Best way to organize fridge
How to Organize Your Refrigerator Like a Pro
Photo: Breathing Room Organization; Graphic: MyDomaine
The refrigerator is one of the hottest spots in any kitchen. Many of us open our fridges every day—multiple times a day. And when left unchecked, all that action is a recipe for disorder.
Over time, expired groceries, forgotten leftovers, and haphazardly crammed items can add up, leaving you with a fridge that’s tough to navigate. Thankfully, with a little cleaning and organizing, you can get your fridge back in tip-top shape in no time at all.
To find out how to organize a fridge like a pro, we turned to six professional organizers. They walked us through their favorite strategies for keeping a fridge organized and shared some of their go-to products for getting the job done.
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A Fresh Space
Before you can organize your fridge, you need to take inventory. Take everything out of your refrigerator, and sift through it.
“The most important thing is to start with a clean slate,” Holly Blakey, a professional organizer at Breathing Room, says. “You have to take everything out, check expiration dates, clean the surfaces, and categorize.” Toss expired items, throw out old leftovers, and get rid of stuff you just won’t use.
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Breathing Room
One easy way to organize your fridge? Sort your stuff into categories. Put fruits in one group, veggies in another, condiments in another—and so on. This can make it easier to see what you have and what you need to stock up on.
“Determine where makes the most sense for each category to live,” Ashley Murphy, co-founder of NEAT Method, says. Designate a home for each food category, and keep your go-to items at eye level where they’ll be easy to grab and put away.
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Breathing Room
Cut down on food waste by creating an “eat first” section in your fridge.
“I love to have an ‘eat first’ bin/section, so that family members clearly know what they need to eat when they open the fridge,” Blakey says. You can outfit a bin or basket with a cute label that says “eat first," or you can simply dedicate a shelf to those time-sensitive items.
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Breathing Room
Food storage containers are a must in any fridge. They’re great for storing leftovers and grouping loose items. And a streamlined set will help you keep your fridge neat and tidy.
“Most people have random plastic containers, reused take-out boxes, and recycled yogurt containers,” Joanna Wirick, life and home professional organizer at Joanna Organize, says. “Investing in the same type of container gives your fridge a nice, organized look.”
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Breathing Room
It makes sense to keep store-bought items in the containers they came with, but all that bulky packaging may be cluttering up your fridge.
“Snacks like yogurt, juice boxes, cheese sticks, and more usually come in boxes or additional packaging," Wirick says. "Take the snacks out of that packaging. Not only can you easily see what you have, but you can get rid of the loud, visual clutter all at once.”
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Neat Little Nest
If your fridge is low on drawers, you can use stackable drawers to get more storage space. “If your fridge doesn’t have the drawers you need, you can add more with stacking acrylic containers,” Murphy says.
07 of 17
A Fresh Space
Refrigerator shelves are often adjustable, so take advantage of this and customize your fridge to suit your needs.
“So many refrigerator organization challenges can be solved by moving the height of the shelf,” Michele Vig, founder and chief organizer at Neat Little Nest, says. “If you buy tall beverages, give yourself enough height to store them properly, and place other taller items on that shelf.”
08 of 17
Breathing Room
Labeling can be a great way to cement your organization system—but don’t make your labels too specific, our pros advise.
“The fridge is an area that you don’t want to over-categorize with labels, because you are likely buying different items each week based on season and recipes,” Murphy says.
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Breathing Room
Your refrigerator door can turn into a catch-all for random odds and ends. But, there are some items you probably shouldn’t store there.
“Since the refrigerator door has the least consistent temperature, it's not good to have any kind of milk there,” Laura Cattano, owner and founder of Laura Cattano Organizational Design, says. “Instead, use the door's shelves to group condiments, dressings, sauces, jams, and spreads.”
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Breathing Room
If you’re big on fruit and vegetables, do your prep work before putting produce in the fridge. You can also throw together salads and make entire meals, keeping them in food storage containers so they’ll be easy to grab when you need them.
“I’m all about helping your future self,” Wirick says.
“Wash and cut those fruits and veggies for easy access later.”
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Breathing Room
An egg holder may sound unnecessary, but the sleek bin can make your fridge look cleaner—and help you keep track of how many eggs you have left.
“Take your eggs out of their container to create a uniform look and keep track of when you are running low,” Murphy says.
