Today’s standard refrigerator is much larger than the models of old, but they’re still far too easy to fill to capacity. If you prepare most of your meals or like to store a week’s worth of smoothies and yogurt in your fridge, you could probably benefit from more space. Today, we look at how you can create that space without changing your refrigerator’s dimensions. Put these organizing tips to the test to get more from your kitchen’s cold storage.
Have a vision
Before you start buying organizers and freeing space up in your fridge, consider the big picture. What is the ratio of Tupperware to cans to bottles to bags that you store in your fridge? Where is space used least effectively? Your answers to these questions should help you figure out what types of space-saving tactics are right for your apartment refrigerator.
Add more drawers
If there’s a dearth of drawer space in your kitchen fridge, solve the problem by installing a slide-on drawer or two. Under-shelf drawers will give you more organized storage space, and help utilize the extra space left between the tops of containers stored on one shelf and the bottom of the shelf above them. If you’d rather add an extra shelf, purchase a standalone fridge shelf that fits in your fridge and have a field day.
Use drawer organizers and refrigerator bins
Drawer organizers aren’t just for desk drawers. They can come in handy throughout the kitchen, including in the refrigerator. Invest in a system that will help you designate space in your fridge drawers for various items to reduce clutter and stay organized. Labeled refrigerator bins are another great way to keep your fridge organized.
Create a condiment caddy
Don’t clutter your refrigerator shelves with condiments. Instead, buy a condiment caddy or make your own condiment rack using an empty egg carton or six-pack carrier. To keep clutter in the fridge to a minimum, restrict the number of condiments you store in the fridge to the number that will fit in the rack.
Loft bottles using magnets
Get twice as much from the vertical space on your fridge’s top shelf by lofting glass bottles. All you need is to affix powerful magnetic strips to the fridge ceiling, then place the bottles where you want them. The magnets will do the rest of the work. BottleLoft is a ready-to-install product designed for this purpose, but you can get creative and make your own bottle lofting system if you would rather.
Use binder clips
Binder clips seem to have as many uses in the kitchen as they do at an office desk. Attach a pair to the slats of your refrigerator shelves to create a stable foundation for a pyramid of stacked bottles. You can also use binder clips to rack up open bags of produce and other foodstuffs. This is great for reducing clutter and giving you more shelf space to work with.
Rack zipper bags
Do you store veggies and fruit you prepare in plastic zipper bags? What about small portions of leftovers? If you use a lot of zipper bags, invest in a system like Zip n Store, a pull-out shelf rack with slips for 10 zipper bags. There’s also a version for refrigerator drawers, if that sounds better suited to your needs.
Like what you just read? Why not subscribe to the AMLI Blog so you don’t miss another post?
View All Posts by Jason Ernst