How to organise your fridge
Are you fed up of digging around for the cucumber only to find it’s been squashed by the milk or smothered by cheese slices? If this sounds like you then you need to organise your fridge.
Fridge organisation is a personal thing as it all depends on the size and placement of your fridge and what you mainly use it for – yes, to keep stuff cold, but there’s more to it than that; some of us use our fridges for things that others might keep in a cupboard or in a bowl – eggs and grapes for example, and chocolate.
The first step to organising your fridge is to remove all of the contents from it – now if possible try not to do this in a blisteringly hot day as your food will spoil and you’ll be re-homing the veg with some new resident flies – not the kind of protein you’re after.
Once all of the contents are neatly piled onto your work surface (not on the floor) you can begin cleaning your fridge; make sure this is thorough and do it with a disinfectant spray first and then warm water. Don’t skip the warm water part of the cleaning process otherwise all your food will taste of chemicals which, although a unique flavour, won’t work well in an aromatic stir-fry.
After you have cleaned and reconstructed your fridge you can begin to think about food placement; have a look at the items you own and try to determine a trend – if you have predominantly meats then you’ll want this at eye level or if you have enough lettuce to intimidate a rabbit then you want it to be easily accessible.
By in large most fridges have a smaller top shelf; this is ideal for storing things that you may not use everyday such as mayonnaise; jam, mustard etcetera and any other miscellaneous items that you just can’t bare to throw away.
Right at the bottom of the fridge you are more than likely to have salad boxes; the clue is in the name here guys, this is where to put your salad. Think about it first before you chuck everything in though; there’s no point putting a heavy bag of potatoes on top of your spinach and cherry tomatoes as this will create a royal mess and you’d have to start again; so heavy items in first and work your way up to the lighter items.
The first proper shelf you have at the bottom of the fridge should be reserved for any drinks bottles that won’t fit in the fridge door; this is for a very simple reason – leakage. If your fizzy pop decides to do a runner you can either destroy all of the contents in your fridge by having it at the top or just face replacing half a cucumber and a few peppers if it’s at the bottom.
Now for the shelves in between; keep one for dairy so your cheeses; yoghurts, spreads and butters are all kept together – it just makes sense. Also if you keep your eggs in the fridge this is where they should be.
On the other shelf you can store your meats; so chicken slices, ham, sausages, whatever it may be this is where you can keep it. Of course if you are a vegetarian you have permission not to have a meat shelf.