Resourceful Ways to Organize Your Refrigerator

I think this has happened to all of us at one time or another. You get home from grocery shopping and you have the daunting task of trying to find a place for all the food you have just purchased. You open your refrigerator door to put the milk, eggs, and cheese away when you realize that your refrigerator is already packed with food, along with old and out-dated food. Here are some resourceful ways that you can rearrange the food to make the space work for you, and have all the room you need for all the food you just bought, and then some.

Make the older food more accessible

It's important to rotate the food in your refrigerator to guarantee its freshness and eliminate the chance of spoiling. When you buy two like food items, always place the newer food item to the back and bring the newer up front so the older food item will be consumed first. This strategy is most commonly known as the first in, first out rule, and it works every time. When following this rule, you'll never have to guess which food item to use first.

Make an assigned space for each food item

I can't count how many times I opened a new jar of salsa when I already had a jar opened. If you place the food item just wherever in your refrigerator, it may get pushed back in the refrigerator and it will get hidden behind a tub of margarine and be forgotten until it's too late.

Make sure that you assign stations for every food category. You can put drinks in one space, while you put deli items in another. Do this with all the food categories and you won't end up opening a new jar of spaghetti sauce when the opened jar is still good. This will eliminate waste and eliminate time wasted putting away your groceries when you get home. You will know exactly where all the food items go and which food items need tossing.

Move your milk to make it last longer

It may be really tempting to go ahead and place your jug of milk in the cozy little nook in your refrigerator door, but it isn't the best place for it. It is better to place your jug of milk on the highest shelf near the back of the refrigerator.

The reason for this is most of the refrigerators have the cooling vent located in the rear in the top of the refrigerator where it dumps most of its frigid air. Since this location is cooler, it will keep your milk colder making it last longer.

Freeze leftover liquid to keep it fresh

Next time your recipe calls for some beef or chicken broth, go ahead and buy that 12 ounce can, you won't need to worry about wasting the leftover broth. After preparing your meal that calls for the broth, pour the remaining broth into an ice cube tray and place it into the freezer.

After the broth is frozen, transfer the cubes into a plastic Ziploc bag and write the contents and the date. So when you are ready to make another meal that needs broth, all you need to do is walk over to your freezer and grab a cube or two. Just think of all the money you could save on buying extra cans of beef or chicken broth.

Try these simple ways to help you rearrange and organize your refrigerator, so your next grocery shopping trip won't seem so daunting. You will have confidence to buy what you need without the worry of waste and chaos because you know that your refrigerator is organized and perfectly arranged. Now, doesn't that make you feel better about your next grocery shopping trip?

Sources: How to Cheat at Organizing