Call me crazy.
Call me a nut.
OCD.
Weird.
Maybe you'll never visit my blog again?
Why?
Because I organized my refrigerator.
And why not organize it?
Isn't a refrigerator but a cold cabinet?
A large, chilly container?
A cooled closet?
A contemporary cellar?
A cooled closet?
A contemporary cellar?
It all started when a blogger friend of mine, Erin, mailed me something,
cause she offered to, cause we don't use chemicals in our house to clean things anymore.
This post is not a Shaklee promo, by the way, I just NEED to tell you,
that I mixed the concentrate with water, put in in a spray bottle just like the instructions said,
and I opened up my fridge.
Not too bad, right?
How about the door?
(Ignore the Corona beers on the bottom shelf- they've been there for a year, I think.)
I took everything out of the fridge.
Every last morsel.
Then, I stood back and took a gander at the nekked inside of our fridge.
Like, ew!
Because it was a lovely, rainy, and cold day,
I took all the drawers and shelves out, toted 'em up to our Master Bath garden tub
I sprayed them all with the Basic H-2.
I waited 10 minutes or so and Y'ALL aren't going to believe this,
since I thought I was gonna have to use the sander on the bottom shelf,
but all I did was rinse everything off in hot water and it was CLEAN!!
I dried all the pieces and put them back into place.
Beautiful!
I really like this Basic-H2 stuff!
Earlier this week, I found these lovelies at Wal-Mart.
The 3 large handled baskets were $2.50 each.
The 3 small handled baskets were $2.00 each.
And the 4 packs of storage trays were $1.17 each.
I also went grocery shopping.
I chose these bins
so I could group the food into categories,
see the food more easily,
and slide the bins around on the shelves when I am looking for something
that has been lost in the abyss that is called the back of my refrigerator.
Below: bread-making supplies, dairy items, Chick-Fil-A catsup? and sushi ginger slices, PB & J.
The drawer got categorized, too.
Cheese, tomato paste and wasabi (I make sushi!), and more cheese.
I end up throwing a lot of food away because it gets stuck at the back.
And I forget about it.
Do you?
I started Weight Watchers a month and a 1/2 ago (need to lose 17 pounds, I have 11.5 to go!)
and I need the power foods right up front,
so I am not tempted to go to the pantry and get chocolate.
The handled bins are great- I just take them out and set them on the counter,
get what I need, and slide it back on the shelf.
We do not eat a lot of meat, so we usually do have this much produce on hand.
About twice a week we eat fish or chicken with our veggies.
What's also nice about the bins is that they keep the refrigerator cleaner.
If something gets leaky, it stays in the bin, and I rinse the bin out.
So, call me crazy.
Call me a nut.
OCD.
Weird.
Maybe you'll never visit my blog again?
Why?
Because I organized my refrigerator.
I'll have you know: I stopped short of labeling the bins.
See, I'm not so crazy!
P.S. You just saw INSIDE my fridge, click HERE to see what's ON my fridge door.
.
Posts
81 Home Makers said:
Well, it's got to be done, Leslie! Unfortunately, this is part of the unglamorous side of keeping house, but I'm glad you shared it. And, yes, I do have things that get pushed to the back and when I do find them I always think "how long has this been here"! : ) In fact, I should probably add this to my To Do list this weekend.
Leslie, your refrigerator is one of cleanest and most orgainized I have seen. I dread cleaning my refrigerator. I procrastinate until there is leftover galore!
So cute! Love the bin idea...and I bet my OCD hubby would love it even more ; )
Oh my word. I love this. I never thought to use baskets to organize my fridge. When I do a big shopping trip I clean out the fridge and put things away organized but it doesn't take long for things to be out of order.
The baskets with the handles are my favorite.
Also, I noticed potatoes and onions in your fridge. I always thought those should be left out. Hmm.
A thing of beauty, really. Could you come do mine now?? Why are you not using that Corona for some beer bread, or to add flavor to spaghetti sauce, or you could pour it on your compost pile - the yeast helps the compost to rot quicker. Oh, and I make sushi too....I just haven't done it in a while. That may need to be on next weeks menu!
