Is there anything more satisfying than having your fridge or pantry stocked with your favorite food? We absolutely love the feeling of coming home from our favorite local stores to a canvas of fresh ingredients to enjoy throughout the week.
Unfortunately, there is one thing that can dampen our home chef creativity: a fridge or pantry overflowing with unwanted or disorganized food. Since we are constantly in the pursuit of organizational bliss, we’re sharing a few of our favorite tips to get your fridge and pantry spaces in tip-top organizational shape.
Group Like Items in Clear Bins
Clear bins are the perfect accessory to bring order in your fridge, while still being able to see the items you have. Start by taking an audit of the natural food groupings you have in your fridge and freezer. Start to asset the size of each and how often you want it to be restocked to determine the proper bin dimensions. Make a list of items you always have in your fridge before shopping for containers and plan accordingly. Delegate certain bins to different types of food such as vegetables, fruits, sauces, nut butter, yogurt, boxed frozen items, bagged frozen items, etc. We love the price and functionality of these clear bins for our fridge and freezer.
Create Labels for Categorized Bins
This tip may seem self-explanatory but oftentimes we’re caught looking for a condiment in our fridge that’s somehow ended up in the dairy section. Keep your fridge and pantry separated by like items! If you need an extra push to help your family keep things in their place, snag a label maker to make their location more defined. This helps people quickly grab what they need, but also makes it very evident when items are running low and need to be refilled in a specific grouping. Bonus tip: while going through each fridge group check the expiration date and put any duplicates in the back, prioritizing the older item closer to the front to be consumed quicker.
Airtight Containers + Pre-measured Scoops
When it comes to our pantry, things can quickly turn to chaos when boxes and bags full of different items are being added to our shelves. We have loved incorporating these sealable kitchen containers to keep the things we use most often fresh and accessible. If possible, we try to buy larger quantities of staples such as oats, flour, rice, and seeds to save on cost and packaging waste. We typically fill each container and then store the extra in the hard to reach areas (such as the top shelf of the pantry or behind appliances) until we run out, reminding us to add it to our list!
To make your days even easier, save the disposable measuring cups from things like protein powder and keep them on top of your airtight canister. Many of the disposable scoops are conventional sizes or you can measure it with a measuring cup and draw a line to indicate the serving size. This makes it seamless to grab a serving without having to find the proper measuring cup or create additional dirty dishes.
Make Things Fresh and Eliminate Moisture
Much of our perception around the desirability of food comes from our sense of smell. With that in mind, no one wants to open their fridge and be hit with unpleasant odors. Snag a baking soda filter for your fridge to help it smell fresh! Don’t forget to change it out every 3 months for ultimate freshness.
If you have sections that get damp from condensation such as defrosting frozen items or rinsing veggies and storing them in the fridge, consider putting a Dorai Dish Pad on your fridge shelves. Just remember to only use it for items that won’t lead to stains such as dark liquids.
