Anyone else fridge get out of hand at times? Even after you organize your fridge sometimes it can just get out of hand so quickly.
I know I’m guilty of just shoving things in there if I’m in a hurry or forgetting to toss the leftovers when I’m supposed to. But, the worst is when you complete forgot something was even in there!
That’s why it’s important to Deep clean and organize your fridge, even if it seems like a daunting task.
This post contains affiliate links.
Where to Start Cleaning Your Fridge
I start by emptying the fridge completely. You can take is shelf by shelf if you want but when it comes to re-organizing it’s easier to start with a ‘clean slate’.
The next thing I do is spray my cleaner on the shelves and let it sit there a bit, I use this cleaner.
Then I take out any drawers and put them in my sink to scrub if it’s needed – which it usually is. I also just like knowing that everything in the fridge was DEEP cleaned on the same day! With the fridge I have the shelves are removable too (but be careful if you do it!).
One time I had something spill that didn’t get cleaned up all the way. Somehow it got between the glass of the shelf and the actual shelf structure – because why not right?! I literally had to take the entire shelf out and lift the glass up in order to get to where the mold was starting to form from the spill.
Great! Your fridge is clean – but now what?
Next go through the food on the counter and toss anything that is expired, anything past being ripe, anything that is mushy or has any kind of mold on it.
Now wipe down the actual bottoms of the food – no sense in cleaning the fridge just to put a sticky mess back into it because the bottom of the bottles of condiments were a mess!
How to organize your fridge
Start by grouping similar items together.
For example keep your condiments together, even better, maybe put them in the door where you have easy access to them.
You can use some organizational storage bins if you would like, or a soda can holder as well. This part will be more of a ‘specific to you’ kind of preference when it comes to what you like and what will work well for your fridge set up. With that said there are some general things to keep in mind.
Things to keep in mind when Organizing your fridge.
- Separate fruits and vegetables (I actually have a fruit bowl I have on my counter for most of my fruit). Try not to mix them together because it can cause them to spoil faster.
- Anything you use often you will want in the front with easy access too. Nothing is worse than going to grab some milk and having to move the entire shelf to get to the gallon!
- Keep any raw meat on the lowest shelf – it is just a safer thing to do to avoid contamination.
Test it out and Adjust if needed
If after a few days you realize that things should shift around for better functionality then move it around. There is a bit of trial and error that will go into finding the best set up for your fridge!
The hardest part is what I call the ‘big overhaul’ of the initial deep clean and re-organization. Everything from there on out can be easily tweaked!
[…] into the fridge and toss what needs to be tossed and wipe down everything you put back. Here is a more detailed post on how to organize and deep clean a […]