Keeping your refrigerator and freezer organized can make a huge difference in how easy it is to find what you need and reduce food waste. With some simple tips and solutions, you can transform your fridge and freezer into highly functional spaces that help streamline meal prep and grocery shopping.
Introduction
A disorganized refrigerator and freezer leads to frustration when you can’t find what you’re looking for. It also often means there are expired or forgotten foods tucked away that end up getting tossed. Taking the time to organize these spaces properly promotes better eating habits, reduces stress, and makes your kitchen more efficient.
Implementing a few basic organizational strategies can make all the difference. This includes properly arranging items, utilizing storage containers, labeling leftovers, and paring down to the essentials. With some decluttering, strategic placement of foods, and helpful organizational tools, your refrigerator and freezer can become ultra-functional spaces you’re excited to use.
Benefits of an Organized Refrigerator and Freezer
Organizing your refrigerator and freezer offers a wide range of benefits that make it worth the effort:
- Saves time when cooking and prepping foods
- Reduces food waste by visibility of foods nearing expiration
- Allows you to clearly see what needs to be used or eaten soon
- Prevents buying duplicate foods at the grocery store
- Makes healthy foods front and center for easy grabbing
- Promotes food safety by dated leftovers and first in, first out system
- Saves money from tossing expired, forgotten foods
- Reduces stress of searching for ingredients during busy meal times
- Helps plan meals and shopping lists from inventory of on-hand foods
- Keeps produce fresher longer in designated drawers
- Makes grabbing snacks and school lunches quicker and easier
Just taking an hour or two to tackle organizing your refrigerator and freezer can yield huge rewards on a daily basis. It’s one of the most beneficial kitchen projects you can do.
Refrigerator Zones and Placement
Strategically grouping similar items together in designated areas makes your fridge far more functional. Certain zones and placement guidelines help keep foods fresher longer while making them easier to access.
Produce Zone
The high-humidity drawers at the bottom of the refrigerator are ideal for storing fruits and vegetables. Keep produce that needs more humidity like lettuce, greens, broccoli, berries, and citrus here.
Dairy Zone
Designate the upper shelves of the main refrigerator compartment for dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese, and butter. Keeping dairy contained to one area makes it quicker to find.
Drink Zone
Store drinks including juices, sodas, and water bottles together on a shelf, usually in the refrigerator door. This makes them easily accessible to kids and teens who may regularly grab them.
Condiment Zone
Group condiments including ketchup, mustard, salad dressings, and sauces on a shelf, ideally in the door for easy access. You can store them together or put similar condiments side by side.
Leftover Zone
Choose a shelf to contain all your leftovers, dated and labeled. Having one designated area avoids searching the entire fridge. Use clear containers to easily see contents.
Snack Zone
Assign a shelf just for snacks like string cheese, puddings, and yogurt. This makes it fast for kids to grab after-school snacks and pack lunches.
Meat Zone
The bottom drawer is the coldest spot and ideal for storing raw meats, poultry, and fish. Keeping meats contained prevents juices from dripping and cross-contaminating.
Front and Center
Place items you use most regularly like milk, eggs, butter, and condiments on the top and middle shelves. This avoids bending down repeatedly for commonly grabbed foods.
Fridge Door
Use the door to store drinks, condiments, dressings, sauces, butter, and leftovers since the door is opened more frequently. Keeping these items chilled here allows for the main fridge to maintain a cooler temperature.
Avoid the Back
Don’t stash items all the way at the back. You’ll easily forget them and it promotes wasting food. Keep items you use within easy reach towards the front and middle.
Freezer Zones and Placement
Like your refrigerator, establishing zones and following placement guidelines in the freezer helps maximize space and make items easier to locate.
Meat Zone
Assign one area or basket just for raw and frozen meats. This prevents contamination and helps meal prep when you can grab all meat items at once.
Frozen Produce Zone
Have a spot for all your frozen fruits and vegetables. Store similar items together so you can quickly see all your veggie choices or fruit options.
Frozen Meals and Leftovers Zone
Give a space for frozen prepared meals, casseroles, soups, etc. Label them with dates and contents. Having all frozen meal options in one spot prevents digging around.
Snack Zone
Designate a basket or space for frozen snacks and sweets like ice cream, pizza, waffles, and cookie dough. Keeping these goodies separate avoids grabbing them by default.
Top Shelf
Place items you use most frequently like frozen veggies and meat on the top shelf. This is the most convenient spot so you can grab them without bending down.
Baskets and Bins
Use baskets, bins, or dividers to create compartments for like items. Seeing all snacks or proteins together makes it faster to grab what you need.
Cooler Door
Store freezer items you use regularly like ice cream, frozen juice, and ingredients for smoothies in the door for quick access. The door gets opened more often so items stay frozen.
Avoid Overcrowding
Leave some open space between items so cold air can properly circulate. Overstuffing prevents the freezer from efficiently cooling foods.
Top Organizing Tips
Keep these tips in mind as you tackle organizing your refrigerator and freezer:
- Discard expired and unwanted foods first to clear clutter.
- Move items you use most frequently to front and middle shelves.
