Fridge Organization You Can Do

With the holidays fast approaching, the kitchen will be one of the busiest areas in your home. Investing a little time here and there to organize your kitchen will yield great results when you need to bake another batch of cookies or prepare for Thanksgiving.
Getting your fridge organized is one of the best ways to start organizing your kitchen. It’s a small and contained space, and this project can be done in about 60-90 minutes, showing its rewards quickly.

A collage of fridge organization ideas, featuring clear storage bins, containers for produce and deli items, and neatly arranged food and drinks inside refrigerators. Text at the bottom reads "Fridge Organizing Tips.

There are many benefits to having an organized fridge:

It saves you money on your energy bills because you can see every item in your fridge at a glance. You won’t be staring into the cold abyss and wasting cold air. By holding the door open and letting the cold air escape, over time, the refrigerator will consume more energy and have to run longer to maintain its cool temperature.
By knowing what you have in your refrigerator, you won’t buy more of what’s already there, which saves you money on your groceries as well.
Finally, it saves you time because you can find what you need right away.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

Plan Meals Ahead of Time

Keep your meal plans close to your refrigerator by hanging them with a magnet or inside a kitchen cabinet door with a neat holder, like this one from Martha Stewart for Staples.

This will help you organize the contents of your refrigerator more effectively by reminding you to use up leftovers and ensuring you have everything you need on hand when it’s time to cook.

Invest in Clear Storage Containers with Lids

It is easier to find the food you are looking for if you can see what is inside the plastic or glass containers. You won’t have to rummage inside the fridge. Purchasing square containers instead of round ones will save you tons of room. And buying containers in the same shape and size will make stacking a breeze.

fridge organization clear storage containers

If your leftovers are often thrown away because you forget to eat them, you might want to even take it a step further and label the leftovers with the date you cooked it and put it in the refrigerator. Place a piece of velcro inside your fridge and another on the pen and keep your pen handy to clean the labels and reuse them.

Also, when putting leftovers away, be sure to rotate the contents of your fridge so that older food is at the front and today’s leftovers are at the back. This will help keep spoilage to a minimum.

Place Meat and Poultry in Bowls

Be sure to clean all meat first before placing it in the fridge. Some might contain bacteria that can spread inside the refrigerator. Get rid of excess blood. You should cut the meat into portions that you can use during the week and place them in a bowl with a covered lid.

Organize Food by Day of the Week

Place the food you will need later that week at the back of the fridge, and organize the items you need earlier that week in areas where you can easily access them.

Ensure you have access to all our printables and download your meal and grocery shopping planner.

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Place Dairy Items Together

Avoid storing dairy products in areas where they are difficult to access. These perish easily. It would be a shame to purchase cottage cheese and forget that you have it stored in your fridge. Keep cheeses, yogurt, sandwich spreads, and milk close to the refrigerator door so you can easily see them. You can use clear boxes or a lazy-Susan, like the ones shown below.

Clean Your Fridge Regularly

Every couple of weeks, go through the fridge and clean it out, throwing out leftovers that were not eaten and wiping down shelves that have had food spilled on them. Wipe off bottle lids that may have spilled on the sides and check the fridge temperature settings regularly.

Here is a video of my fridge cleaning routine.

Looking forward to having your kitchen, pantry, and meals planned and organized?

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Keeping your refrigerator clean and organized will help you maintain an orderly kitchen. Find below fridge organization tools to get you started!