Clutter Free Feb

How to organise your fridge and freezer for Clutter-Free Feb

Article by Your Home and Garden

Follow these practical tips by Natalie Jane of Be Organised to control the chaos in your fridge and freezer

Start in the fridge and work from top to bottom, pulling everything out shelf by shelf. Group similar items together. Do the same with door racks and vegetable and fruit drawers. Check expiry dates on items where possible and get rid of anything that is out of date, looks like it has seen better days or is something you know you won’t use. Recycle jars and compost what you can.

Now you have sorted your items, use this opportunity to give your fridge a good wipe down. When reorganising items back into your fridge, create zones where you can and group similar items together. Suggested zones are: dairy, meats, dressings and sauces, spreads, bread, drinks, fruit and vegetables. Adjust the shelves to suit.

Top tips for a tidy fridge:

Use plastic containers with a handle to store similar items together for easy access.
Label containers, shelves and zones.
Make menu plans to avoid excess.
Before putting your shopping away, spend a few minutes decluttering and reviewing your fridge to avoid waste.

How to organise your freezer:

Make sure you have your cleaning supplies on board so you can clean as you go. You may decide to defrost your freezer – it will come down to time and the state your freezer is in.

Once again pull everything out and group similar items together. Check all dates and get rid of anything that has been there for more than six months (guidelines vary according to food type – Google these to be safe).

Also throw out items showing signs of freezer burn and anything you won’t use. Reorganise your freezer by creating zones and putting similar items in these zones. Suggested zones are: Meat, fruit and vegetables, dairy, desserts, leftovers, prepared food. Depending on the type of freezer you have, you could use freezer baskets where you can to contain foods and label these.