- Group like items together in labeled zones – produce, snacks, condiments, etc.
- Use clear storage bins to see contents easily.
- Put newest foods towards the back to use older items first.
- Wipe down shelves before putting food back in.
- Make use of door space for often-used items like drinks.
- Leave space between items for air circulation.
- Label leftovers with date and contents using masking tape.
- Place foods you want eaten sooner on top shelves.
- Install organizational inserts like bins, racks, and drawers.
Just implementing a few of these basic tips can make your refrigerator and freezer far more streamlined. Spend a weekend getting these spaces organized and you’ll gain efficiency in your meal prep and cooking.
Refrigerator Organization Ideas
With the right containers and organizational solutions, you can maximize every inch of refrigerator space. Here are useful products and ideas for organizing your fridge:
Clear Storage Containers
Use clear plastic bins, canisters, and stacking containers to hold fruits, snacks, leftovers, and more. Seeing contents keeps foods from getting lost or forgotten.
Produce Savers
Specialized produce savers with ventilation regulate humidity and help extend the life of fruits and veggies. Use them in fridge drawers.
Turntables
Round turntables allow you to easily spin condiments and jars to see everything on a shelf. Great for the fridge door.
Tiered Storage
Tiered shelf risers double your space by stacking foods or bowls in layers. Great for yogurt, cheese, lunches, and leftovers.
Door Bin Organizers
Plastic door bin organizers add compartments to hold small jars, baby food, dressings, water bottles, and snacks.
Egg Holders
Plastic or silicone egg holders protect eggs from cracking and contain mess if they break. Easy to grab what you need.
Fridge Caddies
Portable plastic caddies let you efficiently bring lunch meats, cheese, snacks, etc. to the table then back to the fridge.
Condiment Organizers
Acrylic condiment organizers corral multiple bottles and jars in the door neatly. Helpful for mustard, ketchup, dressings, etc.
Can Dispensers
Can dispensers allow you to stack sodas or beans vertically to save shelf space. Dispenses one can at a time.
Spice Organizers
Magnetic or acrylic spice racks keep jars tidy and out of the way. Great for the fridge door to have spices handy when cooking.
Vegetable Crispers
Clear crisper drawers with humidity control create the ideal environment for keeping produce fresh longer.
Shelving Risers
Risers or shelves on risers boost storage capacity. You can use the lower area for large party platters.
Lid Organizers
Plastic lid organizers prevent matched lids and containers from getting separated. Helpful for leftovers.
Water Bottle Shelves
Wire shelves designed to hold water bottles allow you to store more drinks neatly in a small footprint.
Food Wrap Dispensers
Dispensers conveniently hold plastic wrap, foil, and bag rolls for easy access when prepping foods for the fridge.
Freezer Organization Ideas
Like your refrigerator, there are many products and systems to help you organize your freezer effectively:
Clear Freezer Bins
Store like items together in clear bins so you can easily see similar frozen foods. Label bins for quick identification.
Upright Dividers
Vertical dividers allow you to neatly separate and organize upright freezer spaces. Keep types of foods or meals apart.
Chest Freezer Baskets
Use stackable baskets to contain categories of foods like proteins, fruits, ready meals, breads, etc. Makes finding specific foods fast.
Cooling Racks
Wire racks help air circulate around items for optimal freezing. Useful for cookie dough, muffins, meats, baked goods, etc.
Freezer Tape
Special tape to label frozen foods won’t peel off containers in subzero temperatures. Helps identify leftovers or types of meat.
Frozen Food Caddies
Insulated caddies allow you to conveniently transport frozen foods from the freezer to oven or microwave and back again.
Cold Storage Bags
Reusable cold storage bags act like extra freezer space. Use to store bulk frozen fruits or prepared baby food cubes.
Chest Freezer Trays
Slide-out trays in chest freezers lift up so you can easily access items in the back without digging.
Hanging Storage
Hanging wire storage provides vertical space for foods. Useful for fruits, breads, and items with flat packaging.
Vacuum Sealer Bags
Vacuum seal bags extend freezer food storage life by removing air. Useful for meats, soups, baked goods,etc.
Upright Freezer Bins
Customizable plastic bin systems designed specifically for upright freezers to hold food categories. Makes finding foods fast.
Ice Cube Trays
Fill ice cube trays with leftover sauces, baby food purees, herbs in water, broths, etc. for easy use later on.
Refrigerator Decluttering Tips
Before organizing your fridge, it’s important to declutter it first by tossing or donating old, expired items. Here are useful tips for paring down:
- Check all expiration dates and toss anything past its prime.
- Remove forgotten leftovers that have been pushed to the back.
- Get rid of duplicate condiments or food items you don’t need.
- Donate any sealed, non-perishable foods to a local food bank.
- Recycle any empty bottles, jars, cans, and food containers.
- Clean out produce drawers and discard wilted veggies or moldy fruit.
- Throw away any prepared foods from the deli or bakery that are past their use by date.
- Remove foods your family never eats to avoid wasting them in the future.
- Check leftovers and toss any with off tastes or textures. Don’t risk eating iffy foods.
