We may not give it much thought, but a neat and well-organised refrigerator not only makes it easier for us to fetch things from it when we need them but also keeps the food fresh for long. Here’s how you can do it:

Arrange the shelves

Clean the shelves well and then rearrange them smartly such that your refrigerator is more functional and better suited to your needs. If the arrangement of the shelves is right, then your refrigerator will have more air-circulation and will also look neat and tidy. At least one shelf in the fridge should be able to accommodate tall containers. And you can keep one for the smaller bottles and cans.

At least one shelf in the fridge should be able to accommodate tall containers

Use shelf liners

Spills happen all the time and cleaning the fridge shelf after a spill can be a tedious process. Protect your refrigerator from spills by using shelf liners. There are many shelf liners available in the market like soft towels, cling wrappers, white vinyl, plastic transparent liners etc. Take your pick! Whenever a spill happens on the shelf, it’s easier to remove the liner and clean it, that removing the shelf out. Plus, shelf liners add a colourful touch to your refrigerator.

Place similar items together

Arrange your food items based on their category, type or usage and designate a fixed place for them in your refrigerator. For example, place your fruits in the low humidity drawer, condiments in one place, and milk and other beverages in another place. This will help you to easily find the items you need. You can also use trays to further compartmentalise the items. Choose trays that are not too bulky and do not take more space by themselves. So you could place all the condiments in one tray, sauces in another and so on.

Use containers the right way

• Prefer square and rectangle shapes. Store items in square or rectangle containers because they can be stacked well and would also fit into the corners easily. Also make sure that the containers are covered securely.
• Choose see-through containers. See-through containers are best because you know what is inside the container and what you are looking for. It also saves you the trouble of labelling the containers.
• Prefer glass containers. Glass containers are eco-friendly and allow you to reheat  food in them to high temperatures.
• Use matching colour containers. This is not a must, but it’s a simple trick to make your refrigerator look beautiful and well organised. For example, you could coordinate white and blue containers or same colour containers.
• ‘Use me soon’ tray. For foods that need to be consumed within a week or so, place them in a specific tray that is meant only for items that are soon to perish. This way there will be no wastage and you won’t have to keep a list of those items on the top of your mind.

Use freezer bags or green bags

Save space in your refrigerator by storing food in air-tight bags, freezer bags or green bags.

Freezer bags. Store your food items in freezer bags that are free from BPA [Bisphenol A]. Freezer bags are inexpensive and available in different sizes. Also, they can be easily stacked and labelled.

Green bags. Use green bags to store vegetables and fruits, as they tend to keep them fresh for longer.

Use bottle stacker

It’s very likely that you will run out of space to keep bottles in your fridge door and will then need to use the shelves. To prevent the bottles from rolling to and fro on the shelf use a bottle stacker. These can be used to place your wine, soft drinks and ever ketchup bottles. These stackers also hold cans well. You can get it as a flexible rubber mat.

Label containers and shelves

Label containers. Use food storage labels or a marker to write down the item name and the date it is packed in the container. By this, every three days you could do a random check and clean the refrigerator by removing the unwanted containers.

Label shelves. If you have many drawers and bins, label all of them just to identify and replace the food items easily. This habit will prove useful after you’ve just got your groceries and are stocking up the fridge. Instead of randomly dumping things in any shelf, labels will make sure that each item has its designated place. Likewise, you could also store food in a bin and label it as “Kids” so that your kids could reach them easily.

Require cool air circulation

In order to prevent your food from spoiling too early and to maintain your food at a safe temperature, avoid overloading your refrigerator with a lot of food. Cool air needs to circulate to keep food at the required temperature.

Organise items based on humidity and temperature

Store food items that spoil easily like curd, desserts, fresh cream and ripe fruits on the coldest shelf. Fruits could be stored in the low humidity drawer while vegetables could be kept on the high humidity drawer.

Small items ahead

Always place big items at the back of the refrigerator and the small ones in front, so that you can clearly see what you have. This also helps to avoid wastage of food items.

Store only necessary fruits and veggies

Some fruits and vegetables like onions and potatoes do not need refrigeration. They can be safely stored on your kitchen countertop for two to three weeks. This way, you could have more room in your refrigerator for food that does require refrigeration.

The post Tips and hacks to help you make the most of your refrigerator appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Here are seven easy ideas for a happy and healthy kitchen

1. Free from clutter

Keep the kitchen clutter-free and make sure that you actually use everything that is stowed away in your cupboards. The kitchen is a hub of activity, a place to enjoy food and conversation. The atmosphere should be fresh, warm and bright.

2.  The stove beside the fridge

If your stove and refrigerator are next to each other, then you should create a symbolic distance between them. A great deal of conflict is generated when there is mixing of the energy of the hot fire element represented by the stove and the cold water element represented by the refrigerator. To fix this, you can either put a mirror on the refrigerator facing out toward the stove, which symbolically pushes the refrigerator away and expands the stove area, or you can place a faceted crystal between the two to create a balance. Also, if you have the space, you can put some plants between the fridge and stove to create an energetic barrier.

3. The sink

Keep the sink clean and unblocked with a stopper in it when not in use. Make sure that the garbage disposal unit is working well if you have one.

4. Knives

Keep your knives safely away in a drawer or in a knife block.

5. The view

Hang a crystal in the kitchen window as it attracts energy from outside and serves to deflect any negativity in case you have an unsightly view out of your window.

