How To Organize Your Fridge {Tips & Tricks}

This post has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Rubbermaid™. All opinions are mine alone #OrganizeWithBrilliance #CollectiveBias.

 

There are a few areas in my house that no matter how hard I try, seem to quickly return to chaos–our refrigerator is definitely one of them. Right now with two boys–one teen and one almost a teen–they eat food as fast as I bring it in the house. We also have a younger daughter, though she makes up for their appetites by existing solely on strawberries and goldfish crackers these days.

Since I want my kids to go for healthy snacks, most of which are kept in the refrigerator vs. the packaged food in the pantry, keeping our fridge relatively organized with fruit and other healthy foods makes it easier for them to make better choices. That motivates me to keep things in our fridge a little more pulled together, so when I had the opportunity to try out the new 10 pc Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE™ line of storage I knew it was time to give our fridge an overhaul.

Below I’ll show you the end product right away so you can fully appreciate the difference a little time working on this space can make.

 

Organizing a fridge is more about setting up systems that work for your family rather then just cleaning it up.  I try to always cook more than we eat in one meal, so I needed larger storage pieces for leftovers. I also needed clear storage that the kids could glance at and see what was in it, the 10 pc  Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE™ containers perfectly fit the bill.

 

 

The first thing I did was to take everything out of our fridge and give it a good wipe down so I could start with a clean slate. I threw out anything that was old, expired or we just weren’t using anymore. I stacked everything that was in the fridge on the counter so I would only put back what we were going to use.

 

 

To streamline the food before I put it back in the fridge, I grouped what I had into the Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE™ containers. They come in three sizes so I could easily organize by the quantities I had on hand.

 

 

I tossed all the storage pieces missing lids (thus the plastic wrap), food storage that would no longer close and combined two half full tomatoes into one container.  It took just a few minutes and it also helped me inventory what food I had so we’d be sure to use up before it spoiled.

 

 

 

Three plastic containers of strawberries, for the sake of my daughter, got washed, cleaned and all ready for her in a large-size container. The Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE™ containers are crystal clear, so she’ll be sure to see them the next time she is looking for a snack, I love that you can see through them from top bottom and all the sides.

I had chili cooking in the crock pot for dinner as I did this project. I always make enough for several lunches or other meals, so I was able to scoop what we wouldn’t eat that night right into the largest container to store for another day.

 

 

I added a chalkboard label and used a chalk pen to write what it was and the date, because who can trust their memory for these types of things? It is just a little trick I use so I don’t mix up spaghetti sauce and chili, etc. I had a “duh” moment as I slid the bin in the fridge, and moved the label around to the front so it could be more easily seen. The labels peel off and stick back on {just don’t run them through the dishwasher} so they are perfect for food labeling.

 

 

Once I had everything stored in the new containers, I put everything back in the fridge. I had so much space–thanks to combining three strawberry packages into one, etc, and things started looking much neater. These containers stack perfectly so you can make the most of the vertical space in your fridge too, another win!

 

 

I grouped many of the items together, all our bread, all our condiments etc. it makes life easier, you can just grab what you need.

 

The bin on the top shelf even holds a smoothie my teenager made but didn’t finish, since the tops have latches that seal, they are perfect for storing liquids like soups, smoothies and broths. They are 100% leakproof, in fact it’s guaranteed not to mention these containers are stain and odor resistant, so no worries when storing a blueberry smoothie–or chili for that matter!

 

 

Next I put all our neatly contained veggies back in the hydrator drawer.  One nice thing about these containers is that you can leave them unlatched if your food needs airflow, that helps keeps it fresher longer. The latches on the lids are designed so that these containers also work well in the microwave, by leaving them half unlatched, you won’t have food splattering everywhere.  I also found that the clear plastic bottom bins worked great to contain like items, now all the apples aren’t rolling all around the drawer.

 

 

I also want to show you my other favorite part of the Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE™ line. Not only are they great for storing and organizing food in the refrigerator but they stack perfectly in the cabinet when you aren’t using them, which makes me happier then I should probably admit.

 

 

I used two 10 piece sets to organize my fridge, and I have two more to share so both Christy and my parents are getting a set of their own. They are the premier product in the Rubbermaid™ organizing product line, they are a thick-quality clear plastic that will last for years. Here is what to look for so you can grab your own 10 pc Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE™ set, I saw these at Walmart but you can get Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE™ products at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, and Amazon and other retailers too.

 

 

 

This entire organizing project took less than an hour {including taking photographs!} and I feel like mother of the year now with such a pretty fridge 🙂

 

 

Here is an easy to pin image so you can remember these tricks when you set about tackling your fridge!

 

XO,