Tips for Organizing Every Type of Refrigerator

It doesn’t take much for the refrigerator to get chaotic and cluttered, making it hard to find what you’re looking for. With a new year upon us, resolve to keep your fridge in order with these refrigerator organization tips, so nothing gets lost or forgotten in the back of the fridge or deep in the freezer.

Clear Out and Clean Up

First thing’s first. Give your refrigerator a nice cleaning before you organize it. Take everything out, and ditch any expired foods. Wipe down the shelves, crisper bins and door bins.

TIP: Use a cooler to hold any food you’re worried about spoiling while you’re cleaning and doing your refrigerator organization.

Contain the Chaos

Many of our Kenmore refrigerators come with flexible storage options to help keep everything organized. But, if your fridge doesn’t have special storage, consider investing in some inexpensive containers and organizational aids. This is especially ideal for top-freezer refrigerators that typically have just one freezer shelf (or none at all). Here are a couple of ideas:

Bins: Use them to corral small items and group similar ones together in both the freezer and the refrigerator. In the refrigerator, go with clear containers that you’ll be able to see through more easily.

Clear Egg Container: A perfect way to see all your eggs and know how many are left. Write the date the eggs expire on the eggs with a nontoxic marker so you don’t forget how long they’re good for.

TIP: Use labels on your containers to make finding foods even faster and to note expiration dates.

Create Food Stations

To avoid hunting for foods early in the morning or when you’re super hungry, create sections for snacks, lunches, smoothies, etc., and corral them in a bin. This way, when it’s time to make lunches, grab a snack or whip up a smoothie, you’ll know just where to find just what you need.

Store Like with Like

Group foods into categories and put them together on the same shelf or in the same bin. This makes it easy to find what you’re looking for, and there’s no playing hide-and-seek when you’re gathering the ingredients for your next meal.

Store these items together in your refrigerator compartment:

• Beverages
• Produce
• Meat (beef, chicken, seafood)
• Lunch meats and cheeses
• Condiments

TIP: Put meats in a rimmed tray to prevent any leaks that could contaminate other food.

Store these foods together in your freezer compartment:

• Prepared foods (e.g., frozen lasagna, pizzas, chicken fingers)
• Frozen veggies
• Frozen fruits
• Frozen homemade meals
• Frozen treats

TIP: Door bins don’t keep foods as cold as the shelves do, so keep things like ice packs in there.

With a little time and the right tools, refrigerator organization can be a snap and will make the day-to-day go a bit easier. No more duplicate buys because the brand-new ketchup went into hiding. Or getting asked, “what can I eat?” because it’s easy to see where the snacks are. Just a few simple tips to bring a little more order to your home.