If you're tired of rummaging around in your refrigerator, searching for that block of pepper jack cheese or package of deli meat that you bought at the grocery store yesterday, it might be time to clean out your refrigerator and create some order among your chilled food. In households with multiple people—particularly if you have kids or perpetually scavenging teenagers—it might seem impossible to maintain order in your refrigerator, but we're here to help you achieve the impossible. The appliance experts at Garner Appliance & Mattress have summarized all our best refrigerator organization tips so you'll never waste another moment searching through a messy refrigerator.
Evaluate Your Refrigerator's Compartments
Before you buy additional containers or shelves in an attempt to create order in your refrigerator, look at your refrigerator's existing drawers, shelves, and compartments as if you're seeing them for the first time. French Door refrigerators usually feature carefully designed storage zones to maximize freshness for your meat, produce, eggs, and cheese, and you may be able to significantly reduce food waste (and potential messes) if you use the specified storage area for each food item.
Your refrigerator most likely already features labels for meat, cheese, and vegetable drawers, so as long as everyone in your house can read, it should be easy to train your family members to store these foods in the assigned drawer. If you decide to use a labeled drawer for something else, consider adding a custom label to the drawer to avoid any confusion.
Adapt Drawers and Compartments to Fit Your Needs
While it's beneficial to organize food based on your refrigerator's specific compartments, it's also important to recognize when built-in storage features don't work for your family's needs. If your new French Door refrigerator includes a beverage bin for cans, but you never buy canned drinks, use the bin to corral the kids' snacks instead, or remove the bin from the refrigerator and use it somewhere else in your home.
Pay Attention to People's Instincts
If everyone in your house forgets about your designated salad dressing section and places salad dressing on the middle shelf instead, be flexible and willing to shift your organization system so people find it easy to comply. Your family members are more likely to put things in the right place if your organizational system feels instinctual.
Adjust the Temperature on Your Adjustable Temperature Drawer
If your French Door refrigerator features an adjustable temperature drawer or a convertible drawer, embrace your power and change the drawer's temperature as needed when your family's refrigeration needs change. It's easy to become complacent and forget about your adjustable drawer options, but your ability to increase or lower that drawer's temperature might make all the difference after a big grocery run.
Use Your Refrigerator Doors to Store Unique Sizes
Most French Door refrigerators include innovative storage options to help you maximize storage space and safely store dressings, sauces, and jars that would otherwise take up valuable space in your refrigerator. Thanks to advanced features like door-in-door storage and rotating bins that provide access to bottles in tight spaces, you can use your refrigerator's door space without worrying about glass bottles falling to the floor every time someone opens the refrigerator door.
Organizing your refrigerator is an ongoing task that takes patience and dedication, but these tips from your local kitchen appliance store will help you identify the best refrigerator organization practices for your family. To learn more hot tips from the appliance experts here at Garner Appliance & Mattress, stop into the location nearest you today!