• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Blog
    • Fertility
    • Breastfeeding
    • Pregnancy
    • Parenting
    • Crafts
    • Organization
    • Recipes
    • Learn to Blog
  • Work with One Sharp Mama

One Sharp Mama

Making Parenting, Pregnancy and Fertility life easier.

This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions here expressed are my own. You can view the full disclosure policy here.

July 11, 2017

Refrigerator Cleaning and Organizing Hacks

What’s up everyone?! Time to talk about one of my favorite things- ORGANIZATION. We all know that I have a touch of OCD. Okay, well maybe more than a touch. Things have to be a certain way or it drives me nuts. I have been known to reorganize a closet or bedroom just because I can’t sleep. Organizing is relaxing and therapeutic for me. If I can turn an unorganized messy area into a more functional, useful area, I feel so accomplished. So, today I’m sharing one of my latest organization overhauls. One afternoon I decided it was time to reorganize the kitchen refrigerator. The fridge can be a black hole for some people. Some people come home from the grocery store, take everything out of the bags and just shove it in there. That’s not functional for me. I can’t find things when I need them and it’s hard to take an inventory of what you have and what you need to pick up when you run out to the store next. You know, I can be a little OCD and crazy about things like that. If you read my Laundry Room Closet Organization post, you’ll get an idea πŸ˜‰

refrigerator organizing and cleaning hacks, *This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links, I may make a profit, at no additional cost to you. *

So, everyone will organize their refrigerator a little differently than other people. But, there are a few things that every person should know about how you lay out your food and drink.

Time to get to the refrigerator cleaning and organizing hacks!

  1. Β Items that need constant cold, in order to remain in full quality, like milk, should not be placed on the door shelving units. Every time you open the door, you would be swinging that milk into room temperature air. If you have a child, toddler, or lazy husband, you know that those fridge doors can remain open for EVER while they try to decide what they want. Sometimes they get left open in general. Your milk should stay towards the back of the fridge. Those doors cause too much fluctuation in the temperature of the milk and it will go bad faster.
  2. If you have the humidity controlled crisper drawers, use them. Things that tend to rot need to go in the low humidity setting. Things like apples, ripe bananas, avocados and pears should be kept in those drawers. Keeping them in the drawers closed, keeps the gases that those kinds of foods like to emit, trapped inside. Essentially, this is supposed to keep them fresher longer since the gas can not escape.
    The drawers that have a higher humidity setting should contain items that like to wilt. These would be things like strawberries, cucumber, lettuce, spinach and other leafy foods. Keeping the high humidity drawer closed with these items in, will keep the moisture locked in the drawer and help those foods stay crisp longer.
  3. Raw Meat should always be stored on the lowest shelf space possible. Do not store raw meat on the top shelf of the fridge. The risk for contamination increases greatly. Just think about what could happen if that ground beef starts dripping down the fridge. Think about how many other things it could ruin and spoil. The higher up it is, the more area you’ll have to clean up too!
  4. Keep your fridge at 40 degrees F or lower. If you keep it any warmer, you increase the risk of bacteria growing. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
  5. Keep your refrigerator as decluttered as possible. In order for the fridge to work and do its job. The air needs to move throughout the fridge freely, so it can keep the items inside nice and cold.
  6. Keep foods whole until you’re ready to use them. Cutting up the fruit, veggies, etc, exposes them and decreases the amount of time needed to make them go bad or spoil.

refrigerator organizing and cleaning hacks, Now, for three of my own personal organizing tips!

  1. Try to keep drinks in one area. This helps limit the time spent searching for a drink.
  2. Organize by food groups. We keep all the cheese items, such as, cheese slices, sticks and shredded cheese all in a bin together. All of our deli meats and other sandwich meats all stay tucked in the refrigerator bin together as well. I can easily pull out the bin and make whatever kind of sandwich anybody needs.
  3. Organize everything with the label facing outward. This helps for many reasons. Inventory can be taken in a flash. Items usually have their expiration date on the front of the label as well. This helps you know what items need to be used and by what date.

