Transforming Our Refrigerator: Practical Steps for an Organized Fridge

Fridge Before

I enlarged a snapshot of the before picture of our refrigerator. No wonder the kids could never find anything—it was really chaotic in there. We had yogurt mixed in with pickles, and fruit and vegetables mixed in the crispers together. There was no rhyme or reason to it.

Buying Organizing Products

The first thing I did was make a trip to TJ Maxx and pick up a few containers after I measured the inside of our fridge that I thought would be useful.

I also grabbed these acrylic carafes because one of the things I struggled with the most inside our fridge was the size of juice containers, so I knew I was going to need a few of these.

Empty the Fridge

Next, it was time to get started. I was a little overwhelmed by this project, but I started by emptying out the entire refrigerator because it needed to be cleaned. You'll want to have a cooler nearby to store your milks, meats, and cheeses while you get the project done because it does take some time.

Clean the Fridge

Next, I treated all the really dirty surfaces with multi-surface everyday cleaner. I used Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day in the Lemon Verbena scent.

Then, I used a warm soapy washcloth to wipe down all of the shelves and drawers and clean off all of the interior walls.

You guys probably won't believe this, but I found a door bin that I'd never seen before while I was cleaning.

Clean the Inside of the Fridge Door

I know you guys see all those little fingerprints inside of the door. It's part of what we deal with with stainless steel, but here's a quick tip: I usually prefer to use stainless steel wipes, but when I'm out of them, I grab a good old can of WD-40.

It works just as well as the stainless steel wipes—just don't forget to wipe with the grain of your stainless steel and not against it.

Purge

Next, I went through all the condiments and refrigerated items and purged anything that was a duplicate or expired. Then, I grouped together the most-used condiments by the kids in a container that they could easily pull out of the fridge.

Organize the Layout

Next, it was time to lay out the space on the interior of the fridge.

I will say that this is a Samsung, and the issue that I have with this refrigerator is that the space can be rather choppy, so you really have to do your due diligence in understanding how the fridge was designed and what is supposed to go where.

I started with the right French door. It's featured with a trigger that allows you to only open the very front of the fridge, which has a metal cooling wall perfect for cooling down beverages quickly—also perfect for kids.

That new tiny little bin I found was perfect for their favorite quick snack of cheese sticks, and I stored all of their favorite beverages right there in the front so they have an easy display to see and be able to select what they want and close the refrigerator.

On the inside, I stored the adults' favorite beverages, which are sparkling water and water, and then leftover juices up top.

Next, I organized a condiment and sandwich-making area. This is a space that is very frequented in our fridge.

The kids can easily pull out the tray to get their daily condiments and easily put them back where they belong.

The second shelf only offers about nine inches of space in width, so that was perfect for the eggs and for me to store my taller containers in front, like a bottle of wine or a large bottle of water.

If I want to quickly store leftovers, I can opt to pull out the additional shelf space.

Next, I organized our crisper drawers: one for vegetables on high humidity control and one for fruits on low humidity control.

These are the best settings in this particular model to preserve the life of the food, and now the kids have very easy access to find what they're looking for.

Then, the pantry select drawer I reserved for our processed meats.

All the cheeses are now in one place, and this is also a perfect space for party trays, which I use very frequently.

On what I call our wonky side of the fridge, I put our oddly shaped containers: whipped creams, butters, spreads, medicines, and vitamins.

Back on the inside, I really just tried to focus on grouping things together and putting things that the children needed access to in bins.

So now their yogurt is in a bin that they can easily pull out, and all of our milks, juices, and creamers are all contained in one place as well.

I used a dry-erase marker to label the carafes with expiration dates, and now we can access everything with just a quick spin.

We've been using this system for a couple of days now, and hands down, it is just so much more functional for everyone in the house.

I hope you've got some great ideas from this video. Please share in the comments below if you have any other great organizational ideas, and I sincerely appreciate you watching.

Up next is more organization, so please stay tuned. I sincerely appreciate you all for watching, and as always, I wish you love and peace.