Tips to Declutter & Organize Your
Have you ever opened your fridge and found it reeking of a week-old pasta or maybe that pizza you ordered a couple of nights ago and left it in the box thinking it’ll sort out your lunch the day after? Inevitably, you forgot about these hidden goodies and now all it’s done has left your fridge smelling like a compost pit. Don’t blame yourself for being forgetful, blame it on being disorganized.
You’re not alone, we’ve all left our refrigerators to be stacked up with one container after another. Be it a double door refrigerator, a convertible refrigerator or even a massive side by side door refrigerator, after a certain point there’s bound to be clutter in your refrigerator, that prevents you from making efficient use of the food and drinks in there. Here’s how you can declutter and organise your fridge:
Empty the Fridge
The first step to getting a handle on your refrigerated items is to empty everything that’s in there. When you do this, you’ll be able to see everything that needs to be thrown out or kept inside. Next, clean out the refrigerator itself because you’re bound to have spillages when there’s a small mountain range of containers to get to that tray of butter right at the back. Wipe the surfaces of the fridge thoroughly and put in a plastic mat on each level so the next time you re-organize, you’ll be able to simply wash the mat itself and be good to go.
If your fridge has removable trays then you can simply slide the trays out and wash them, but be sure to let them thaw before you run them under water or they may crack. If it is a double door refrigerator, make sure you don’t forget to do the same with the freezer compartment as well. The same goes for a side by side refrigerator too.
Rearrange the items
Now that your fridge is all clean, the next step is to sort the different food items in containers that are square and smaller-sized, as they look neat and are easy to store. Make sure you don’t put back any open soda cans or other such single time use containers. When stocking the items, you can put the ones that can be stored for longer in the freezer and dairy items such as cheese, cream and butter on the top shelf.
If you have a convertible refrigerator you can choose between having more space for your frozen items depending on your need. Lay the eggs in the egg tray on the door and line the drinks in the compartment beneath them neatly for easy access. Looking at your main fridge compartment, you would want to stack your less used items at the back and put in the frequently used items in the front. Any fruits and veggies like tomatoes and oranges go into the pull-out drawer at the bottom of your refrigerator; an important and often overlooked aspect of storing things efficiently so that you can maximise the capabilities of the fridge in terms of cooling.
Decluttering and organising can help you conserve energy and prevent you from burning a hole in your pocket. When you’ve stacked all your bigger or occasionally used food containers at the back, ensure that everything is sorted neatly enough at the front so reaching for the items in the back becomes easier. Convertible refrigerators are ideal for this as you can choose which part you need to store more food in. If you own a side by side refrigerator, make sure that your water and ice dispensing compartments are well cleaned out and stocked as well.
These tips can hopefully help your double door refrigerator become a more efficient and userfriendly machine! In case you're planning to buy a new refrigerator, you can check out Panasonic Refrigerators, as they are bigger, thereby giving you enough space to store your favourites. Do explore their IoT and AI-enabled range for more smart features.
Image Source: BedBathandBeyond. com, homedepot. com, epicurious. Com