Having an organized fridge is essential to save time when cooking. It also helps us not to forget any product at the bottom of the fridge. When this happens, eventually, due to carelessness, it ends up getting bad and we have to throw it away. By having the fridge properly organized we avoid throwing food away, since we will know what we have at all times. In addition we will know what to consume before and what food can wait. If you want to have the perfect fridge, do not miss how to organize the fridge following the Mari Kondo method.
But before we start, who is Marie Kondo?
This woman, originally from Tokyo, is the word “order” personified. Today, she is one of the most recognized women in the world for her work as a bestselling author.
Books such as “The Magic of Tidying Up” and “Happiness After Tidying Up” have been translated into many languages so that we can learn her organizational methods and thus also achieve “psychological order”.
She is known worldwide for her methods to order and organize any aspect of our lives. Her philosophy is: A tidy house helps to organize our life. This will bring us happiness and well-being.
And the truth is that she is right, because who does not get upset when something in the house is completely disorganized?
Today we are going to focus on the fridge, so that making your recipes is easier and more rewarding. Let’s get started.
KonMari method to organize the fridge
When we want to organize something perfectly, we have to start from scratch. This way we will see everything we have and also take the opportunity to clean before organizing. We will do the same with the fridge. First we will empty the fridge completely. You can turn it off so you don’t waste energy while emptying and reorganizing your fridge.
Once we have the fridge empty, we will start by thoroughly cleaning every nook and cranny.
We will also check the products we had, in case there is something in bad condition. In that case, we will throw it away. If there are products that expire soon, we will leave them in sight to know that we have to consume them first.
Tips to keep the fridge organized
When we order something, the most important thing is not that it looks good. If not that it is a practical order that we can follow to maintain it. It is useless to order the refrigerator if in the next purchase it is going to end up again disordered when we keep the food. So let’s see some tricks to keep this order always.
Use only square or rectangular tapers. This will make storage easier and save a lot of space. As they are easily stackable, we will gain a lot of space when storing food in tapers. And if they are made of glass, much better, as it is the healthiest and most hygienic way to store food.
Store fruit and vegetables in the lower drawers. This place of the refrigerator is where there is less cold. But it is enough to keep the fruit and vegetables in good condition. Before storing the fruit and vegetables, place an absorbent paper towel at the bottom of the drawer. In this way, it will absorb the excess of humidity that can cause these foods and they will last longer.
Avoid storing open cans and jars in their original packaging. When you have leftovers, keep them in a glass jar of the appropriate size for what you want to store, which can be hermetically sealed. In this way, we will avoid that they catch and above all release unwanted odors, which can catch other foods. They will also last longer in good condition.
As Marie Kondo says, to Organize your fridge follow the concept of categories
What does the concept of categories mean? Don’t mix foods when storing them in your fridge. Put fish with fish, vegetables with vegetables, and so on. If you want to follow the Mari Kondo method to organize your fridge, follow the concept of categories.
And assign a fixed place in the fridge to each category. So when you have been organizing your fridge in the same way for a while, you will know at a quick glance which products you are short of and need to replenish.
Reserve a space for the tapers you keep with already prepared food and keep them in the fridge together. That is to say, the already cooked food would be a category, so keep in the same area all the already cooked food you have.
If you are one of those who always have a fridge full of drinks for surprise visits, use special trays to stack them on top of each other. This way you will gain a lot of extra space.
And finally, order the products according to their expiration date (but remember that always within their category). Put in front, closer to hand, the products that have the closest expiration date (or at the top, if you choose to stack them); and further back, or at the bottom if you stack them, the ones that will last longer in good condition.
This way you will avoid wasting time looking at each container to know what to use first.
That’s the method supermarkets use when displaying their products. So if you need something but you are not going to use it in a short period of time, I advise you to take the ones at the back and compare the expiration date with the ones displayed in the first rows of the shelves.
Organizing the freezer with the Marie Kondo method
In addition to organizing the fridge with the Marie Kondo method, we can also use it to organize the freezer. The tips are very similar to the previous ones.
To begin, we will empty the freezer to see all the products we keep; including the ice cream we have stored since we moved. Therefore, if you plan to do so, try a few days before emptying the freezer. This will take less time and prevent food from thawing and spoiling.
Once we have completely emptied our freezer, we clean the drawers well. To organize it we will follow the method of categories. I advise you to use each drawer for one thing. One for fish, one for meat, and one for vegetables and other products.
When freezing any food, always remember to label it with the product it is and the date you froze it. This way we will avoid that the date is passed and we cannot consume it.
Follow the advice to use square or rectangular tapers to freeze already prepared food. And if possible, in individual portions. Round tapers waste a lot of space.
If you are one of those who when you make homemade broths you do it in industrial quantities to save what you have left over for other meals, I give you a tip:
Trick for storing homemade broths in the freezer:
Freeze them in large juice cartons or milk cartons. Once you use them, wash them well and let them dry. They are very practical for freezing broths, and since they are rectangular, you can store and stack them comfortably and make the most of the space.
They also fit perfectly with the tapers.
Always remember to label them with what you have stored in them and indicate the date.
If after these tips, Marie Kondo herself saw your fridge, she would be proud of you! If you are encouraged to follow these tricks to organize your fridge with the Marie Kondo method, remember to leave us your comments. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all our posts.
