We're been working hard to use up leftovers lately. And I've made a point to keep the refrigerator organized so we can find everything. I mentioned to my family how clean the fridge has looked for the last week or so and how happy that makes me. One daughter said she loves that too, then asked why I thought a tidy fridge would make us happy.
My thoughts:
- it's clean and that's always pleasant to see.
- it means we're not wasting any food, so more food to go around for others.
- it means we are getting full value of the food we grow and purchase. We could and do compost food waste, but commercial compost is much cheaper than food. So using food to make compost is not a good value.
- it saves money, obviously. If we spend money or labor procuring food then don't eat it, we have to spend more money or labor to proceed additional food at some point. This is why I work hard to use as much of our garden produce as possible. I try new recipes to use fruits and vegetables that don't have a chance to ripen, or over-ripen, or are tough, or have a strong flavor. If I go to the trouble to grow something, we're going to eat it.
- keeping a tidy fridge just seems like the responsible thing to do and being responsible actually makes us happy.
If you like a clean and tidy refrigerator, what are your reasons?
The main reason I like a tidy fridge is that we are less likely to let something go to waste. Our latest fridge is counter depth, so it's not as deep as the one's we've had before. I think that helps keep more food easily seen (although I wonder sometimes how my husband can miss things in there.)
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteOur current fridge is counter depth, as well. And I agree, you can see to the back more easily, which means we use things up in time, mostly.
We're in the "produce" time of year. My husband has garden goods as well as fruits he has purchased ar orchards and I always find it hard to locate things in the fridge during this season. I appreciate the home grown goodies but I do miss a tidy fridge.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteMy current tidy fridge is due to not really shopping for several weeks. Once I do a big stock-up, it will be harder to keep it organized. Enjoy all of that lovely fresh produce!
We seem to store various not typically refrigerated foods, even nonfood stuff in the fridge, which makes it hard to organize. What do I mean? Anything that can extend its shelf life at lower temperatures goes in the refrigerator, like open bags of chips, cookies, and nuts, open bags of flax and chia seeds, open lemon and lime juice, powdered broths, condiments. These occupy the top shelf that is hard for me to see, door shelves and bottom produce bins. Even vitamins and supplements that were bought but not used often like psyllium husks are stored in the fridge. Maybe this is not a good idea, but it's appeased our anxiety about rancidity.
ReplyDeleteHave a pleasant day,
Laura
Hi Laura,
DeleteI've never thought to store open packages of cookies or chips in the fridge. I do store bread in the fridge in the summer, as homemade bread molds so easily in warm weather here. Good idea on the nuts and seeds. I keep some nuts in the freezer if I don't think we'll use them soon enough. I think rancid food is something to take precautions for, especially as you live in an area with year round warmth. I would make the same choices as you have, if I were in your area.
I also like a tidy fridge so we don't lose things that gets pushed to the back and forgotten. I like a fridge that is not filled to the brim either. My freezer always seems to be packed because that's where we store things to give my life. We are very focused on using all those half used items in the pantry, freezer, fridge, cupboard as we are trying to downsize all the goods that got packed away since covid. We have a lot of half this and half that and we are using that all up. I'm surprising myself with what can be made with stuff! The big hit was 7 layer bars with little bags of coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips some graham crackers and a can of sweetened condensed milk that looked like caramel when I opened it. My family really liked this a lot. Old jar of BBQ sauce was really good over smoked pork and smoked chicken. The stuff we're using is still good but just older and should be used so nothing is spoiled.
ReplyDeleteHi Alice,
DeleteIt sounds like you're doing what I periodically do. I go through the pantry and fridge and look for all of those partially used packages or older cans or jars and try to think of ways to use it up. That's a good practice, in my opinion. It will prevent waste and save you money in the long run. Good job on those 7 layer bars and the use of the BBQ sauce!
I like a tidy fridge , but for a different reason. I like to see everything when first open it. I have a French door fridge, which I absolutely love because everything is within sight. I find a cluttered , messy fridge so stressful. Even pictures of other peoples full refrigerator stresses me out lol.
ReplyDeleteDiand
Hi Diane,
DeleteI can relate to your feelings of stress when seeing a cluttered fridge upon opening. When I was a teenager I babysat for several different families. There was one family in particular whose fridge really bothered me. It was full of expired stuff, everything was shoved in there, and even the door seemed like it was dirtier than I was comfortable with. I didn't like having to make meals for the kids with that fridge.
I'll try not to show any photos of my fridge when it's looking jumbled.