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Come and tell me about how you organise your fridge

11 replies

thelegohooverer · 19/01/2021 09:08

Do you have a system? Shelves for particular categories? A training protocol for family members? Milk cartons rigged to deliver an electric shock if opened before the open one is finished?

I’m getting a bigger fridge after years of playing Tetris and Guess that Odour, and I need strategies to achieve the fridge nirvana that I’ve always aspired to.

OP posts:
maxelly · 19/01/2021 10:36

Following with interest. There are only 2 of us at home now so a lot easier than it used to be, but I have a loose system - all condiments and sauces on the top, if they start to spill over into the lower levels then that's the cue to bin some of the older/mankier ones, although we don't have a family consensus about what needs to live in the fridge and what can stay in the cupboard e.g. mustards... MN divided on this too IIRC!

All stuff that is required for meals or specifically belongs to one person lives on the middle shelf and is NOT to be eaten as lunches or snacks, whereas things on the bottom shelf are leftovers or lunch items and fair game for whoever wants to eat them. The salad drawers are full of fruit and veg which doesn't tend to be ganneted so no need to guard it, I do a once a week sweep of anything going past its best and make up a big salad or pan of soup or whatever to avoid waste/pools of mystery liquid accumulating in the bottom of the drawer Envy ...

Drinks and milk live in the door, any duplicates e.g. new pint of milk or juice live on the shelves and in theory shouldn't be opened until the old one is finished, this isn't a perfect system as what tends to happen is that the new milk gets buried behind bags of salad or whatever and then when the old one gets down to dregs 'someone' DH will fail to check the shelf, assume we need more and go out and get a new one leading to an irritating huge milk surplus. For things like cans of pop, beer etc the system is meant to be 'one in one out' to prevent huge volume of fridge being taken up by the whole pack going in at once but again doesn't always work perfectly...

Also in 20 + years together DH and I have never agreed re eggs, whether you put the oldest ones in/eat from the left and add new ones to the right, or vice versa, so I never ever know which are the oldest eggs and have to squint at the tiny use by date print, but I figure that's beyond redemption now! But if anyone has a good system for that that isn't keeping them in the box they came in (takes up too much space IMO) I'm all ears...

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 19/01/2021 10:40

Omlet sell little spiral holders for eggs which send the oldest to the front.
Probably not for inside the fridge though.

I put a label on leftovers with content and date.

Also I have some plastic tubs to store different things like cheese and sandwich meat.

doadeer · 19/01/2021 10:45

Oh my fridge is beautiful if I do say so 🤣

I use these plastic tubs to put my loose fruit and veg in, plus one for dairy items. I also have these protective sheets over the shelves which are easy to wash.

I have meat on one shelf, dairy, yoghurt and butter, fruit - berries in one container and peaches, plums etc in another, then two veg shelves - salad items in one container then root veg, then potatoes, onions etc at the bottom.

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ShrikeAttack · 19/01/2021 11:05

I love a bit of fridge admin! Unfortunately the way I've finally reached fridge nirvana is by having three fridges. One full-size in the utility room is used for drinks and jars only, and also has an empty shelf at the bottom for defrosting large pieces od meat or puddings that need to set flat, always useful to have an empty shelf. Any milk, juice, sparkling water etc is kept in there and a new one taken to the main kitchen fridge as necessary. Jars and annoying things that clutter up tbe main fridge have their own shelf on the bottom.

Main fridge is, top shelf cheese. Next shelf yoghurt, any dairy like soured cream or cream. Below that is any fruit that needs refrigerating. The shelf below is cooked meat and deli items, lunch stuff essentially. Bottom shelf is meat. Top salad draw is salad an herbs, bottom one is Celery, leeks and carrots.

Top shelf of the door is butter and parmesan. Shelf below is other cooking fats, lard, dripping, goose fat etc. The one below haa things like opened capers and anchovies, chipotle paste, any little bits that need using up. Then milk, bottom shelf is juice and sparkling water.

My small fridge in the cellar has bulky vegetables, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbages etc.

Potatoes and onions live in built-in slide-out wicker drawers in the kitchen, as do eggs. Tomatoes, citrus and other fruit live in bowls on the work surface.

Clean out the fridge, give it a wipe-down and rotate things every time you do a shop and once a month take everything out and give it a proper clean.

I do find there's a lot less food-waste when things are organised properly, seeing messy fridges makes me feel a bit stressed!

ShrikeAttack · 19/01/2021 11:11

And any leftovers either get used the next day or frozen immediately. Don't leave them hanging around in the fridge slowly going off and making you feel guilty!

DragonflyInn · 19/01/2021 11:26

I shove things where there’s a gap. If there’s no gap I shove harder until one is created.

Sorry possibly not the spirit of the thread! However maybe this will inspire me to change my slovenly refrigerator ways Smile

Dontbetardy · 19/01/2021 11:30

@doadeer

Oh my fridge is beautiful if I do say so 🤣

I use these plastic tubs to put my loose fruit and veg in, plus one for dairy items. I also have these protective sheets over the shelves which are easy to wash.

I have meat on one shelf, dairy, yoghurt and butter, fruit - berries in one container and peaches, plums etc in another, then two veg shelves - salad items in one container then root veg, then potatoes, onions etc at the bottom.

What tubs please?
CherryPavlova · 19/01/2021 13:06

We have a temperature controlled wine fridge. Then a separate drinks fridge for beers, soft drinks, spare milk etc.
Then a meat and jars and veg to cook fridge and a separate dairy, herbs and salad fridge.

thelegohooverer · 20/01/2021 17:18

@doadeer I’m so tempted by those acrylic containers. They look lovely.

OP posts:
doadeer · 20/01/2021 17:35

They are really handy! Though I think people have very different food so it depends what you need. I don't have a lot of jars or drinks in fridge - most dairy items, fruit and veg

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