How to Declutter and Organize a Refrigerator

If you're working through our Healthy Kitchen Reset series, this is challenge number 3. It follows the same basic process used to organize spices and the pantry (i.e., remove, purge, assess, organize, and systemize) However, there are important new considerations since we are dealing with perishable items!

Every time you throw away food that's gone bad before you had a chance to use it, it's like throwing money in the garbage! Yikes! How's that for motivation to organize your refrigerator? It's a harsh lesson I learned when operating our meal assembly stores.

But when you establish a system that everyone understands and can stick to, you'll also save money by:

• Maximizing the freshness and shelf life for refrigerated items.
• Quickly finding what you need so you don't unintentionally buy duplicate items.
• Enjoying your kitchen and cooking at home more!

Pull Everything Out

Pull everything out of the refrigerator and place the items in a cooler to keep them cold. Group similar items together, such as condiments, produce, lunch meats, dairy, etc. If you can't tackle the process all at once, start with the top shelf and work your way down.

Now is the time to deep clean! Wipe the surfaces with disinfectant. Unlike the pantry, there's a lot of opportunity for cross-contamination from raw food. You'll see in step #3 it really does matter where you store different types of food.

Toss Expired Ingredients

Throw away ingredients that are past their expiration date. As you review each item, circle the date or rewrite it so it's easy to find next time.

If you're not sure whether something is safe to eat, you may find this FDA Cold Food Storage Chart helpful. Remember: if in doubt, throw it out! That's the safest thing to do.

Now is also the perfect time to critically think about the types of ingredients you're including in your diet. There's a good chance your inventory is smaller than normal at this point. Look at each group of items you typically buy and decide whether you want to make changes.

Plan for Food Safety

Of course, you want to store items in the refrigerator so they're easy to access. But that is not enough. Follow these guidelines to keep ingredients at the right temperature, prevent spoilage, minimize cross-contamination, and maximize shelf life.

Refrigerator Zones:

• Top Shelf - This area is generally warmer than the other spaces because of overhead lighting. It's perfect for leftovers, ready-to-eat items, and drinks.
• Door(s) - Since these swing open, the shelves on the door are warmer too. Unless the refrigerator has a special feature to accommodate this, don't store your milk there! Instead, keep condiments, salad dressings, butter, and less perishable items in this space.
• Back of the Refrigerator - This is generally the coolest area and is best for items like dairy, eggs, and meats.
• Middle and Bottom Shelves - When choosing what to store on the other shelves, consider the temperature required to cook the items. For example, raw poultry must be cooked to 165 °F. Always store it on the very bottom shelf, below all other items. Store uncooked beef and seafood above raw chicken. That's not to say you can't store other things on the bottom shelf. If you do, make sure that uncooked chicken doesn't land on top of it.
• Humidity-controlled drawers - Crisper drawers let you control how much moisture enters and are generally used to store fruits and vegetables. When you close off the opening, it prevents air from entering and makes the drawer more humid. If you leave the vent open, then the environment is less humid. These settings help you manage naturally occurring ethylene gas that is emitted during fruit and vegetable ripening. Some produce emit a lot of gas, and others are sensitive to it. Bottom line: don't mix up what you store in each area or your produce will spoil prematurely!
  • The low humidity drawer (often labeled the fruit drawer) is best for produce that rots easily, like apples and stone fruit. These items are generally high ethylene gas producers.
  • The high-humidity drawer (often labeled the vegetable drawer) is best for ethylene-gas-sensitive items. Since the vent is closed off, ethylene gas can't easily enter. Items that wilt, such as leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, should go in this drawer. Keep strawberries here too!

Many refrigerators come with specialized areas, such as a drawer for cold cuts. If so, take advantage of those designated spaces.

With the above safety considerations in mind, the next step is to put everything back so you can quickly and easily find what you're looking for. The goal is to have a designated zone for everything.

• Group like items together, such as leftovers, dairy items, condiments, drinks, etc.
• Use containers and bins to corral groupings.
• Label containers and zones so everyone knows the plan.

Space-Saving Storage Tips

The goal is to arrange your fridge so you don't have to move things around all the time to see what you have. Ideally, you should be able to see everything! If you can, adjust shelf height to maximize space.

Here are some storage accessories that may help:

• Pull-out bins - The clear ones are ideal so you can see what's inside.
• Large Clear Stackable Storage Containers - You don't have to buy fancy containers; check what you already have.
• Stackable dispensers - perfect for cans!
• Lazy Susan Turn Table - They come in buckets too and are perfect for items in the back.
• Small containers that suction cup to the inside of the refrigerator. For example, a small holder for soap is perfect for smaller items that might get lost, like small ketchup packs or cheese sticks.

Tips to Keep the Refrigerator Organized

You're not done! Follow these tips to keep your refrigerator organized, in stock, and fresh year-round.

• Circle or rewrite the expiration date with a Sharpie when you're unpacking the groceries so you can quickly see it.
• Rotate items so that new items are behind older ones (a.k.a. LIFO - last in, first out!)
• Label everything, and make sure everyone knows where to look and where to put things back.
• Line produce drawers with paper towels for easy clean-up.
• Keep an ongoing shopping list that everyone uses to track what's running low. For example, keep a magnetic pad on the refrigerator door.
• Take stock of the refrigerator frequently. For example, do a quick check before you go to the grocery store, on trash day, or seasonally. It won't take much time once it becomes a routine.