Day 21: Fridge {31 Days of Easy Decluttering}

Welcome back to 31 Days of Easy Decluttering! If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, there are links to them all here.

Today’s Easy Decluttering Project

Today we’re talking about decluttering the fridge.  You may not think about the contents of your fridge as clutter, but remember the definition of clutter?  Anything you don’t need, use, love, or have the space to store.

Chances are, you’ve got some things in your fridge you don’t need, use, or love.  And if you’re frustrated trying to find the mayo because it’s hidden behind leftovers, you may not have the space to store everything in your fridge either.

Instead of being annoyed or frustrated every time you open your fridge, spend 10-15 minutes today getting rid of your food clutter and then enjoy the feeling of being able to find what you want!

Easy Decluttering Steps

Throughout the series, you’ll follow these steps to complete each daily task.  {Don’t forget to take before and after pictures to share too!}

Note: The main purpose of this series is to declutter so don’t get overwhelmed doing too much cleaning.  Once your house is less cluttered it will be easier to clean so you can always come back and do it later!

Also, if you have the time, you can organize the space while you’re doing this step, but don’t get overwhelmed with too much organizing this month.  We’re focused on decluttering!

Purging Tips for the Fridge

Follow the steps listed above, and use these tips as you purge (step #5) your fridge:

• Throw away any food that has gone bad (e.g. those leftovers that got pushed to the back of the fridge and were forgotten about, those fruits/veggies that you’ve had for too long, etc.)
• Toss any expired items unless you are comfortable still using them (e.g. salad dressings, spreads)
• Get rid of any food items that you don’t like (maybe a new brand that no one in the family liked). 
• Eliminate all foods you don’t use (like that item you bought for a specific recipe but never used again)
• That should reduce the amount of food in your fridge, but if it’s still crowded, see if you can purge any foods that you have more than enough of (give them away to someone you know could use them)

Once you’ve decluttered your fridge, you can stop. But to prevent food clutter from returning, it helps to organize your fridge a bit.  That will help you see more what you have, which saves you time and money. If you have a bit of extra time, do some organizing and you’ll save yourself time in the future.

For fridge organizing tips, check out my 31 Days of Organizing Tips post on Fridges.  Great pictures of organized fridges in there, plus tons of great tips!

Pictures and Links to Inspire You

Here are some more fridge organizing tips from other bloggers!

• Designate zones for different types of foods, as discussed in this post.

• Use lazy susans for condiments, jars, etc. so you can easily access items and they don’t get lost in the back of your fridge.

• Clear containers work well for containing like items but still allow you to see them all.

*Please share from the original source if you choose to share these pictures. If you want to share this post please use the image at the top.

If You’re On A Roll…

You can declutter your freezer too.  

• Check out my Kitchen Organizing board for more ideas on organizing your fridge.
• You can find more decluttering tips and lots of motivation and inspiration for decluttering on my Decluttering/Purging Tips & Ideas board.
• For DIY organizing ideas, take a peek at my DIY Organizers board
• For cleaning tips, you’ll find a bunch on my Cleaning & Cleaning Supplies board.

Good luck with today’s decluttering project!  I’d love to hear how you did, so please leave a comment and use the hashtag #31DaysEasyDecluttering when you share your pictures.

What did you declutter from your fridge today?  Any science experiments discovered? How do you organize your fridge?

If you need help decluttering, contact me for in-person organizing services in the Mississauga area, or virtual organizing services anywhere else.

Happy organizing decluttering!