When doing an overhaul of your life, and deciding to eat differently, your refrigerator is a good place to start. A clean and organized fridge eliminates the frustrating clutter of expired food, and reduces the number of decisions you have to make when mealtime comes around. Everything—from produce to meats to homemade sauces—will be fresh, clean, and in their place. This will be the difference between slamming the door and saying “forget it, let’s order takeout,” and feeling inspired to cook a healthy meal.

There are so many other reasons to keep a tidy refrigerator and freezer, all of which go way beyond my love for an organized space. A streamlined fridge impacts your health, your bank account, and the Earth. It also supports family members with allergies, food sensitivities, or healing diet protocols. As I unveil below, a clean fridge is an anchor to a clean and conscious lifestyle.

Reduces Food Waste and Increases Money Savings

Wasted food is one of the biggest problems facing our food supply. According to the FDA, the United States is the global leader in food waste. Nearly 30- to 40-percent of the food supply is not eaten and eventually thrown away. Food is the single largest component taking up space in our landfills.

Closer to home, not eating everything you purchase is not just bad for the environment, but it’s an expensive habit. High-quality ingredients cost more, and poor meal planning or storage results in throwing money away. In my house, we have a zero-food waste goal, which keeping an organized fridge helps me to achieve. An organized fridge allows you to see everything you have. This means you won’t accidentally buy the same thing twice. It helps with meal planning, making it easier to have a specific purpose for each item, including meals, snacks, and even leftover ideas. I store all homemade sauces, dressings, nut milks, and leftovers in glass containers and label them with expiration dates.

Protects Gut Health

An organized fridge also cuts down on overcrowding, which allows for air to properly circulate around your food, extending its shelf life and keeping it as fresh as possible for longer. Spoiled food can grow both bacteria and mold, which is an airborne fungus with spores. Mold can make you sick—one group of mold is a mycotoxin, which can cause cancer—and can also trigger or intensify other health issues. Bacteria and mold cause the rest of your produce to decay faster, leading to food and money waste. Spoiled food is a culprit in food poisoning. And the introduction of harmful bacteria to your gut creates an imbalance that burdens your digestive system, which is already working hard to keep you healthy.

The Clean Fridge: A Step-by-Step Guide

#1. The Clean-Out

The first step to a clean fridge is deep cleaning it, which means removing everything and thoroughly cleaning it inside and out. You don’t need strong chemicals or bleach to do this. Use a 1:1 mix of water and white vinegar, adding ¼ cup of baking soda for every quart of hot water if you need to scrub it. You can also use a natural cleaning product—but remember, food absorbs odors, so it’s best to use unscented products. Many fridges allow you to turn off the open-door indicator, so check your instruction manual before you start and you won’t be annoyed with the beeping.

Begin by gathering your supplies. You’ll need a cooler bag or ice chest, plastic bags, rubber gloves, cleaning solution, sponges, and microfiber cloths. Take out everything from your fridge and store highly perishable items in a cooler while you clean. Check the expiration dates on all store-bought products, throw out anything expired. Make a note of things expiring soon so you can use them. Remove all shelves and drawers, wash them in the sink with your cleaning solution, rinse thoroughly in hot water, and wipe dry. Don’t forget the refrigerator door seal, which is frequently missed. Repeat this deep cleaning every six months.

Once you give your fridge a deep clean, it’s easier to keep it clean. Once a week, wipe down the interior, including bins, and the exterior of your fridge. This can be part of your regular housekeeping routine. You can use a 10:1 water and alcohol mixture, or a 1:1 water and white vinegar solution to clean it. If you work through most of your produce weekly, it’s easy to pull out the few things that last longer and quickly wipe each drawer and shelf.

#2 Categorize

Take a look at how you like to eat and cook, then designate certain areas or shelves to the most important categories. Leftovers can take one to two shelves. Your family will quickly learn to look here first when they open the fridge. Store produce in the bins. For the most part, vegetables generally last longer in a high-humidity environment where there is little airflow, and fruits do better in low humidity environments with more airflow, so store them in separate bins with the appropriate humidity setting. Keep ethylene-producing fruits (those that continue to ripen after being picked) such as bananas, apples and avocados separate from other food, as ethylene can cause other foods to spoil more quickly. Keep snacks for your children in an easy-to-reach spot. I’m not a huge fan of snacking as an overall rule for anyone, but sometimes we do need a snack. Having a designated refrigerator space for kids is a great way to cut down on negotiations and encourage independence. Treat your fridge like your personal grocery store. When you make or buy a new nut milk or bone broth, put it in the back and move the older ones in the front, which ensures the oldest will be consumed first. Most importantly, keep things visible. When you see food, you’ll eat it. When food is hidden, it can sit in your fridge until it goes bad.

#3 Acknowledge Food Restrictions and Special Diets

Dealing with food limitations can be difficult for people on restrictive diets. That mental burden can be even heavier when food restrictions cause conflict in families who don’t all want to adhere to the restrictive diet. You can make it as easy as possible for everyone with a few simple processes. First, have a conversation about “tricky foods” with all family members, housekeepers, and nannies. They are more likely to follow the procedures if they understand why they are essential. Next, dedicate a corner of a shelf or a row on a door for a family member with a special diet so they can easily find their food. Finally, label food with something quick and easy to write. We mark our food with removable tape and write an “N” with a circle around it and a line through it, so everyone knows it is not okay for Nichole to eat. When you have houseguests, walk them through your food storage protocol or print out a laminated cheat sheet in a visible location in the kitchen.

At first, cleaning and maintaining an organization fridge may seem like a mundane task, one that you don’t have time for. But once you make it a habit, opening your refrigerator will no longer bring you frustration—it will be a satisfying moment that offers a well of cooking possibility.

With Love,
PrimaFoodie