Get it Organized: Refrigerator
February 26, 2013 by Aimee • 26 Comments
Ready for more Get it Organized tips?!! I’ve found that I am so much better about cleaning and organizing when I have a fun incentive. The other day I received Fridge Coasters in the mail and it was totally what I needed to motivate me to clean out my refrigerator. When the Fridge Coasters arrived, I shared a fun pic on instagram because I was so stoked! I waited a few more days before sorting through my fridge – I wanted to finish up most of our groceries before emptying all the shelves. Here’s my refrigerator on cleaning day!
Empty the refrigerator and pile it on the counters. Time to work fast!
It’s amazing how many crumbs are hiding under the drawers. Gross!
Tahdah! Thirty minutes tops — including unloading time!
Here’s a little scoop on the fridge coasters.
• Made of dense solid pressed wood pulp coaster board (biodegradable and recyclable).
• Wipe them with the soft side of a kitchen sponges as needed.
• “Will absorb 4-5x their weight within 30 seconds after a spill.” –from National Sanitation Foundation
• If they get wet, lay them out to dry and reuse, if raw meat comes in contact with fridge coasters, they’ll need to be recycled and replaced.
• Very fun colors, sizes, AND double sided printing!
I had so much fun reloading the fridge. Now that it’s all clean and super cute, I can’t wait to make a big grocery run and fill it up — almost to the brim. Air needs to circulate to stay cool, so an overly stocked refrigerator isn’t ideal because it can create variance in temperature. The ideal refrigerator temperature is 40°F or cooler to prevent bacteria from growing.
Keep meat, vegetables, and fruit whole until ready to be eaten. Chopped food spoils much faster. I usually put a paper towel or plate underneath my strawberries to prevent dirtying my coasters.
I totally LOVE my Anthropologie Butter Dish – not sure why they stopped making it in yellow?
Have fun exploring and figuring out what works best for your shelving and drawer needs, because each fridge is different, they don’t come with layout steps A-Z . Arranging my Fridge Coasters was a lot of fun and I love the results! You will totally love your designer fridge, too. Makes me happy!
So cute you can hardly stand it, right!
Remember door temperatures fluctuate a lot so don’t store milk or other quick to expire items in the fridge doors. The best location for milk is in the center of the refrigerator.
A few more tips for refrigerator organization.
• Toss the extra packaging — cardboard yogurt holders, soda boxes, etc — when loading the groceries into the fridge, instead of waiting until you’ve discovered them emptied and taking up shelf space.
• Keep food visible so you know what you have and use it, watch for items that get hidden in the back.
• Store food for up to four days in see-through containers — seeing the food makes you more prone to using it.
• Before each grocery trip, remove the expired food and wipe down the shelves and drawers.
• A box of baking soda can be added to your fridge and freezer to neutralize smells.
Nice! I’ll have to give those coasters a try.
I use press n seal wrap under the drawers – a little tip I learned from a friend. Once a month or so, carefully peal it out and replace. Much faster than wiping so the doors aren’t open as long.
I also use it on the top of the fridge. How does the top of the fridge get so darn nasty? Yuck!
Really enjoy your blog!
Inis– The awesome thing about fridge coasters is that it’s super absorbent, I love your press n seal wrap idea for the top of the fridge — it is just AWFUL! XO, Aimee
My sister sent my Mom some fridge coasters – they look totally cool and fun to use! Love how great your fridge looks
What a fun gift Jill! XO, Aimee
I hate refrigerators. I think all refrigerators should be 1 foot deep and 6 feet wide. Wouldn’t that make our lives so much easier! If they’d always been made that way, no one would be whining about how wide they are and we’d all be so happy not to lose those things at the back of the refrig.
You crack me up…that would totally be easier! XO, Aimee
Love the coasters! I just did a little fridge tweaking of my own (today on the blog).
Great minds think alike Shauna! XO, Aimee
That looks great Aimee! I will have to keep fridge coasters in mind…I also like the before mentioned tip about using press n seal wrap. Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for stopping by Moni!!! XO, Aimee
I wish someone had thought of these years ago! Thanks for telling us about them. I am going to order some today.
Genius for sure, Shari! XO, Aimee
Thanks for these awesome tips! I’m prepping my house for sale and this will come in handy.
Jen @ Noting Grace
Crossing my fingers for a quick sell, Jen!!! XO, Aimee
I love those refrigerator coasters (new thing to me). I’m going to have to look them up, my fridge could use some tlc, thank you for sharing.
This was really interesting I have never heard of fridge coasters so have learnt something new and didn’t know you shouldn’t store milk in the door (which I always do) but now I know better who would think I would get to 50yrs old and not know that……..lol
Jo-Anne…You always make me smile! Glad today’s visit was informative! XO, Aimee
These are such great tips. I need to get some of those frig coasters. I clean out my frig once a week before grocery shopping. Which reminds me… I should do that!
Yvonne, Thanks for stopping by…have fun grocery shopping! XO, Aimee
I love the fridge coasters! What a fabulous idea! It’s almost like jewelry for the fridge. Great tips for fridge storage too.
Hugs,
Nici
what a great idea to put coasters….I’ll make sure to buy those this weekend and will wait for you to do the rest on Monday…mkay? xoxo
Love how it turned out!
There’s something wonderful about opening the fridge and finding it clean and organized, isn’t there? I *love* those fridge coasters. So pretty! If you haven’t already, I’d love if you’d come join my How To Tuesday link party, too.
http://housewifehowtos.com/link-party-2/how-to-tuesday-link-party-10/
Those are so fun! I saw someone who had used shelf liner to cover the glass shelves in her fridge and it looked amazing, but I bet these would hold up better. So cute!
XO,
Christy
Your fridge looks amazing! I would love for you to join the Pinworthy Projects link party! http://www.atkinsondrive.com/pinworthy-projects-link-party-week-9/
I love the fridge coasters. They are so fun and practical!