6. Under the sink

Be aware of what poisons are located underneath your sink. If you were to take all the cleaning products that you have under your sink and pour them all into a bucket, you would probably find huge amounts of poisonous chemicals. Many of these products are extremely toxic. They are dangerous to inhale or may cause an adverse reaction if they get on your skin, excluding the fact that they are extremely poisonous if swallowed. There are so many ecologically friendly products available in the market now that it makes much more sense to replace the toxic products you currently own with ones that are much safer to have in your home. They might vary in price slightly, but it is definitely worth limiting the amount of poison you keep under your sink, and in case you want to keep it cheap, you can always use products like baking soda, borax, white vinegar and cornstarch.

7. Inside your refrigerator

If you tend to buy food in packets or jars, then get into a habit of reading what is on the label. The more real ingredients in a product, the better it is for you. Conversely, the more a product label reads like a chemistry experiment, the worse the product is for you. If you don’t know what a word on the label means, then look it up. If there are additives in something, be aware that they won’t provide your body with the nutrients it needs for health or energy. As a rule of thumb, you will tend to find more additives in foods that have low nutritional value. If you find you really can’t do without your favourite food, at least try to find a more natural alternative.

Excerpted with permission from How happy is your home? by Sophie Keller; published by Harlequin.

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Refrigerators offer us an environment that is much cooler than the ambient temperature. So when we keep food at such low temperatures, the growth of bacteria gets arrested and the enzymes in the food get processed slower. This is what keeps food in the fridge fresh for long—the taste, texture and quality of the food is preserved for more days. However, refrigeration only retards bacterial growth, it doesn’t eliminate it. Hence, it’s important to refrigerate food with awareness because it directly impacts our health.

Using the refrigerator

• Set the temperature of the refrigerator between 4 degrees Celsius to 0 degrees Celsius. This helps preserve the quality of food while also stopping bacterial growth. This range also prevents the formation of ice crystals in the food. It helps to keep a refrigerator thermometer in the fridge to make sure the temperature is low enough for food safety. Also, use the thermometer to check the temperature of the shelves to help proper placing of foods.
• Take care to not place fragile and delicate foods like vegetables and fruits in the coldest part [mostly the upper part] of your fridge.
• Clean your fridge, every 30 days. Don’t miss anything—right from the interior surfaces to the gaskets, clean every part thoroughly. Some people turn off their refrigerators while cleaning, but you can keep it on as it helps reach the recommended temperature faster on keeping the food back after you’ve finished.

Best way to refrigerate foods

• Always cover the food you keep in your fridge, without fail. Leaving food uncovered quickly dries it out as the air inside the fridge is dry. Covering also prevents food from acquiring unwanted odours from other items that have a strong odour such as cabbage, cauliflower and garlic.
• Keep the food in as soon as possible; you don’t have to wait till it cools down. The main purpose of refrigerators is to cool down food, and then maintain the temperature. So, the sooner you place the food in, the quicker the process begins. In case the quantity is large, divide it into smaller portions and then store.
• Don’t overstuff the refrigerator. Allow enough space between foods to maintain an even temperature throughout.
• Place foods in the refrigerator within two hours of making them to limit and prevent bacterial growth.
• For packaged foods, use the required amount and store the rest in the original container. But if you have emptied the entire pack, do not put it back in the original packing. Instead, store in a bowl and cover it with a plastic wrap.
• Store fruits and vegetables separately as the two emit different gases and gases from one damage the other.
• Store fruits that dry easily in perforated or unsealed bags. This helps maintain a moist environment and ensures proper air circulation.
• Never wash fruits and vegetables before keeping them in the fridge as the water makes them rot faster.
• When defrosting foods, always do so in the refrigerator and not at room temperature or in warm water.

Tips for storing specific foods in the fridge

• Ready-to-eat meals: These can be stored till the date mentioned on the pack and must be eaten 3 – 5 days after opening the pack.
• Milk: Always store fresh milk in the fridge. [For packaged milk, follow the instructions mentioned on the pack].
• Eggs: Do not store eggs in the door of the refrigerator as the temperature is not cold enough to maintain their quality.
• Cheese: Tightly wrap it before refrigerating. [Serving tip: Remove it from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 30 – 45 minutes before serving, for best taste and texture].
• Fresh meats: Wrap the pack in an additional bag and immediately refrigerate it. Do not store meat for long as it deteriorates in quality.
• Fruits: Keep them well-wrapped. Do not store tomatoes in the fridge advises Harold McGee, author of On Food and Cooking, as refrigerating tomatoes damages the membranes inside the fruit walls, causing them to lose flavour. Instead, buy less and finish them before they go rancid. This rule applies to most fresh produce. Keep fruits in the fridge only if you want to delay their ripening.
• Baked products: Cakes, pies, breads, coffee cakes, and cookies can be stored safely for 2 — 3 days.
• Vegetables: Except for potatoes and onions, all other vegetables can be safely stored in the fridge. According to the National Potato Council [USA], potatoes should not be stored in the refrigerator as the starch in them changes to sugars, making them sweet. Onions stay in good condition at room temperature and hence need not be refrigerated. In case you have to store chopped onion, store it in an air-tight container as the odour easily spreads to other foods.
• Dough: Keep dough refrigerated and take it out only when you are about to use it.
• Butter: Refrigerate in its original packaging and remove it out few minutes before you plan to use it.
• Leafy vegetables: Either wrap them in paper or put them in plastic bags to keep them fresh. Use within a day or two.
• Fish: Fish and shellfish should ideally not be refrigerated and if possible used the same day. In case you have to refrigerate, don’t keep it for more than a day or two.

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