The key to organizing your fridge and freezer

It’s amazing how we can pass by an appliance hundreds of times a day and we don’t know what’s in it.

We can open it up and stare into it dozens of times a day and we still don’t know what’s lurking there. I’d be willing to guess 20 per cent or more of the contents of your fridge and freezer are spoiled, expired or they will never be eaten. Lately, groceries are so expensive and refilling that mysterious machine costs so much more than it used to.

Let’s invest a bit of time to clean it out, organize it and get maximum efficiency from every inch of storage space and help ensure each food item is eaten and enjoyed.

Start by opening your green bin as a receptacle for food waste and having a blue bag nearby to hold empty containers for recycling. Start with the fridge and take absolutely everything out and put it on the counter. Ditch everything that is unknown, expired, unlikely to be consumed and past its prime. Wow - that’s a lot of stuff!

Put “like with like.” Make little groupings of salad dressings, condiments, deli meats and cheeses, veggies, fruits, drinks, etc. When the fridge is empty, give it a good cleaning with a rag or sponge and a bucket of warm, soapy water. Harsh cleaners are not recommended, so keep it mild. For extra points, remove the shelves and bins and get them scrupulously clean as well. Polish glass shelves and any of the smooth surfaces with paper towel.

Put everything back in an organized fashion, keeping similar types of food and drinks together. This is your opportunity to put those new clear acrylic organizer bins to good use. Remove items from their packaging (liberate whole fruit from its bags or cans of soda from their boxes). This makes grabbing and going so much quicker.

Make sure labels are facing forward and keep often used ingredients front and centre. Infrequently used items can go further to the back. Aim to have some unused space in there; it’ll make you feel more organized if you can see to the back of the fridge. Stand back and admire … oh that’s better.

Now move onto the freezer. Here’s where you’ll really find some treasures. Take everything out, vacuum and wash down. Toss long expired food and freezer burnt items. Bin unidentified unlabelled leftovers that just won’t get eaten. Make a plan to incorporate some of the salvageable food into the menu for the next few weeks. Freshen up your ice cube trays and put everything back in an organized fashion. Take a moment to do an inventory list so you know what you have at a glance.

Last step is to vacuum the coils at the back to maximize efficiency and roll out the fridge so you can clean underneath. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find under there and how much easier it is to answer the question, “What can I make for dinner?” when you know exactly what you have.

Lisa Macdonald-faulkner has been a professional organizer in Nova Scotia for more than a decade. She is passionate about helping people clear the clutter and get aboard the organized train. Connect with her about pre-move purges, estate organizing and your dusty boxes.