The Best Way to Organize Your Refrigerator
updated about 4 hours ago
If you’ve taken on the daunting task of cleaning out your refrigerator , you should give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back! You did it! But you’re not done yet! Once all the expired condiments have been tossed and the shelves have been wiped clean, it’s time to put everything back again. And it actually matters how you do it and where you put things.
Don’t despair! We’ll tell you how to do it. Just keep reading for all our tips, tricks, and recommendations.
How Professional Kitchens Organize the Fridge
When organizing the refrigerator, we like to use professional and restaurant kitchens as models, because they organize their fridges with food safety in mind. Their way of doing it is to organize based on the temperature the foods need to be cooked to.
Things that need no cooking to be safe to eat (like prepared foods or leftovers) are placed at the top, then everything else is organized downwards based on the temperature it needs to be cooked to, with the foods needing to be cooked to the highest temperature (like chicken) being at the bottom.
When organized this way, any cross-contamination that occurs won’t be a problem because the food that’s contaminated has to be cooked to a higher temperature than the food sitting above it that may have dripped down.
How to Organize Your Own Fridge
So how do we adopt their way of organization? Here’s the strategy that uses the same principles, tailored to the configurations of a home refrigerator.
1. Upper shelves : Leftovers, drinks, and ready-to-eat foods (like yogurt, cheese, and deli meats).
2. Lower shelves :
3. Door :
Related : Alton Brown Helped Me Get My Fridge Organized. Here’s How.
4. Drawers :
Some solutions?
- If you have two drawers, make one of them exclusively for veggies and the other exclusively for raw meat.
- If one drawer is above the other, use the lowest drawer for meat. If they’re side-by-side, either drawer would be fine. Clean the drawer you’re using for meat often.
- Need both drawers for fruits and veggies? If it’s unavoidable to put raw meat above other foods, improvise your own meat drawer by using a clear plastic bin that will catch any accidental drips and keep the meat safely away from everything else.
Read more : Put a Separate Bin in Your Refrigerator for Meat
Our Favorite Fridge Organizers
1. InterDesign Refrigerator Container , $13
As explained above, a special plastic bin is really ideal for containing meat if you can’t dedicate a crisper drawer. We like this one because it’s large (but not too large), has handles for easy access, and is clear so you can see what’s inside (and if anything’s leaked).
2. InterDesign Linus Fridge Bins Soda Can Organizer with Shelf , $20 at The Container Store
If your’s is the kind of household that stocks La Croix or any other type of canned beverage, you really can’t go wrong with one (or two) of these. It’ll organize your cans so that you can actually pull one out without causing an avalanche.
Read more : The Best $20 I Ever Spent on My Fridge
3. YouCopia Lazy Susan , $27
It’s no secret how much we love a lazy Susan around here, so of course, we think putting one in the fridge is a good idea. This one, especially, if you have lots of small stuff (like wheels of cheese, veggie pouches, apple sauce cups) floating around.
What other fridge organization tips do you have? Share them in the comments!
Christine Gallary
Food Editor-at-Large
Christine graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and she has worked at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW.com. She lives in San Francisco and loves teaching cooking classes. Follow her latest culinary escapades on Instagram .
Follow ChristineSource : food
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