How to Use Your Fridge to Its Maximum Potential

Many people don’t know how to organize the food inside their fridges properly and this article will help you with this, among many other things!

A fridge is just a fridge – or is it? Kim Kardashian doesn’t think so. The successful social media star and businesswoman has a total of nine in her house! Fridges are a staple in everybody’s house. Unless you’re living on ramen noodles alone, you need a fridge in your kitchen to keep all your food fresh!

Fridges are actually quite a luxury! The first one was invented in 1899, and they have continuously progressed into the modern fridges we own today.

Fridges aren’t only used to keep fresh food inside, but the outside of fridges are being used by millions of people today, to keep things like magnetized holiday souvenirs, magnetic stainless steel knife holders, magnetic monthly and weekly calendars, as well as magnetic whiteboards to write down grocery lists, and even magnetic menus on them.

Organizing Your Fridge

Fridges can get really messy, really fast! When you’re on the go, or you just want to put things quickly in your fridge between Netflix breaks, or even cooking, your fridge tends to get cluttered quite quickly.

What you need to do is take these steps to organize your fridge in a way that is clean and orderly, so that you know where everything is – and you can make sure that everything inside your fridge can actually be used.

Step 1: Clean Your Fridge

The first thing you need to do to get started is take everything out of the fridge, put on some rubber gloves and apply dishwashing liquid to the surface with a sponge and make sure everything is clean.

Often there can be a sticky residue left at the bottom of the fridge under the drawer from foods gone bad. To get rid of this easily without having to scrub for hours, pour baking soda all over it with vinegar and place a baking sheet on top of this and press down. Leave it for 12 hours, then simply remove and wipe down.

Carry on cleaning until everything is 100% clean. This is the beginning of the process, and in order for it to be successful, this initial step is incredibly important!

Step 2: Place All Food in Clear Containers

This step is immensely satisfying as you get to put food away neatly and stacked on the shelves of the fridge so that you can see everything clearly.

Every supermarket allows you to see clearly what’s on their shelves, so why shouldn’t your fridge also give you, and your family, the same opportunity?

BUDGET TIP: If you can’t afford a whole bunch of plastic containers, use the plastic containers your fruit and vegetables come in – it’s also great for the environment!

Step 3: Organize Your Food

This step can be very enjoyable as you take the time to organize everything that’s inside. It’s best to divide the shelves into the following:

  • Meat and other animal proteins, including fish
  • Dairy
  • Fruit and vegetables
  • Nuts and legumes
  • Juices and sodas
  • Condiments

These should all be placed separately from one another. You can follow a color scheme, for instance, when packing your fruit shelf, start with strawberries on the left, followed by oranges, lemons, green grapes or apples, blueberries and plums.

Your fridge can look really stunning inside once it’s organized and colors are cleverly arranged.

Step 4: Organizing the Freezer

Just like the fridge, you need to take the food out of the freezer and clean it and arrange the food back in.

This time, place things like ice-creams and frozen berries (that will be used for smoothies) on one shelf, and frozen meat on a separate shelf. Try keep meats, chicken and fish separate from one another in an organized space.

All frozen proteins like chicken must be placed in containers in individual plastic bags that they come in (or that you provide) to keep anything from cross-contaminating.

Step 5: Clean the Outside of the Fridge

This is an important step. Take everything off the outside of the fridge and clean it with some disinfectant and a cloth.

Step 6: Place Magnetized Kitchen Accessories on the Fridge

Now, you really want to maximize the use of your fridge. This is where you’ll place your magnetic knife holders, monthly planners, menus and so on….

These will really help you in the everyday use of your kitchen. Instead of a bulky knife block taking up space on your kitchen counter, now you have a magnetic stainless steel knife holder placed against the side of your fridge, holding all the knives you use every day in place.

This magnetic knife holder is great as it is made specially to lie against the fridge, securely in place. It has a simple and elegant modern design so that it looks as if it comes attached to the fridge. It’s also made of exceptionally high-grade stainless steel so that it won’t rust. It requires no sort of installation, and is a whole 17 inches long. It also makes a great gift for your friends for Christmas alongside their other gifts, and they’ll appreciate it as it’s so practical!

Your magnetic menu will exhibit what you and the family will be eating for the week! This is great, as now you’ll be able to see exactly what’s in the fridge, and will be able to plan accordingly. This magnetic menu is wonderful, as it comes with 8 multicolor magnetic fine tip markers that you can place neatly alongside it. It is 10 by 16 inches, has a stain resistant layer, and comes with a complimentary whiteboard.

If there’s things missing in your fridge that you would like to have, your magnetic whiteboard will let you have space to write down all the groceries that you need, as well as anything else pertaining to the fridge that you need to write down! This magnetic whiteboard is great as it comes in two different convenient sizes, with 8 magnetic colorful markers and an eraser. It’s really great to use as a reminder for anything you need!

Step 7: Repeat Every 12 Weeks

It’s important to clean your fridge so thoroughly, like this, at least every 3 months. Don’t forget to throw away expired items every few days and make sure there’s no fruit or vegetables that are decaying inside.

FAQs

How long can I keep raw chicken in the fridge?

The answer is 1 to 2 days according to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). If the chicken is cooked, it can stay no longer than 4 days in the fridge. It is easy to get food poisoning from chicken, so you really need to keep this information in mind!

How do I keep avocadoes from turning brown?

Once you cut up the delicious flesh of an avocado it will slowly start to turn brown. The best defense against this is to pour some lemon or lime juice over it, place it in an airtight container and put it in the fridge. Lemons have strong antioxidants that help with this.

What is the best temperature for a refrigerator?

It’s best to keep the fridge at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (or 4 degrees Celsius). The freezer should always be at 0 degrees Fahrenheit (or -18 degrees Celsius). You should check these temperatures every so often, as it’s important for the freshness of your food.

Conclusion

A neat and organized fridge is one of the most important things you can keep clean and organized as you visit it at least 10 to 20 times per day. You will save an immense amount of time knowing where everything is, plus you’ll save a lot of money by not buying items twice because you couldn’t find the original item in the fridge. This whole process may take a few hours, but you and the whole family will find it’s a necessary step for efficient cooking, eating and all-round care and appreciation of the food you buy!

Latest posts by Leah Goldberg | HMmagnets Team (see all)

Free U.S Shipping*

X
Shopping cart0
There are no products in the cart!
Continue shopping
0