Bonus Tips:

  1. Use organization bins. These make organizing and storing even easier. Plus, they’re much more aesthetically pleasing. I’ll link to the ones we use in the bottom of the post!
  2. Use labels on the bins. We don’t currently use labels on them…… ONLY because I’m pretty sure my husband would ship me off to the looney bin. He makes fun of my organizing and persistent placement of things, but, that’s how I operate. I’m completely honest about it though πŸ˜‰
  3. Use fridge mats or liners! These are cleaning and time life savers. I am currently in the middle of switching mine out, so you won’t see them in the post. But, I will link to a couple of the ones that I have used at the bottom.

Wait, there’s more! :

  1. Take a picture of the items in your refrigerator or pantry before you leave. This will help you make sure you don’t buy an item if you already have it. I can’t tell you how many times I have bought butter sticks because I just couldn’t remember how many I had left. I do the same things with items in the pantry. So, I make sure to snap a picture of that too before I head to the car.
  2. If you have a Stainless Steel Refrigerator, I am sure you know that they smudge in no time. If you have children, they smudge even faster. I know when I am in the kitchen cooking, my hands get dirty and I always seem to need something from the fridge and I’ll end up leaving finger prints on there.

    So, I’ve tried so many cleaners out there to keep the fridge looking clean. Nothing seemed to work as good as something I had already had in the house. To find out what item that is and to rid yourself of the endless cleaning of the stainless steel appliances, check out the magical stainless steel appliance cleaner post! Our daughter is on the move now and loves running through the kitchen in her walker and smearing her little fingers all over everything! This cleaner is a L-I-F-E-S-A-V-E-R!!!!!

    Shop this Post:

 

Filed Under: Organization onesharpmamablog@gmail.com 63 Comments

Reader Interactions

3 Quick and Simple Ways to Get Paid to Shop
Parenting with Positive Language

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    July 11, 2017 at 8:14 am

    Well I have the milk in the right place! But I should probably move my meat down! πŸ™‚ These are great tips!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:48 am

      Way to go Lisa. Yeah, move the meat. You don’t want it to drip on anything else and spoil it or create a bigger mess. Thanks for reading!

      Reply
  2. Candice says

    July 11, 2017 at 11:03 am

    I love these tips. I need to reorganize my fridge bad!!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:47 am

      You’re welcome Candice. I hope these tips help whenever you get to cleaning it out and organizing.

      Reply
  3. Ayanna @ 21FlavorsofSplendor says

    July 11, 2017 at 11:40 am

    Great tips!! I recently cleaned out my fridge before we went on vacation and was amazed at the dirt that had collected in there. I never thought to reorganize, but that will be on my list of things to do before the summer is over.

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:46 am

      Thanks for reading and sharing Ayanna! Isn’t it crazy how quickly it gets dirty in there? I’m always amazed. The liners have really made cleaning a lot easier for me.

      Reply
  4. Jenna says

    July 11, 2017 at 11:40 am

    Oooh, I needed this! My fridge is in dire need of organization. Thanks for the tips πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:46 am

      You’re welcome Jenna! I hope these tips help and good luck cleaning out and organizing.

      Reply
  5. Lynn Woods says

    July 11, 2017 at 4:02 pm

    These are some great tips. I hate cleaning out the refrigerator… LOL. It’s just the worst!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:45 am

      If it gets too out of hand, it can totally be a pain! I understand that.

      Reply
  6. Krystal says

    July 11, 2017 at 7:54 pm

    These are great tips! And the idea of taking a picture of the fridge or pantry before shopping is awesome! I’ll be doing that for my next shopping trip.

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:45 am

      You’re welcome. I hope this helps!

      Reply
  7. Rachel Ritlop says

    July 11, 2017 at 10:43 pm

    Honestly such a great post! I probably should clean out my fridge more often!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:45 am

      Thanks Rachel. It’s not something people think about regularly, but, still needs to be done πŸ™‚

      Reply
  8. Lisa says

    July 11, 2017 at 11:25 pm

    Terrific advice, thanks again for sharing handy and useful organization and cleaning tips. You so can not see what my fridge looks like at the moment, ugh :(.

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:44 am

      Lisa, you’re welcome. I know fridges can be the deep dark black hole for some people! I go crazy if mine gets too out of hand.

