When you need to cook, there’s nothing like a clean, well-organised fridge to motivate you. Check out these simple hacks and tips that could help you get there.
1. Save time and make carrots last forever
If you store carrots in water in the fridge, they will stay hard and edible for weeks. This trick also applies to other hardy vegetables or roots like celery and potatoes after they are cut. You can cut up your soup or oven-bake veggies ahead of time and grab some when you need. Use a deep pan or a plastic container, and change the water out every three days or so.
2. Organise your shelves by food type
The ideal temperature for a fridge is 3 to 5°C. But there is a bit of temperature variation within a fridge, with the bottom being the coldest. You can use this information to help you organise, keeping certain categories of food together to find them easily and also prevent cross-contamination.
We recommend food that doesn’t need cooking, like deli meats or leftovers, for the upper shelf. The middle shelf could be dairy foods like milk, cheese, butter, and desserts. The bottom shelf could be wrapped raw meat (if you eat it), then fruit and veggies in the drawers. The doors are the warmest part of the fridge and have less space, so they are great for sauces and foods with natural preservatives like jams.
3. Make use of trays and baskets
Both visually appealing and practical, trays, containers, and baskets can be helpful for detailed organising. For example, a big bowl can be great for fruits, sliced meats can be stored on a tray, and extra sauces can be kept together in a single open container.
4. Label leftovers and pre-prepared food
Avoid any mystery and ensure you consume food before it goes off by noting the contents (if it isn’t obvious) and creation date of any leftover food or food prepared ahead of time. You can keep a roll of masking tape and a marker on the fridge or just use a non-permanent marker or dry-erase marker directly on the containers (they wash off). A little blue-tack is a good way to stick a pen to the side of the fridge so you don’t lose it.
5. Keep your fridge clean
Sometimes spills, stains, and expired food accumulate in the fridge, and it can be quite a turn-off. You can choose a day of the week to clean out any inedible food. It’s a good way to ensure no food is being forgotten and abandoned at the back as well. Ultimately, the best day to clean is right before a grocery shop, when your fridge is at its emptiest and you can check in on what you have and what you need.
In addition, wipe up spills immediately, and use baking soda instead of detergent on your fridge shelves. Baking soda is tougher, and the smell of detergent can be absorbed by the food.
We hope these hacks help! And of course if you’re looking for a fridge for sale in Brisbane, you’re in the right place.