What a coincidence, I cleaned out my frig yesterday. It was out of necessity. I opened the door yesterday morning, and lo and behold I thought, well I better not say what I thought... :-O It was the oysters Mr. C bought last weekend while he was Krogering, he thought the girls might like to taste them. Buuuut, they weren't interested! They kind of got pushed to the back and forgotten. Until I smelled them yesterday, and about died.
I love how you used the bins! It's makes everything easier to locate. Never, ever thought about extra bins for the frig.
Hey, you know those Corona's that have been hanging around for a year? Well, you can make beer bread w/ them. It's pretty good stuff and very easy to make. (thought I'd share that tidbit w/ ya, message me if you want a recipe, k?)
I'll stop now, this comment is turning into a blogpost. So sorry.
Again, you've impressed me! My fridge needs this treatment. I love the bin idea but I'm wondering if anyone in my family but me would participate! :) Maybe I should start with one or two bins. Ease them into the concept!
Thanks for sharing your little ocd. We all have a bit of it I think.
I LOVE IT!!!! Yes, I must be an OCD kindred spirit, except now my fridge is looking pretty sad compared to yours!!!! Pretty sad, indeed..and grungy. I love the idea of the bins...I love organizational tools (even when I don't quite use them correctly!!!) You did good, girl!
BTW, congrats on your weight loss and here's to the rest melting away!!!
Stopping in from Amanda's Weekend Bloggy Reading Party to say hi!
I LOVE it and I almost purchased a couple of those handled bins when I organized the pantry. You stinker, you've done your homework early for Monday's Purge Party. ;)
PS We are joined at the hip after all. I keep my potatoes and onions in the fridge too. hehehehe
Great job, Leslie. Good idea to add those baskets to the refridge. You are a good writer of humor. If veggies were to start to eat me, I would not want to be eaten by an onion or broccoli. Let it be a carrot! Susan
Impressive! Trying to decide if I could ever get away with this...
Visiting from Serenity Now!
Oh dear, what a lovely way to organize the beasts in the fridge. Just got a bottle of water and quickly shut the door so nothing would fall out. May have to attack it too.
Leslie, I think your fridge could now qualify for a feature in a magazine...oh, I so love clean frige's! I try to be good and wipe mine out with a rag before I put up the new groc each week. And that's not usually a chore since my monsters clean me out over the weekend...so, yeah. I probably WILL visit you again!
Maybe I'm the weird one, b/c I love posts like this. ;) I didn't know that Shaklee stuff worked so well. Your fridge looks great now. I really need to work on mine. (blushing) ;)
Thanks for joining my Weekend Bloggy Reading party!
I do like the idea of the baskets to keep things together and keep the fridge clean. Great idea! Thanks for sharing.
This totally cracked me up. I came via Amanda's linky party because you had me at the little cartoons, and the title of your post. ;)
I love cleaning out my fridge when I do. It is always a good feeling to see goo disappear, and see it nice and white.
Those bins are an awesome idea! I must get to Walmart to pick some up.
Thanks for posting. This was a fun read. :)
It's the most beautiful inside of a refrigerator I have EVER laid eyes on!!! I'm going to do the same to mine! Thank you!!!!
xo
~Kolein
Am I going to be the only one to say it? You're WEIRD!!! You know it goes without saying, because we're twins, that I organize my fridge every week. Yep, OCD to the max. But I've never used any Shaklee products. You almost make me want to try that one. LOL! Great job! Lisa~
Pretty and the most organized frig I have seen! Great idea using the bins! You're on a roll girl :)
Oh my Leslie. My husband will heart this post. He reorganizes the fridge every time I do a big shopping trip. He gently tries to remind me, the eggs stay on this side, the yogurt goes on this shelf, the left overs on this shelf, must I go on. I do try to remember to keep everything in "it's place" but a las I never fail to muck it up. Do I think you have an illness? I married a fellow germinater who forever tries to give me the same disease. I think my immune system is to built up with clutter for the germs to break through. hahahaha. I am jealous deep down inside.