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Breathing Room
Fresh herbs often wilt in a matter of days, but storing them in water can keep them fresher longer.
“Store herbs in glass jars with water,” Blakey writes on her Instagram. “They last so much longer and brighten up any fridge.”
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Neat by Meg
Big refrigerator drawers are great for storage space, but they aren’t great for organization. With produce rolling around and items piled on top of each other, it can be hard to keep track of all your stuff. But a few drawer dividers should help you solve these common problems.
“Drawer dividers will keep items separated within your drawers, preventing things from getting jumbled up and sliding all over the place,” Murphy says.
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Breathing Room
Stackable bins are a favorite among professional organizers—and it’s not hard to see why. The bins are great for keeping food organized. And since you can stack them, they’ll help you take advantage of all your shelf space.
“If you're tight on bin space and your items are crowding each other, stacking bins can work wonders,” Blakey says. “They’re so helpful for containing and separating categories, such as cheese, meats, snacks, and small items."
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The Container Store
Putting a Lazy Susan in your fridge may sound strange, but it’s a great way to store sauces and condiments.
“Lazy Susans can be really helpful if you have a lot of condiments but not enough door space,” Blakey says. Plus, since Lazy Susans spin, they make it easy to access the condiment you’re currently craving.
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Breathing Room
Glass storage containers and acrylic storage bins can make your fridge look sleek and streamlined.
But, Blakey recommends throwing one woven basket in the mix.
“A simple woven basket is one of my go-to's for storing categories, such as ‘tonight's dinner’ or ‘eat first,’” she says. “I love having a pretty basket in the fridge—it completely transforms the look of it.”
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A Fresh Space
Organizing your fridge is one thing—and keeping it organized is another. So, if you want your fridge to stay neat and tidy, you’ll have to clean it regularly.
“We recommend cleaning at least quarterly to toss things that are expired or got lost in the back, wash down shelves and drawers, and rezone and group as needed,” Liz Jenkins, owner of A Fresh Space, says.
Here Is Your Ultimate Guide to Organizing Your Kitchen Without Sacrificing Style
How to Organize a Fridge the Right Way
By
Ashley Knierim
Ashley Knierim
Ashley Knierim is a home decor expert and product reviewer of home products for The Spruce.
Her design education began at a young age. She has over 10 years of writing and editing experience, formerly holding editorial positions at Time and AOL.
Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process
Updated on 03/13/23
Reviewed by
Katherine Picott
Reviewed by Katherine Picott
Katherine is a professional home organizer, certified KonMari consultant, and member of The Spruce's Cleaning and Organizing Review Board. She launched her own professional organizing business, Tidy Milso, in the summer of 2020, to help reorient those feeling overwhelmed with both clutter and disorganization in their homes.
Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
This article is part of our series, The 7-Day Spruce Up: Your Ultimate Guide to Home Organizing. The 7-Day Spruce Up is your destination for whole home happiness, curating our very best tips and product recommendations to help you create your tidiest, coziest, most beautiful home yet.
When was the last time you spent way too long trying to find that food item you knew you had somewhere in the back of your fridge? Even if you are short on space, a well-organized refrigerator is essential to keeping your food fresh and saving you time when it comes to planning meals.
Not only will organizing your fridge the right way help cut down on the time you spend digging through it to find that cream cheese you lost, but it will also help you reduce your grocery bill and waste much less.
Now, here's how to spend an afternoon rearranging your fridge the right way.
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Clean It Well
The first step to a well-organized refrigerator is to take everything out and give it a really good scrub. If possible, remove the drawers and shelves and let them soak in hot, soapy water. Wipe the entire interior down, being careful to use non-abrasive cleaning methods so you don't harm the plastic. Replace the shelves and drawers and store a box of baking soda to help reduce future fridge odors.
Tip
Remember when your mom would put an opened box of baking soda in the back of the fridge? Well, she was on the right track! Baking soda is an easy and effective way to keep your fridge smelling fresh for longer.
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Check Expiration Dates
When you replace your food in the fridge, check all your items for their expiration dates. While some foods can be safely eaten past these dates, you should be honest with yourself about whether they ever will be. Go through jams, jellies, and sauces you haven't touched in ages and either make a plan to use them or part ways. It will be much easier to find what you need when you're not sifting through endless jars of stuff you'll never touch again.
