Bubby and Bean ::: Living Creatively: 5 Tips for Organizing Your Fridge

I'm just going to start this off by saying that I am not an organized person by nature. It took me until my 40s to even gain the smallest motivation to be more organized, and it's still a struggle. My fridge does not, by any means, look like this at all times. But it does feel good to occasionally give it a refresh like this. If you can relate, here are some tips that work for me!

For reference, here is what my refrigerator usually looks like:

1. Remove everything from your fridge. (I know, but just do it.)
Take it all out. Set everything on tables and counters. Then wipe down all of the surfaces inside your fridge and evaluate the situation. Throw out expired items. Maybe even make a grocery list of what you need.

2. Organize food and drinks by type.
I put all the product in a group, the condiments in a group, the leftovers in a group, the drinks in a group, etc. This will be useful when putting things back inside. Trust me.

3. Transfer items to containers.

I recommend investing in a good set of stackable containers with airtight seals. This really makes all the difference in terms of best utilizing space. I have been using Rubbermaid Brilliance Food Storage Containers. I like them because they're stain and odor proof and I can wash them in the dishwasher. But any stackable container system will work.

4. Place items back in fridge - by type. I do the best I can to (mostly) arrange items by type. For example, I put all of the produce items on one side of the fridge. I put all of the cheese and meat in one drawer. If I'm feeling extra motivated I might even arrange condiments by type. It might seem overboard, but it really does make things much easier when we're preparing meals. It looks better too.

5. Put most used items at eye level. This is sort of a life hack I learned that honestly works better for the pantry, but it's good for the fridge too. I also try to put produce low so my kids are more inclined to grab the healthy stuff. (Can't say it actually works, but hey, I'm trying.)