LOVE IT! From one OCD to another, homerun! Right before I checked your blog, I just organized mine! (But without the bins, but LOVE those!). I know we'll become good friends soon!
Ruthie
Oh my goodness! I am soooo inspired! I just bought those handled bins at Walmart to hold all my cleaning supplies under the kitchen and bathroom sinks! I am going back to get more!!!!
I like those handled bins and can see why you chose them for this project. Pulling out a bin when you need a snack is so much easier than shifting things around to see what is there. Organizing a refrigerator makes sense to me and doesn't seem wierd at all. Mine needs it but will have to wait until spring break when I will have a bit of free time.
Wow! Fridge looks great! Never thought of using those bins in the refrigerator, you have inspired me!
This looks so great. Thanks for reminding me that it's time to do some cleaning on mine. I noticed that you keep your potatoes in the fridge. Is that a good way to store them so they keep better for longer w/o sprouting? Inquiring minds need to know!
CAS
I just picked up 3 of the large handled baskets & 3 of the small ones last week with the hopes of organizing something (either our cabinets or our fridge). My local WalMart had all of the handled bins priced marked down to $1 and in a shopping cart at the front of the store!
Now I know exactly what I'm going to do! Thanks Leslie! You're awesome!
I. LOVE. Your. Containers! I organized my fridge this week for Project Simplify too, but you WAY outdid me! I love it!
Leslie! Leslie! Leslie!! First off- I LOVE this post~ you crack me up!! Second- I LOVE those bins!! What a fantabulous idea!! I am soo going to find some bins for all the random stuff that needs a spot in my fridge! Thanks so much for the inspiration! So glad you came by and shared this at FNF this week! :) Hugs, Courtney
Love the handled bins. So much easier to corral the veggies in one, and the fruits in another. Just the hubby and I; but we do eat a LOT of veggies. I usually try to eat from the fridge and cabinets right before I go grocery shopping, and have been using Shaklee for years. Definitely is food safe, and my husband, who has lung problems can use it without coughing from all the chemicals! Now, going to go toWalmart and hope there's still some of those bins left.
WOHOOOOO!!!! LOVE this!!!!
The handled baskets are BRILLIANT!! I absolutely love this idea, and I am clipping a pic from this post to put into my home inspiration file. I will be stealing this idea for sure as soon as we get to Texas!! Where did you get the baskets from if you don't mind me asking? :) Blessings <3 Paula
Love this post Leslie! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with an organized fridge!! Drives me a little crazy when it gets all mixed up! But I don't have those fabulous bins. I am going to look for them, they would be great for the pantry too!
Thanks for sharing.
Sue
OMGOSH... YOU organized... your FRIDGE????
I THINK....
I LOVE YOU!
THIS is amazing and WHY oh WHY (moaning in despair) doesn't my Walmart have those neat baskets???
Thanks for joining us in raising Autism Awareness... I love your blog... am stalking....er following you now.
I hope you will do the same...
Visit me at Pieces Of My Heart (about my 8 year old son with Asperger's) or Pieces Of My Home (about my mess errr house).
Hope to see you there. And as Al says... "I'll be baaack." ^.^
Silly auto correct function AL doesn't say that ARNOLD does.... why don't these things recognize Arnold? LoL
Found your idea on The Tip Junkie...great to meet someone I can relate to...I get labeled OCD all the time but that's ok! Love all your ideas...off to Walmart to find some of those niffy big bins..can't believe I haven't seen them before, I love browsing in Wally World...nutty I know but I do! New follower, thanks for sharing such great tips.
I am so excited!!! I happened to come across a photo of your organized fridge on Pinterest and it is exactly what I have been wanting to do with mine. I searched the internet a while ago for examples of using baskets within the fridge but never came up with much. I can't wait to try to find those great handled baskets at Walmart. Thank you so much for posting this- you're not crazy!!
I glad to know that people think you're weird for having a desire to be clean and organized. This happens to me frequently and it makes me so mad. Sometimes I wonder if they are just jealous because they are messy. We use the bins at our house too but not in the fridge. I might try it. Thanks for your great ideas!!!
