How to Deep Clean Your Fridge and Keep it Organized

INSIDE: How to deep clean your fridge and keep it organized. Learn effective steps to prevent odors, maximize space, and ensure food safety.

Do you ever open your fridge and think “How did we get here?” Once in a Lifetime……Wait that’s the Talking Heads…

Chances are if you are having these thoughts, your fridge looks like mine right now…..it’s ok, let’s fix this together.

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I have a side by side fridge/freezer combo. But these hacks would apply to any fridge.

Let’s start here

REMOVE

First things first, remove contents of the fridge and place them on the counter. BUT do not do this until you are ready to move fast. You do not want all your perishable items sitting on your counters for an hour…am I right?

Also, we previously discussed A GIANT issue with the fridge – DO NOT keep your milk on the door! It is the warmest part of your fridge.

I found 2 of the same types of mustard……this means we didn’t look before we bought one. Oops….but still it’s food waste and I hate it.

PURGE

Calculate your dates before removing items. Basically you just need to know what today is.

If you are throwing something away and you know you need it soon, add it to your “not” shopping list.

Maybe it isn’t outdated yet – in this case, mark the container so you don’t forget to remove it when it does expire.

How about all the leftovers? Or the half drank bottles of soda? Or the take out that isn’t going to get eaten?

CLEAN

We are deep cleaning, so if you can remove your drawers or shelves, do it. You want to wash everything in warm, soapy water. Make sure to dry thoroughly. While those are drying, take our favorite Mrs. Meyers and wipe down the sides of the fridge and any shelves you can’t remove.

When all of this is done, take a long hard look and decide if you want to add shelf protectors. These can be in the form of pre-cut liners, non-slip liners, or place mats that you cut to fit.

I decided not to do this. I would rather just wipe the surfaces down, you do you though!

Here is the other thing I’ve added. Baking soda does nothing compared to this gadget.

ORGANIZE

Y’all know this is my favorite part. I have discovered that my previous methods make no sense anymore. My kids are growing up, by that I mean, they have become experts at making BIGGER messes. I found myself daydreaming about new ways to organize our fridge. I even looked on Pinterest for ideas. What I found was nonsense.

Taking milk out of its container to put it in a dispenser? Putting everything in clear containers? I just don’t understand…..sure it looks cool but is it practical? Not in my house.

So, I decided to take a note from my pantry organization and go with plastic bins. It looks nice, it’s easy to follow, and easy to find things.

I hate to say that any mesh organizers I previously had were stolen relocated by some very cute little people. Honestly, I have no idea where they went. So I was forced to start over, fortunately for me, I received a gift card for The Container Store.

I wisely used my gift card to purchase the following:

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Here are the afters

The door didn’t change much so I skipped that picture. But as you can see, there is plenty of room and easier to find all the things we use regularly.

Organized your fridge? Freezer? Pantry? Let’s see your kitchen reorganize/decluttering projects.

Happy Organizing,