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Sort Your Shelves
If you have a habit of squeezing your food in any available space in your fridge, now is the time to change. Organizing your shelves will help you reduce waste because you will know exactly where everything is.
While you should find a system that works best for you (and one you'll keep up with), here's a good place to start: The Top Shelf
This is one of the warmer shelves in your fridge, so avoid keeping any fresh meat here. Instead, consider designating it for leftovers and takeout—stuff you need to eat soon. It is typically the first shelf you see when you open your door, so it's good to keep the foods you reach for often here.
The Middle Shelf
Here, consider storing dairy products or produce that can be left uncovered (such as berries). You also probably have the most vertical space here, so taller containers can be stored on this shelf as well.
The Bottom Shelf
Use your bottom shelf for meat or fish. Not only is this the coolest spot in your fridge so there is less risk of spoilage, but you also won't have to worry about accidental leakage over the rest of your food that causes nasty odors or contamination.
The Drawers
This one is pretty easy—try to fit all of your produce in the crisper drawers for maximum freshness.
The Door
Your door is the warmest part of your fridge, so store more stable items, such as condiments and jams, here.
Tip
The door and top shelf are the warmest areas of your fridge — sorting your items according to these temperatures is the best way to make your food last longer, and don't forget to utilize those specialty drawers.
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Use Clear Containers
One easy way to ensure you stick to your system and keep everything in its place is to invest in a few shallow clear containers. These are super helpful at helping to corral your stuff and keep like items together. Label each one by type of food or expiration date.
Not only will clear containers help you keep a solid framework for your organization, but they're also much simpler to remove and clean than an entire shelf.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
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Keep a List
If you want to take your organizational skills to the next level, consider tacking up a dry-erase sheet to your fridge. This allows you to keep a running tally of what you have in your fridge without sifting through it. This doesn't need to be a comprehensive list of every single item, but it can be helpful to write down which side veggies you bought this week or what meat products will be going bad soon.
This way, you can easily see what ingredients you're missing and keep track of expiration dates so you can make a plan to use everything you buy.
Keeping your refrigerator organized may take a little more effort, but it's worth the time it takes upfront to save money and brain space later. A few key steps can help your food last longer and get dinner on the table quicker.
40 Creative Kitchen Organization Ideas
7 ways to organize your refrigerator
Proper organization of space and order in the refrigerator is not only convenient and beautiful, but also a guarantee that the products will be stored under optimal conditions and, accordingly, retain their freshness, health and taste for a long time.
time.
Introducing a list of 7 ideas to help clean up your fridge.
1. Store vegetables, fruits, meat and fish in the freshness zone
To organize the refrigerator, some models have a special section in which special climatic conditions are created for storing certain types of products. In it, they can retain their freshness, taste and beneficial properties longer. For example, in LIEBHERR refrigerators it is called BioFresh and consists of two separate containers: one with a low level of humidity, suitable for fish, meat and dairy products, the other with a high one for fruits and vegetables.
When using this section, you will not only clean up the refrigerator by carefully separating fruits, vegetables, herbs from fish and meat, but you will also be able to keep them fresh for a long time.
Please note that they must be stored unpacked in the freshness area.
2. Organize by placing bottles on the bottom balcony shelf
If your refrigerator's balcony shelf has a special adjustable limiter, feel free to place your favorite drinks on it.
Thus, you will free up the necessary space in the refrigerator compartment, and the limiter will protect the bottles from sudden closing of the door.
Another great solution is the bottle garland.
3. Freeze berries and mushrooms on the special tray
Such an accessory is primarily necessary for organizing order in the refrigerator for those who prepare vegetables, herbs, fruits and berries in large quantities. The advantage of the tray is that after freezing they do not freeze to each other and retain their original shape, which later makes it possible to conveniently divide them into portions for later storage.
You can also store cold accumulators in it, which will allow you to maintain the required temperature in the freezer during a short power outage.
4. Organize your fridge with a folding shelf to hold large items
With it, you can allocate more space for storing bulky products whose height exceeds the distance between two shelves.
Just move one part of it closer to the back wall to get more space for tall containers.
5. Place all small items in one place
The easiest way is to place them on a closed balcony shelf with a lid. In this case, they will not be located in a chaotic manner throughout the space of the refrigerator compartment, and the order in the refrigerator will be noticeable.
