunting task, but if you keep things tidy, you will see that your fridge does not smell as badly anymore.

3. Use washable containers

use washable containers
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To learn how to organize your fridge, you need to buy some containers to store food. It would be best if you used large plastic bags or containers which are washable.

These will ensure that all of your food items are kept separate from one another and safe from contamination.

Once you have cleaned and organized your fridge, Make sure that you write down the date and time you placed each item into the container.

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4. Put raw food in the freezer

put raw food in the freezer
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When it comes to meats and other raw food products, you must make sure they are at the right temperature level or in a freezer. Raw foods tend to go bad quickly.

Instead, it would be best if you placed these raw food products in your fridge's freezer. Never place meat or other cooked food in a refrigerator that has a lid.

Instead, place them on a cooling tray in the freezer before placing them on the fridge door.

5. Adjust your shelves

adjust your fridge's shelves
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The easiest way to organize a fridge is to adjust your shelves. You can do this by adding extra shelf paper, or you can use a product that will slide right into place when you slide it under the shelf.

Some of the products will have an adjuster that you can use to make the shelves level, or you can slide them out where they are and then adjust them back in. This will keep the fridge free from clutter.

The other thing that goes in the refrigerator is ice cream. There are always some containers of ice cream that are lying around, and when you add an ice cream container, all of the clutter gets shoved to the side, and you are left with more room to work with.

Just take some time and figure out how you will put the different items you have, and then you will know how to adjust your shelves to organize a fridge.

6. Seal everything up properly

seal everything up properly
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Make sure food does not escape by being spilled. Food can rot in a fridge, so it's important to seal everything uptight.

Also, remember that if you've done this and still get smells or spills in your fridge, you should try and clean it up before the smell gets too bad.

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7. Group similar items together

group similar item together in your fridge
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Once you have sorted through the various items in the fridge, you must decide which ones you want to keep. The easiest way to organize your fridge is to group similar items, including vegetables and fruits, cereals, and fish.

You can usually arrange these items into separate piles for fresh produce, dairy products, and meat, which helps you stay organized, and you won't have to look for things when they are out of date.

8. Color coding your food

color coding your food
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This is a great way to know which food items belong in which compartment visually. For instance, green means that the item is safe to eat, and yellow means its shelf life has expired.

You may also need to have separate containers for milk, meat, and vegetables.

9. Label containers clearly

label containers clearly
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Make sure that the sizes of the containers fit those of your items. Do not stack things up higher than necessary. It will also help you avoid the dreaded "air-conditioning effect" (where items get pushed upwards out of the fridge).

You need to label each one so that you will be able to find them quickly. When you start labeling your fridge, you will know what is in each compartment.

It is especially important to keep fruit in your fridge because you should label them as such and help you find what exactly you want when you go to pick them. You will be able to use them easily at peak times.

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10. Make a list of food that easily expired

make a list of food that easily expired
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It is time to make a list to organize a fridge and stop undercooked and expired food from spoiling. To arrange a refrigerator, you need to remove all the items from it that are not food.

It means throwing away any leftover food or spoilt, so when you go to the fridge, throw away all the items in there that are no longer edible and take all those containers out.

After you have sorted the fridge out, you need to list all the food items that are still good and thrown away. Next, put on the list the frozen foods that have expired, and you might also consider putting the other uneaten food into boxes with lids.

You might need some creative ideas when making a list for your organizational plan. For example, some people make a separate one for fruits, others keep it general, and some put down every single day's food.

After you have made your list to organize a fridge, you need to clean it out properly. Throwing away leftover food is a great idea. If you have already thrown away the uneaten food, then clean out the fridge with a plastic trash bag.

Thereafter you should wipe down the fridge thoroughly with a disinfectant solution. Once you have wiped the fridge well, you should rinse it off thoroughly with water and leave it hanging upside down.

It would help if you made sure that there is no food remaining in the fridge before reheating it.

11. Get rid of all the canned goods

get rid of all the canned goods
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Can you imagine how many cans of food you have in your fridge? If you eat a lot of junk food, chances are there are a lot of those containers in your fridge already.

It might be time to toss those out and start using all-natural foods that you either make yourself or buy in bulk. If you like snacking, consider eating fresh fruits and vegetables at each mealtime instead of high-calorie snacks.

You'll be surprised at how much better your body feels with eating real foods instead of junk food.

Learning how to organize your fridge properly is not as difficult as you might think. It's important to have clean, clear, and concise labels so that you can find items quickly and know how much you have in each section.

If you follow this information, you will be well on your way to having a great-looking fridge.

Keeping your fridge clean is one of the best ways to keep it in working order, but it doesn't end there. For example, it would help if you also stored your drinks in the fridge because you wouldn't want those to get spoiled while you're in the middle of a juice or a pie.

You can use these tips for organizing a fridge for other types of organizing, so do make sure you use them!

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