      Reply
  9. Corey | The Nostalgia Diaries says

    July 12, 2017 at 12:17 am

    I was just thinking today how I needed to organize my fridge. Awesome suggestions! And I’m TOTALLY stealing your pledge tip!!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:44 am

      You’re welcome Corey! I have noticed that it totally makes a HUGE difference. Make sure to use a microfiber cloth! Paper towels tend to smear it too. Good luck!

      Reply
  10. leslie says

    July 12, 2017 at 7:53 am

    I am terrible at organizing. And my fridge is clean, but so cluttered. Great tips, especially the “take a pic”. I constantly re-buy condiments. I think I have 3 bottles of opened mayo at the moment :/

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:43 am

      Thanks for sharing Leslie! That’s good that you’re cleaning it but organizing it will totally help your mayo situation when you take a pic! πŸ™‚ Hope this helps

      Reply
  11. Harmony, Momma To Go says

    July 12, 2017 at 7:53 am

    These are great tips! I love using bins and liners (something i have not done!)

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:42 am

      Yes, bins make my life so much easier. In alllll organization tasks! Thanks for reading and sharing Harmony

      Reply
  12. susie liberatore says

    July 12, 2017 at 8:53 am

    So cool! I need to clean out my fridge thanks for the great tips!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:41 am

      You’re welcome! I figured it would be an interesting post. It isn’t something people think about doing often. Thanks for reading.

      Reply
  13. Andrea says

    July 12, 2017 at 10:26 am

    A LOT of great tips for organizing – and for keeping things organized!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:41 am

      Thanks for checking them out πŸ™‚

      Reply
  14. Yolanda says

    July 12, 2017 at 1:45 pm

    I am needing to clean out my fridge this week. Thanks for all the great tips!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 2:05 pm

      You’re welcome πŸ™‚ thanks for reading.

      Reply
  15. Jehava says

    July 12, 2017 at 3:37 pm

    This is awesome! Great post and so helpful. So, this will be my project next week!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 12, 2017 at 4:18 pm

      Thanks for reading Jehava and good luck!

      Reply
  16. Sharon says

    July 12, 2017 at 5:19 pm

    Ugh I really need to get ahold of my fridge and keep it organized! Especially those drawers! Thanks for the tips!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 13, 2017 at 3:07 pm

      You’re welcome! Thanks for reading.

      Reply
  17. Lisa says

    July 12, 2017 at 8:37 pm

    Our fridge is a disaster. I need to implement some of these tips asap! I think bins will be my first addition. Keeping all the snacks in one place would make a big difference.

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 13, 2017 at 3:07 pm

      You’ll be amazed at what those bins can help with. Good luck!

      Reply
  18. Val says

    July 12, 2017 at 9:29 pm

    I need to clean out my fridge!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 13, 2017 at 2:07 pm

      Hope this gives you motivation.

      Reply
  19. Jereann says

    July 12, 2017 at 11:28 pm

    These are such great tips! You’ve inspired me to re-organize my fridge. Thanks!!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 13, 2017 at 2:07 pm

      You’re welcome. I hope it helps.

      Reply
  20. lesley sullivan says

    July 13, 2017 at 8:53 am

    oh my goodness, taking pictures is brilliant! I’m that mom that always forgets her list at home- this tip is a lifesaver!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 13, 2017 at 2:07 pm

      πŸ™‚ I’ve been there too. I got tired of the same issues and buying 15 of the same thing.

      Reply
  21. Nancy says

    July 13, 2017 at 10:19 am

    I need to spend some time on my fridge for sure! Thanks for the tips.

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 13, 2017 at 2:06 pm

      You’re welcome. I hope they help you Nancy.

      Reply
  22. Krysten says

    July 13, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    I needed this guide so bad. My fridge is always awful. I try to clean it out but it gets bad again in no time.

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 13, 2017 at 2:06 pm

      I know what you mean Krysten! Fridges can become the bottomless monsters that go from good to bad in no time. Hope these tips help

      Reply
  23. Taylor Ann says

    July 13, 2017 at 3:59 pm

    These are such great tips. I literally just went and moved my milk from the door to the shelf. And NEVER thought about the meat before! Thank you for sharing. Love a good organization post.

