Organizing Your Refrigerator

Are you tired of looking into the refrigerator and never being able to find what you're looking for? When you do find it, it is green and ready to walk out on its own. If so then the time has come to organize your refrigerator. Most people don't take the time to even think about actually organizing the fridge.

Start with a completely clean refrigerator. Take all the food out of the refrigerator; this will help to organize it later. Now that all the food is out, take a few minutes and clean the fridge, including all the drawers and compartments.

Before putting the food back into the fridge think about how it really works. The refrigerator should have a temperature range that is somewhere between 34 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit; any higher and the food will spoil, while anything lower than 34 degrees Fahrenheit the food will freeze. The refrigerator is made of different zones that keep the food cool at different temperatures, and functions differently in each zone. Some parts of the refrigerator are designed to be colder. It helps to know what sections are best for different types of food. By knowing what the different sections are best for the different types of foods will help you to keep your food fresher.

Think about how much you use different items, and how often you really open the refrigerator. If you have children at home who are constantly opening and closing the refrigerator door and complaining that there is nothing to eat, usually that's because they won't move food around to see what is really in the fridge. If your food is placed in the section that the fridge is designed for children will be able to get their food faster, this will help keep the food fresher longer.

Produce foods should be placed in the crisper drawer. The crisper drawer is designed for humidity, thus making it the most humid part of the fridge which is what produces needs.

Your meat needs to be stored in the coldest area in the fridge, which is usually the meat drawer. If you buy your meat prepackaged you can store it in the original packaging. I like to line the drawer with a couple sheets of paper towels. This helps to catch any meat drippings. I just replace the paper towels before I put any new meat products in the drawer.

The lowest shelf is the coldest shelf. This is the best place to put your dairy products and other perishable food items. Take the items out of their original packaging and store them into Tupperware type containers or glass container. The food will last longer.

The refrigerator door usually has these fun little compartments that are supposed to be for eggs and butter. Don't use them. Rather, you should keep the eggs in their original container they will last longer. The temperature on the door changes too much too fast with all of its opening and closings. Store your condiments on the door. They don't spoil as quickly.