I am the one who is crazy if someone puts things in the wrong place in my fridge. Thought I was the only one.... I guess I am a little OCD when it come to that. I do need to clean my fridge and I love love LOVE the baskets! thanks for the idea!
My fridge broke down and I'm waiting for my new one to be delivered on Tuesday. Your post has inspired me. I organize my fridge a lot but have 5 kids and a hubby who doesn't think that way.... Perhaps some bins would help with that? I may go over the edge and label them to assist the rest of the family (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). Thanks!
I just commented yesterday that cleaning the frindge is my least favorite job! I love this idea. Also last week I posted a limerick to a friend's blog:
You know the fridge needs to be cleaned
When from the cupboards you've gleaned
Not a bowl in the place
The smell won't erase
And things that aren't veggies are green
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My family was just giving me a hard time for using those exact bins in my freezer. Now I know it's not crazy, just crazy awesome.
Wonderful! I love it!!
This is awesome!! Thanks for sharing!
New to your blog and went to the side bar to click on a few. Thanks for the good word about these handle baskets. My 12 yr old does the fridge cleaning and organizing for us. I do have to wash those drawer bins out often too. I am getting some of those baskets. Thanks for sharing your organized fridge!
This is amazing. I love it! Heading to WM later for some baskets...you've inspired me to organize a bit during an already hectic week, now THAT is talent!
This is great BUT... (and I can't believe I'm the only one saying it).... it's really not healthy to keep your dairy products (eggs, milk, etc) on the door. These items need to be on shelves in the fridge for the safety of your family! :)
Oh my goodness....love those bins. I guess I am the crazy one, because I actually labeled my fridge the last time I cleaned and organized it in an attempt to keep things where they belong. Did it work you ask? Well if it were only me yes, but I too have a family and they do not put things where they belong....needless to say I may be borrowing some of your ideas. Thanks for sharing. - Carrie
I love looking at how people organize. It looks so nice and clean. As soon as I finish this comment I'm going to do my my refrigerator again. I also do the bins in my freezer. Keeps it all sorted.
This is a great idea! I think my 15 year old daughter saw this and wanted to this to our frig. Two thumbs up: However I would need to put labels :D!
Oh my! You've got a new follower :) We are getting ready to move and this was just the inspiration I needed for organizing everything at the new house!
wow. You're my hero.
Suzanne
Hey!! You are not crazy! I do the same thing in my refrigerator. I bought some wonderful baskets from a Chinese store. I found a special one for cans of soda and bottled water.
It's so much easier to clean the fridge.
In fact, I use baskets to organize everything!
I want to get these bins. They seem to work perfectly. I am not good at keeping our fridge organized. I came over from Edie's blog. I'll have to post my not so neat fridge later.
Ruth
Over here from Edie's blog. Is it wrong to covet someone's fridge? I'm so jealous! Please come organized mine!!!
Wow! That is one GORGEOUS refrigerator. I'm going to look that stuff up. This is totally something my mother-in-law would do.... and she's amazing.
I bought my Walmart Mainstay baskets today. Tomorrow I clean, purge and organize!!!! Whatever baskets I have left after the frig, I will put to use in the pantry!!
Thanks for the great idea!! I can't wait to look around the rest of your blog.
love this...inspired me. One thing I would mention since you do so much produce...You should get the Green bags...they make produce last extra long and they are reusable. They really do make a big difference. Kroger has them. I've seen them in the produce Isle..and we also have a really nice Kroger where they have a housewares section and that store it is near the glasses.
You are a genius. I'm not OCD (in fact, I'm a total mess) but I'm craving order in my house. For the record, this is my first ever visit to your blog and I think I love you.
I've been wanting some bins like those, but I totally planned on labeling them! I'm envious that you found them at Wal-Mart at such a great price. I thought it was only The Container Store that sold bins like that. I was just at Wal-Mart last week in the plastic storage container aisle and ours didn't have any like that or I would have grabbed them up!
i just found your blog and love it. i too am OCD and arrange everything - canned goods, everything in the cupboards, under the sink, and the fridge. i have a few little baskets but i never thought about the larger bins. this is a great idea and i plan to hit the walmart later this week. from one OCD to another - THANKS!!!!