Even better, you can purchase a special container for storing small items with your refrigerator. For example, for some LIEBHERR Premium devices, the VarioSafe accessory is available, which can be placed at any height thanks to the design of the LED columns.
6. Choose the right packaging before freezing
Few people think about the fact that at low temperatures, improperly packaged food is subject to rapid shrinkage. To avoid this, it is necessary to use airtight packaging that maintains the initial level of moisture in the products and protects them from drying out, oxidation and the penetration of microorganisms.
Regular containers, foil and cling film are not suitable for freezer packaging. I recommend using special freezer bags. In addition, they have a special place for inscriptions on their surface, which is a good way to organize the order in the freezer. You can specify not only the name of the product, but also the date when you froze it.
7. Use the large freezer storage system for perfect order
Many freezers have the ability to vary the space. For example, the VarioSpace system from LIEBHERR allows you to adjust the useful volume, thanks to the use of removable shelves and drawers. Therefore, you can store large-sized dishes, such as a large cake.
I hope that our tips will help you organize your space and put things in order, so your products will always be stored in optimal conditions, staying fresh for a long time 🙂
If you have any questions or comments, please contact us. Use the comment form below or join the community discussion Liebherr VKontakte.
Order in the refrigerator - photo of successful solutions
Putting cleanliness and order in the refrigerator is the work that many of us try to put off until later or completely ignore. Each of you, dear visitors of the Kitchen Interior resource, probably knows how important it is to properly organize food storage, and we would like to share some tricks with you.
We follow the principle “take out - wash - put” In order: first we take everything out of the refrigerator, then wash the shelves and drawers, and only then we put everything back in place. The last point requires further clarification.
Before and after
Here is an example of how the inner world of a refrigerator can be transformed under the influence of your inspired work. Previously, the shelves were packed to capacity, and you had to rummage for a long time in search of the right products. A few handy baskets, combined with a creative touch, made all the difference.
Using egg cups
Most fridge models are equipped with egg cups, but they are not without drawbacks. Take a look at the ones in the photo. These containers are very spacious, in addition, they are equipped with comfortable handles and removable lids, allowing you to put something on top.
Specifying expiration dates
To control the freshness of products, it is necessary to indicate the expiration date on those that are stored without original packaging. For example, eggs in a plastic stand can be signed with a marker.
Using the "Eat First" box
When the refrigerator is full of food, we can forget about some foods and then simply throw them away as unusable. Highlight a box with the appropriate inscription and fill it with everything that can go bad in the near future.
Attaching labels
Labels make it easy to store anything. Stick them on baskets, jars and bottles and you'll always know what's inside.
Hanging
Vertical storage always saves space.
This principle can be observed in the refrigerator. Such a wonderful hammock folds and unfolds easily, it is very convenient to hold vegetables, fruits and leafy salads in it.
Sorting fruits
Everyone knows how unpleasant it is to rummage through a pile of various fruits. Try using special slanted containers in which apples, oranges or kiwis will roll down and be always at hand.
Purchasing special tools
Storing cans of soda lined up on a shelf is unlikely to save space. Buying a special 12-can storage bin, as in this case, frees up space for other desired products.
Putting boxes and trays
It is very convenient and practical to store food in transparent containers. You always know exactly where and what lies. Fruits and vegetables stacked in such trays take up less space.
Fixing the bottles
When there is no free space on the door, you can store the bottles on the shelves, providing them with special devices that do not allow the containers to roll and break.
Use the turntable
Use the turntable for a variety of commonly used food in small containers. This way you can easily make sandwiches for breakfast without having to stumble around looking for a jar of jam.
We fix pockets on the refrigerator wall
Even if all the shelves are hopelessly full, there is always a free place on the wall. Attach a suction cup, available from the bathroom accessories department, to it, and small bags of sauces will never get lost in the back of the refrigerator. Think big!
Making a grocery list
If you want to be organized, try turning the outside of your refrigerator door into a write-erase board. So you can not only keep track of the content, but also make a list of priority purchases.
Little tricks: finding a new use for paper clips
Paper clips hold bottles and cans in their original position. This method of fastening is possible only for lattice shelves. Otherwise, you will have to look for another solution to the problem.