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 13, 2017 at 4:34 pm

      You’re welcome Taylor Ann! I’m happy to help whenever I can πŸ™‚
      Thanks for sharing!!!!

      Reply
  24. Lauren White says

    July 14, 2017 at 1:51 pm

    Love these ideas — keeping my refrigerator organized was always on my to-do list but always got pushed aside!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      July 14, 2017 at 2:34 pm

      Thanks for reading! I feel like that happens to a lot of people, myself included.

      Reply
  25. Rio Sundown says

    July 15, 2017 at 12:19 pm

    Great! Just in time too… I’m looking to buy a new fridge and it’ll be great to keep it clean and organized. Thanks for the post!

    Reply
  26. Kim says

    August 14, 2017 at 4:24 pm

    Refrigerator liners!!! Need them, want them, must have them!!!

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      August 14, 2017 at 4:54 pm

      Yes, Yes, Yes. Get them!

      Reply
  27. candy says

    August 25, 2017 at 7:57 am

    Need to get some refrigerator mats to save time cleaning. Cleaning out the refrigerator is one of my least happy things to do, but I always feel accomplished afterwards.

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      August 25, 2017 at 8:23 am

      These mats will totally help save some time. I can’t stand cleaning the glass shelving and these mats make it a million times easier. Hope they can help you too!

      Reply
  28. Allison says

    August 25, 2017 at 9:03 am

    These are great tips! I had no idea about the meat tip!

    Reply
  29. KELSEy says

    August 27, 2017 at 7:27 pm

    OMG thank you for the tips!! I’m always wondering where I should store things in the fridge!! Running to the kitchen to rearrange haha. xo

    Reply
    • onesharpmamablog@gmail.com says

      August 28, 2017 at 8:39 am

      Hope these tips help Kelsey! Enjoy your newly organized fridge.

      Reply
  30. Rebecca says

    August 29, 2017 at 12:04 am

    Awesome tips! I feel like I tend to forget about cleaning and organizing my fridge… I definitely need to do it more often and I love the tips you shared.

    Reply
  31. daniella says

    October 19, 2017 at 10:55 am

    I need to clean my fridge ASAP! Thanks for the motivation.

    Reply
  32. Deserena says

    October 19, 2017 at 11:02 am

    Thank you for giving me the strength I need to clean my fridge! Lol I try to stay organized but living in a house full of people it gets messy!

    Reply
  33. Jess | The Book of Jess says

    October 19, 2017 at 11:04 am

    Love these tips! I am also in love with bins and labels, I never thought to use them in the fridge, but that’s definitely my next step!!

    Reply
  34. Jess | the book of jess says

    October 19, 2017 at 11:06 am

    Love these! I am obsessed with bins and labels but never thought to use them in the fridge before – definitely my next little project!

    Reply
  35. Lisa says

    October 19, 2017 at 12:57 pm

    It’s the perfect time for me to read this post again Victoria! We brought home all the food from the RV last weekend and our fridge is a disaster. These tips will help me get it ship shape in no time!

    Reply
  36. Heather McMaster says

    October 19, 2017 at 7:50 pm

    Wow! I totally need to run and organize my kitchen now. I love getting ideas from others for organization and cleaning. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hey, I’m Victoria Sharp!

Hey, I’m Victoria Sharp!

A wife to a fairytale husband and a mama to 2 princesses and 1 prince. Sharing anything and everything I can to make parenting life easier.

Footer

Recent Posts

  • Best Gifts for New Moms in the Hospital
  • 5 Ways to Help Kids Sleep Through the Night
  • Mistakes First-Timers Make at Disney World All the Time
  • 9 Things you MUST do during your First Trimester

What can I help you find?

Check the Archives

Amazon Disclosure

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

@onesharpmamablog on Dealspotr

Let’s collaborate

Powered by Dealspotr
  • About Victoria
  • Work with One Sharp Mama
  • Blog
  • Policies
  • Resource Library

© 2015 Pretty Happy WordPress Theme · By: Pretty Darn Cute Design