Found your blog from Pinterest. I love your organized fridge & just for the record, I'd labeled everything too ;)
Just got here via Pinterest....within a matter of minutes because I had bins on hand...got my fridge organized in about 30 minutes...that includes using dollar tree spray-bottle of vinegar to clean it completely! I will have to get a few more smaller containers for the sticks of butter...but it DOES LOOK AWESOME! My 20 year old came home from his college classes, opened the fridge and loudly said "WOW!!! I REALLY LIKE THIS!" Warning!! This may be contagious because he's on his way to organize his bathroom cabinets! Thank you! Thank you!!! I hope we have an epidemic of organizationitis!
I loved that I ran across this! I never thought to do this with my refrigerator, even though I did this exact thing with my bathroom cabinet!! I used the handled bins and put hair products in one and face products in another so that I can set them on the counter when using them. The main reason I did it was to organize like items on the top shelf that I couldn't see/reach, but I immediately decided to do both shelves and I love it!
I love this. Rushed out to Walmart and found the bins. Organized my fridge this morning and I love it. Thanks so much!!
Linked to you at http://zerotoorganized.blogspot.com/2012/02/weekly-roundup-to-do-list-week-of-feb_13.html
Thank you! I am honored!!!
I have plans to clean out my fridge this weekend too. Some things have been in there too long...
I was just going to say the same thing! I even googled to make sure I wasn't crazy. This is what I found, "Store milk in the back of the refrigerator and away from the refrigerator door if possible to keep the temperature at a lower and more constant temperature. Frequent opening and closing of the refrigerator door welcomes warm air in, which interacts primarily with foods immediately inside the doors."
Love it! And I have the exact same fridge, so I can really copy cat it!
Thanks for the post! I am now inspired to clean my fridge and get some baskets, lots of baskets!
BTW, I highly recommend that you try out some Norwex microfiber cloths! AMAZING! You will wonder how you ever lived without. (And you use them with just water!) Yes, I am a consultant, but you don't have to buy through me. I sell it because it is great stuff! (It does not compare to the microfiber you get in the store though, so if you have tried that, like I had, don't worry, it isn't the same.)
I love your organization. Mine is very similar. I've been trying to find some really good smaller trays for it. Thanks for the ideas.
This fridge post is how I found you. My first thought was not OCD, it was "That's amazing; why didn't I think of this?" I have been very inspired by your blog, great ideas.
This is the best organizing idea I've seen in years! I'm kind of an organizational freak and love reading the organizing magazines. I need to do this as soon as possible! Thanks! I will be following you now!!
Love, love, love this idea!!!! I am off to Walmart right now. Thank you for your inspiration! I am going to start following your blog, you are a neat lady :)
I just found this on Pinterest and had to RUN over! Right now we have our daughter and SIL living with us while their new house is being built so my fridge is a MESS and it is making me crazy. THEY have there stuff and we have our stuff. Not that we want them to but they like 2% milk and we like skim, they like grape jelly and we like strawberry....you get the picture. SO, after they move out I will be able to do this!!!!Thanks so much for the inspiration. XO, Pinky
OMG!!! Guess where I'm heading in about 9 hours! LOVE this. Can't wait to clean & organize my fridge. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
This is fabulous! The fridge is the scariest thing to clean. I love the bins! Another thing to add to the list.
Leslie, I love your writing style. So much humor, it's very enjoyable to read your blog. We have a very messy refrigerator. I would love to do what you did, but am sharing with 2 other room mates. Does anyone have any suggestions for how this or something else can be done with my restrictions?
You're not crazy! I organized my fridge the other day and realized that we have way too much of a lot of things (granted I have 3 roommates and we don't really share food). But I looked at our condiments and realized we have 5 cans of mayo and 9 jars of jelly! What? So I tried to organize so that we'd have more room! However my organization didn't really help but I like yours! I think this might help a lot!
So cute! Love the bin idea...and I bet my OCD hubby would love it even more ; )
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