What’s the easiest place to purge in the home? The fridge! I decided to kick off my Spring Cleaning Series in the kitchen, the lifeblood of our home. It’s easy to forget about all the food and leftovers you have piling up in the fridge (yes, condiments do expire), so cleaning it out every few weeks is a good idea.
Here are some of my tips on how to keep your food super fresh and your fridge easy to navigate (we have family and friends helping us with our kids all the time so this is key!)
- Deep Clean
- Empty the fridge and wipe it down with an all natural homemade multipurpose cleaning spray (2 parts H2O, 1 part vinegar, 3-4 drops of doTerra lemon essential oil).
- Identify Categories
- Decide how you want to compartmentalize your fridge for dairy, meat, fruits, and veggies.
- Store milk on the bottom shelf, not the fridge door, which is susceptible to the most temperature fluctuation.
- Keep fruits and veggies separate since they emanate different gases and can spoil quicker if kept together.
- Store eggs in a clear stackable egg tray and mark hard-boiled eggs with the letter “H.”
- Storage
- Whenever possible, we opt for glass and stainless steel to store food since they’re BPA-free. We transfer our organic milk from the gallon bottles into glass pitchers, which have a spout and are easier to pour from.
- Keep greens (spinach, arugula, kale) fresher, longer in glass storage containers lined with paper towels to soak up moisture.
- Use mason jars to prep your smoothies. When it’s in front of me and all I need to do is blend it in my Nutri Bullet, I am more likely to have one in the morning.
- Labels
- Use clear labels and a white chalkboard pen to label your refrigerator bins (e.g. cheese, meat, fruits, veggies)
