5 Suggestions For Organizing Your Fridge

sent 20th September 2020 by Gina

5 tips for organizing your refrigerator for easy meal preparation to save time and money so food stays fresh all week long.

5 tips for organizing your fridge

You have decided to tackle the oh-so scary task of organizing your refrigerator. Organizing refrigerators can be both painless and rewarding when done correctly. I promise it will be worth it if you see your hard work beautiful every time you grab a snack from your fridge!

Why I chose a sub-zero refrigerator for my kitchen

You may remember this post that we renovated our kitchen earlier this year (the final post on the kitchen disclosure will follow soon!). Having the opportunity to create my perfect kitchen was an absolute dream and as a chef, appliances were paramount. Cooling begins and ends when meals are being prepared. When choosing the right refrigerator, I looked for two things: sufficient storage space and optimal food preservation. Sub-Zero has every checkbox checked.

Since I cook with so many fresh ingredients, I think it's great that my Sub-Zero has a NASA-inspired air purification system. It removes ethylene gas – which accelerates food spoilage – and removes bacteria, mold and viruses every 20 minutes. How cool is that Another big plus was that the panel was ready. This meant that I could seamlessly integrate the fridge and freezer into my kitchen cabinet design. Result!

While my new Sub-Zero made organizing refrigerators a breeze for me, you can organize ANY refrigerator with a few simple tricks. Here are my top 5 tips:

1. Familiarize yourself with the temperature and humidity in each zone of your refrigerator.

The door: The refrigerator door is usually the warmest area. That makes it perfect for items with higher concentrations of vinegar, salt, and preservatives like spices.
The drawers: These are usually humidity controlled. This makes them ideal for products like fruits and vegetables.
The shelves: It is best to keep drinks and ready-to-eat food such as leftover food on the top shelf. This is because the heat rises, so the internal temperature on the upper shelves is always higher than that of the middle and lower shelves. I suggest that you keep all the raw materials on the middle and lower shelves. Even milk that spoils easily has the longest shelf life on the lower shelf.
My Sub-Zero fridge actually had a freshness card in the door. The card lists the shelves and drawers where certain types of food can be stored and made for maximum conservation. The cards are also color coded and categorized to keep the groceries grouped and organized. If you love to organize, you will likely love this handy guide.

2. Establish a system based on what you use most often.

Think about which items you reach for most often in your refrigerator and prioritize their placement. Position them in the easiest, most comfortable places – think of eye level and the front row. In this list you will find my staples for the fridge, freezer and pantry.
Another benefit of my Sub-Zero refrigerator is that the shelves are flat and wide rather than deep and narrow. This makes it easy to see everything in my fridge and freezer without forgetting the groceries that used to be pushed back.

3. Use containers to maximize space and efficiency.

If you love organization as much as I do, these containers (Affil Link) are perfect for storing citrus and avocados, which helps them stay fresh longer.
Use screw cap mason jars available on amazon (Affil Link) to store your pre-chopped vegetables, onions, peeled garlic, etc. so it's ready to go for the week.
Keep ready meals, leftovers or salads in clear glass containers (Affil Link) so you can see what's inside. Here is a link to my meal preparation recipes to get me inspired.
Use a deep container to defrost meat. This prevents mess if the package is leaking and prevents cross contamination.

4. Store herbs in mason jars

Wash your herbs and keep them in mason jars with a little water. This keeps them fresh for weeks.

5. Use a lazy suzan for drinks

A lazy Susan makes it really easy to see all of your drinks or containers and keep them within easy reach.

Now that your fridge is organized, I'd love to see the finished project! Tag me on Instagram @skinnytaste and get bonus points for sharing a before and after pic!

Disclosure: This post was created in collaboration with Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cover. All thoughts are my own.