How do you keep your fridge organized?

I just cleaned my fridge out . I discarded so many unused bottled condiments , and other items that make their way to the corners of the fridge .It seems natural for me to push items to the back , putting the new to the front . This is where they get lost . What do you do to keep them lost in your fridge after while ?

Holy cow I have blown this topic , Last sentence . I mean , from getting lost . The whole topic should have been . How do you keep your fridge organized ? :dizzy_face: I need to have longer edit time .

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I wouldn’t sweat it…I understood what you
were saying…I didn’t respond because I have
no idea how to prevent it…
I did a sweep over the weekend
which is why your topic caught my eye…With the
exception of one science project things weren’t
too bad in there…the fridge is quite new however.
I hope someone has some helpful hints…

Isn’t it just a matter of planning consciously to use what you have before buying more stuff? Survey what’s in the fridge, plan how to use it up and shop/cook/eat accordingly? If the fridge is getting full, time to stop adding to it and devise a plan to use up what’s already there. If things are getting “lost” perhaps they weren’t needed in the first place?

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Once every few months, I do dig around for things I haven’t used in a long while, to dispose so I can make room. But usually only when the fridge is stuffed to the gills and I need some extra space. I try to keep the shelves by category too, like the very top shelf is stuff like jelly and duck fat or whatever, condiments and very long lasting items, that I don’t have to worry about too much. The other two shelves are raw ingredients in the middle and leftovers and such on the bottom. Not that I follow that rule 100%.

The most important thing is to keep a list of at least all your perishables before you end up with science projects: If it’s getting old but not gone, right into the freezer. I hate throwing away food.

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I keep all those condiment things in the door bins, and toss as needed. Like Coll, I’ll keep stuff like fresh dairy on one shelf or area, pickles, kimchi, sauerkraut, preserved lemons, etc in the back of another shelf.

I also just switched to a counter depth fridge, which will, I hope, keep everything more visibly within reach.

In addition, I always do a quick survey weekly at least; this is when I toss any leftovers anyone’s going to eat, and anything else that should go. I try to do this before major grocery shopping trips, especially.

I don’t have a problem with things getting lost in the fridge. I usually know what’s in there and what I want.

The freezer on the other hand…

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I keep condiments and basic ingredients (fats, BTB) by type in clear shallow bins which can be easily removed from the fridge. Mustard in one, pickled things in another - easy to pull out and see all the choices. The fridge is further divided into “zones” - leftovers in one spot, ingredients for planned meals in another. I keep a small dry erase on the fridge. I maintain three lists: perishables, menu plan/ideas, and on going grocery list.

I don’t overbuy. As Ferny suggests, I plan around what we have. I loathe waste and try really hard to make use of everything. The upside of that is that I’ve come up with some really great ways to use things up!

Should read “any leftovers no one’s going to eat…”

I don’t think the condiment issue is really about overbuying, though. These are things with much longer shelf lives than the stuff you buy and plan to use for upcoming meals. They’re more like staples that you keep on hand a long time.

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And not all condiments need to be refrigerated.

Making a list of everything in the freezer and keeping it updated on Drive lets me know what is in there and helps with menu planning/grocery lists.

See? If I were that organized, I probably wouldn’t have the problem to begin with :slight_smile:

Organised fridge??

Sorry, don’t understand.

Is this a new fangled concept that may not have reached the UK yet?

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After wasting waaay too much food in the past few years(meats and fish going into the trash having never been cooked or having been cooked, leftovers never used) I’m pretty good now. On trash day I check every shelf of the fridge as well as the fruit drawer and veggie drawer. Everything that’s about to expire or must be used soon moves front and center on the top shelf. I find much less food is now making it to the trash can.

As others have said, most condiments are in the door shelves and rarely outlast their usefulness. The freezer? All bets are off.

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I don’t keep a list but all the condiments - and there are LOTS - are in wire grid baskets from the office supply store, which are easy to slide out from my fridge’s basic shelves. The produce in the bins can get overlooked, because the bins themselves are dark brown. Yesty I unearthed a half bag of carrots there that were almost camouflaged. I cut away the bad parts, steamed them, and ate them with crossed fingers. So far, so good.

I learned from Mom to combine remnants of jellies/jams into a single jar. You wouldn’t want orange marmalade mixed with grape jelly, but it’s fine for the berry and stone fruit flavors. I do this with bottled salad dressings,as well, and sometimes mustards. (You can make dressing/marinade with leftover jelly and mustard dregs, adding vinegar and oil.)

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