We may have all seen those satisfying fridge makeovers. These are very popular on Instagram and YouTube feeds. The idea behind these videos is to achieve a higher level of food storage space. There are various ways you can ensure that no food items get spoiled or get overlooked. The main trick behind this is organization. Finding your favourite items is much easier if you know where everything is.

In a single week, your kitchen can go through a lot. From messy spills and dirty dishes to grime and dust. Since it is a busy room, it tends to get messy rather quickly. Thus regular cleaning and organization are important. 

Most of us are more passionate about the cooking and eating aspects of the kitchen. We tend to shy away from organizing it. A big reason for this is the time it takes to clean, scrub, and organise your food storage space. But, it doesn’t have to be such a daunting task. 

There are many ways you can go about creating an optimal food storage space. A great place to start is to empty out the fridge and decide on the layout. Your fridge is the home of your kitchen. It might also be the most visited appliance at home. You could be pulling out ingredients for dinner or hunting around for a snack.

It is especially important to organize your refrigerator. This is because it is not only pleasing to the eye but also adds a level of efficiency to your kitchen. In many instances, it also promotes a healthier lifestyle. 

In this article, let us go through some of the ways you can organize and maximize your food storage space. Here is the Refrigerator Edition.

#1. Clean Out Your Fridge.

The cardinal rule of your food storage space is to empty your fridge out. It is always better to start from the beginning. You should empty everything on a clean countertop or kitchen surface. This allows you to have a visual of everything that is going back into your fridge. You can now decide what foods deserve a seat back in the fridge, and what you should discard. Especially your old frozen meals and expired condiments. This then also makes room for foods that you’re currently consuming.

#2. Create A Map Of Your Fridge’s Layout.

While creating a new layout for your food storage space, you should consider a few things. One of the first things to keep in mind is the placement of food. For this, you must consider the health and safety of the food. Next, you should also think about what food items your family or you may grab more often. In this way, you can organize your entire fridge.

You can put all your raw meats like poultry on the bottom shelves. These items could contain salmonella, so you should keep them last so it does not touch anything else. Next, you should create different zones of food items. They can be different compartments based on how you consume the food. You could have a snack and drink zone. Besides that, a meal prep zone is also a good idea. Finally, you can also have a ‘produce’ zone. This way you’re not shifting and dropping things over while grabbing a bottle of coke that got lost at the back.

#3. Store Your Food In Containers That You Can Use Again.

The next item that is important to your food storage space is reusable containers. It is quick and simple to put your leftover takeout in the fridge and then forget about it. But, this is what messes with your storage the most. Always store your leftovers in reusable containers. Not only do they stack well, but they are also accessible and easy to use.

Another reason why you should use these containers is the varying packages. The packaging on different items tends to take up too much space in the fridge. You should also use things like drawer dividers and bins to separate your items.

#4. Keep Your Newer Items At The Back Of The Fridge.

Another thing to remember when stocking your fridge is “old first”. This term means to put all your newer grocery items at the back of the fridge. This helps make sure you use up the older items and prevent them from going bad. It also applies to your leftover meals. You should put the dates of when you made or bought a dish so that you can use it according to your need. This helps you create a clean and organized food storage space.

#5. Label Everything.

Last up in your goal to achieving optimum food storage space is labelling everything. After reading this article you might start to understand where you want to keep and store each item. But, the rest of your family might get confused and your fridge may go back to its unorganised roots in seconds. So, ensure that your system of organization is clear for all. You can label all your different food zones as well as the food itself. Besides that, you can also go with the chalkboard approach. This means you list at least the popular items that you stock so that everyone knows what is in the fridge.

In Conclusion

It is important to organise your food storage space, starting with your fridge. Much like our gadgets, a fridge is one thing we never think about until it stops working. Some ways you can create an optimal food storage space are:

• Cleaning your fridge out.
• Organising your fridge’s layout.
• Using reusable containers.
• Storing your new items at the back.
• Labelling your fridge.

Organizing your food storage space doesn’t have to be such a hard task. You can find many ways to make your life easier through an organised fridge. Many people have various routines and plans in place that work for them. You can experiment with a few ways that work for your kitchen and refrigerator. 

Having an organized fridge helps you achieve an efficient and healthy lifestyle. This also applies to things like the safety of food and its shelf life. Besides that, it creates efficiency in the kitchen. Through this, your kitchen projects will go much quicker with an organised refrigerator.

What are some ways you have created an organized food storage space? What are some unique food zones in your fridge? Let us know in the comments below!

Danielle D'silva

Danielle is a content writer with a love for books, music, and lifestyle blogs.