A disorganized fridge can quickly become a big problem. A messy fridge can, inevitably, actually threaten your health and budget, from forgotten leftovers to missing ingredients. The wonderful news is that you can conveniently shun these dilemmas by using some proven and simple organizational strategies. Keeping your fridge organized makes the most of your available space and keeps everything fresh and ready to eat.
Clean and Sort
The first step to organizing a fridge is cleaning and sorting all your items. Get everything attentively out of the refrigerator, ascertaining for expiration dates, mold, or other signs of spoiled food as you go. Dispose of anything that is past the expiration date or looks gross. For leftovers or food in plastic storage containers, if you’re not confident about how long it has been in there, throw it out. As to your food, it’s most suitable to err on the side of caution.
With everything out of the fridge, take the time to clean its interiors heedfully. Wash and dry all surfaces, not to forget to include inside drawers and bins, putting into service hot, soapy water or a mild bleach solution. In that regard, you will get started with a clean fridge for your new organization system.
Label Everything
The next step to an organized fridge is to keep an inventory of how long your food has been there. Even while a large number of pre-packaged foods will come with an expiration or sell-by date on them, for fruits and veggies or food that you bring home or that is leftover from meals, you’ll need to have a system to keep track of when it was added to the fridge and when it will need to be thrown out.
One very useful and easy tip is to use a dry-erase marker to write the dates of meals and takeout on the container. You could carry out the same thing for other perishables inside of your fridge. By noting both when you brought them home and when they need to be used, you can guarantee that you are using up the groceries you buy before they spoil and avoid eating leftovers that can make you sick.
Use Containers
Keeping loose items tidy in a fridge, like, for example, fruits, vegetables, and even small condiment jars can be, indeed, difficult. Consider using clear storage bins to group loose items together to prevent clutter and see to it that you have everything you’re seeking for. Furthermore, try obtaining quality reusable food storage containers with tight-fitting lids. This can help you store food safely and reduce waste by reusing your containers again and again.
You can, in like manner, use a dry-erase marker on the bins and storage containers to keep track of the date things were acquired. Using bins and storage containers in your fridge will free up space for more oversized items elsewhere and make tracking the expiration dates of consumable stuff lighter.
Develop a System
As you start with replacing items, it’s imperative to develop a system for storing everything. This has two benefits: first, you will often know where things are, and second, it can make your food last longer and be safer. By way of illustration, keep in mind that a few specific items should be kept in certain places.
Meat should consistently be kept on the lowest shelf to avoid dripping and contaminating other food. Secondly, never store milk in the fridge door – it can spoil at once when exposed to warm air frequently. You can particularly separate your fruits and vegetables and use trays for those rather messy items to prevent spills.
Plan Ahead
In the case that your fridge is clean and organized, the major thing you can undertake is a plan to keep it that way. Even the most organized fridge will need to be cleaned up, and old items are thrown out once in a while. Assess creating a cleaning schedule to guarantee that your fridge stays organized. Particularly, you could take a day of the week or month to go through everything, rotating and updating your fresh produce and wiping down fridge surfaces. By bringing about this routine regularly, you can avoid the dreaded deep-clean and purge of your fridge (and freezer), a job very few can be crazy about.
By just following these uncomplicated tips, you can keep your fridge clean and organized week after week with less effort than you thought at all possible!
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