- Clear out expired dairy products like sour milk, moldy cheese, and old yogurt.
- Eliminate frozen foods that have been in the freezer too long such as icy meats.
- Clean out old, leaky condiment bottles and jars.
Thoroughly examining foods and discarding anything past its prime clears the way for an organized, clutter-free refrigerator.
Freezer Decluttering Tips
Just like your refrigerator, your freezer needs periodic decluttering to clear out foods that have been forgotten.
- Toss any unmarked frozen foods, especially meats. If you can’t identify it, don’t risk eating it.
- Discard freezer burned items with dry, icy coating. This indicates the food is older.
- Check dates and use up frozen foods that have been in the freezer for over 6 months.
- Get rid of any foods with ripped, spoiled, or ice-covered packaging.
- Remove bulging frozen foods as this can indicate bacteria growth. Don’t risk eating these.
- Eliminate items your family never eats. Just taking up valuable space.
- Clean out empty bags, boxes, and containers.
- Cycle out foods and move older foods to the front to get used sooner.
- Clear ice build up which indicates uncontrolled thawing and refreezing.
- Defrost compartments and bins to fully see and access contents.
- Donate unopened frozen foods that you won’t realistically eat.
- Discard crushed or damaged frozen fruits and veggies.
Regularly clearing out your freezer ensures you have a organized, unspoiled supply of frozen foods on hand.
Top Foods to Freeze
Freezing is a great way to save foods that might otherwise get wasted. Here are the best options for freezing:
- Meat – Raw chicken breasts, ground beef, steaks, chops, etc. Freeze in usable portions.
- Soup stocks and broth – Freeze in ice cube trays or muffin tins.
- Herbs – Chop and freeze in water in ice cube trays.
- Cheese – Grate and freeze in portions for recipes. Doesn’t work for soft cheeses.
- Butter – Freeze sticks for longer term storage. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Milk – Freeze in usable portion sizes. Thaw in the fridge.
- Fresh fruits – Berries, mango, pineapple, bananas. Spread out on a sheet pan first.
- Cooked pasta – Portion out and freeze. Use directly from freezer in recipes later.
- Leftovers – Chili, stews, casseroles, sauces. Allow to cool completely before freezing.
- Baked goods – Cookie dough, rolls, bread, muffins, cupcakes. Flash freeze on a sheet pan first.
- Smoothie packs – Portion out fruits, veggies, and yogurt in a freezer bag for future smoothies.
Refrigerator Organization Systems
Certain systems help streamline fridge organization for maximum efficiency:
Zone System
Group like items into specific zones or areas – produce and deli in the bottom, drinks and condiments in the door, snacks and dairy up top.
First In, First Out
Position older items in front and place new foods in back. This ensures the oldest gets used before potentially going bad.
Use Clear Containers
Use clear storage bins or containers to easily identify leftovers, fruit, snack items, etc. Labels help too.
Leave Space
Avoid overcrowding and leave some empty space between items for cold air circulation. This keeps foods chilled properly.
Limit Door Storage
Only store what you use most often in the door like drinks, condiments, butter. The door gets opened frequently.
purge Before Shopping
Before grocery shopping, purge leftovers and toss expired foods. This creates space and prevents duplicate purchases.
Label Foods
Always label prepared foods and leftovers with contents and dates. This avoids mystery science experiments down the road.
First Expiring First
Position foods that expire soonest towards the front. This cues you to use them up in time.
Store Produce Properly
Keep fruits and veggies with higher humidity needs in crisper drawers. Store delicate produce on top shelves.
Wipe Spills ASAP
Quickly wipe up any leaks, drips, and spills before they become difficult to clean. This keeps shelves clean.
Freezer Organization Systems
Use these systems to keep your freezer running efficiently:
Zone System
Group similar frozen foods together – proteins, fruits, prepared meals, breads, etc. Stores like items together.
Rotate Stock
Practice first in/first out by moving older items to the front and newer ones to the back. Uses up food before it expires.
Use Bins and Baskets
Contain like items in bins and baskets to designate zones for different food types. Keeps foods grouped.
Allow Air Flow
Avoid overstuffing and leave some space between items. This allows cold air to properly circulate and freeze foods.
Label Contents
Always label frozen foods with contents and dates. This prevents mystery frozen blocks down the road.
Freeze Flat
Freeze liquid foods like stocks and soups in flat containers or bags. They freeze and thaw faster.
Portion Control
Package ingredient items like meat and produce in usable portion sizes for ease of use in recipes.
Fill Gaps
Use ice cube trays to fill empty spaces and gaps. Freezes leftover sauces, broths, pureed baby food, etc.
Cool Before Freezing
Allow hot foods to completely cool before freezing. This prevents raising the temperature of other frozen foods.
Organize Lids
Use a lid organizer to keep matched lids and containers together. Prevents hunting for the right lid later.
Refrigerator Cleaning Tips
A clean refrigerator helps keeps food fresh longer. Follow these cleaning tips:
- Empty the fridge completely, tossing expired foods.
- Wash removable parts and shelves in warm soapy water or the dishwasher.