Sometimes you get a warning, and sometimes things just die randomly.  Appliances, that is.  Either way, it can be a pain – as I well know, after staying up late last night transferring items from my elderly refrigerator organization chart to coolers!  To be fair, our fridge was 14 years old and had been making odd noises for over a year.  But you always think you have another month or so…until you don’t.

Fortunately, we were able to get a new one in short order (it’s being delivered tomorrow – we are feeling blessed to have two coolers!).  And I learned a lot – fridges have sure changed in 14 years!  They no longer seem to come with those squeaky doors for the butter, and small drawers ready to overflow with sliced cheese and cold cuts have been replaced with much wider options.  Oh, the possibilities!

If you are anything like me, you drool over those gorgeously organized refrigerators on Pinterest and in magazines – but let’s get real here.  Those vast arrays of color-coded organic foods certainly don’t match my motley collection of leftovers in mismatched Tupperware, and unlike the photos, I never seem to have the exact amount of anything to make perfect rows.  We just don’t live whatever lifestyle is depicted by those stylized photos (and chances are no one else does, either!).  So here are some tips for organizing your fridge that work for real people who eat real food – and occasionally have partially-filled bottles of random sauces from a moment of Thai-cookbook-inspired insanity last month:      

Tip 1: Be Honest with Yourself

Organizing things is often partially mental.  You must come to grips with the idea that there are two types of refrigerator organization chart: what looks good and what actually works.  A fridge full of gorgeous veggies looks fabulous, but if you don’t live on them you might need to allocate some of that space to things you’ll eat.  Think about how you and your family live, and what you will actually use and enjoy.  PRO TIP: Being honest also means throwing things away.  Like the aforementioned Thai sauces.  If you aren’t in love with it, let it go now, instead of waiting for it to spoil.  It’s easier to be organized when you have less!

Tip 2: Consider (Reasonable) Upgrades

While you don’t need to replace all your mismatched containers or invest in an entire fridge bin system, think about things that will make organization easier.  And when you do make an upgrade, remember that square containers fit better than round, which saves space.)  PRO TIP: If you are prone to forgetting what day you cooked what (as I am!), keep a small packet of repositionable labels and a pen near the fridge.  It makes it much easier to keep track of your leftovers, and adding labels makes you look instantly more organized!

Tip 3: Break it Down

Many of the items we buy come pre-packed with extra packaging.  To save space, take everything out of the outer packaging.  Simply getting rid of the extra cardboard makes items less of a hassle to keep track of, and they’ll fit better, too.  Grouping like items together also helps – beverages in one area, dairy in another, etcetera.  PRO TIP: A clever tip from Pinterest is using the bottom of an egg carton in one of the door bins to hold the tops of squeeze bottles.  Without an anchor to hold them, they are tough to organize and will likely get put away on their bases, forcing you to do the shimmy shake to get them moving again.

BONUS TIP: A quick organizational hack for the fridge is putting contact paper on each shelf.  It will make it easier to clean spills and will always look pretty!