Tuesday, February 18, 2014

A peek into our refrigerator!


Hey guys! It has been a while since I have updated, but I have still been busy with some projects around the house! We had a three day Snow Day last week in North Alabama, and since I was stuck in the house I got some things done that I only dreamed about because I thought I wouldn't have time!
I am very happy to be back in a normal routine though; back to work and normal life!

So, today I want to give you guys a little peek into our fridge! It is like when MTV's Cribs comes to your house; I mean you always have to show off the fridge right???
One promise that you guys have to make me before we proceed though.... PLEASE do not let your eye drift down to the old, vinyl flooring we have in our kitchen! It is a huge eye sore, and on our list of things to hopefully change soon!

Now that we have gone over the one rule, let's take a peek....

My first piece of advice to make your life easier are the vinyl placemats that I have on my shelves. I got them on clearance at Target for 99 cents each, and it makes cleaning the fridge a ton easier! Just take them out and wipe them down!




I love my little egg holder that I got from Marshalls for a few bucks! Sometimes it isn't quite as practical because I buy a dozen eggs, but I just can't give it up!
The door of our fridge is pretty full with salad dressings and other things, but I really can't part with any of it because we like to cook so many different things!



So my absolute favorite part of my fridge is my shelf of containers with handles! I got them when mom and I went to The Container Store in Atlanta last summer. They are $3.99 each and it makes my food organization life so much better!
They have this size and larger at the Container Store; HERE you go!








We have one container with our lunch meats, turkey pepperoni and turkey hot dogs!




One is totally dedicated to our cheese.....we love cheese and we aren't embarrassed!



Another obsession we have is yogurt. This one is dedicated to Justin's yogurt for breakfast and pudding snacks haha.




Here is my yogurt container!!




This large basket resides on our bottom shelf. There used to be a drawer here, but it was tiny and took up WAY too much room for the poor excuse of storage that it was. I have had this basket forever, but I think that I got it at The Dollar Store back in college. It holds SO much; our bags of shredded cheese, tomatoes, sliced fruit, dips, and salsa.




One of our bottom drawers is where we keep Justin's Gatorade and Propel. Before we made some organization changes we didn't have any space for these in the fridge so we never had any cold ones. Yay for the small things in life...cold Gatorade!







The top shelf is where we keep things that don't really have a for sure home, but it is usually pretty open and sparse. We keep our milk, tea, and coffee creamer on the bottom shelf. When we have leftovers from meals we make they go in Tupperware and in the bottom right hand drawer.




So, there you have it. It is far from perfect, but since we don't have a nice upgraded fridge yet we are making it work for us. Of course it is easier because we are only a family of two and don't require as much food as larger families, and we have found what works for us.
  • Baskets are your friend! I thought that having baskets would make it feel too cramped and take up too much space, but I have found out that I am able to maximize my space because they fit so much! I would also take it further and say that clear baskets are the best because you can see everything that you have and when you can see it you will be more likely to eat it before it expires or goes bad.
  • Simplicity is key. I have learned that we just don't have the space to buy a ton of groceries and "stock up." I only go shopping once a week to the grocery store, and I get what we need for the week and not much more. If we had more space and a deep freezer it would be different, but it is science; the more stuff you have the harder it is to organize.
  • Your most used items should take priority. It makes life a lot easier to have the items you use every day easily accessible. Give those items the front row space, and make sure they are easiest to reach in your baskets.


I wanted to put together a few of my dream items that would make any fridge fabulous, and hopefully one day when we upgrade to a larger and more spacious one I will make it happen!





These beauties are my dream product!!! I love everything about them; they add fun patterns and colors, but they are also very easy to maintain and clean.  When we get a fridge upgrade, these will definitely reside in my house!!!








2.  Organization

Every item has it's perfect place. That is what I want in my next fridge. I want to be able to have the best baskets, bins, and storage (oh my!) 
HERE is where you can find all of these beautiful options to customize your own fridge!


I really like these deep wire baskets that would be great for any fridge or freezer. They allow you to hold a lot of items with out having to stack them vertically and you can still see everything you need. 
You can find them HERE
 THESE great stackable bins would be perfect for produce, cheeses, or many other things!


I absolutely love these shallow and see through baskets! They would be VERY useful and great for organizing juice boxes, bottles, cans, or all different things. And the price is great as well! You can find them HERE



3. Pretties

Your fridge is something that you use and open multiple times a day so why would you not want to make it pretty right?!? 

I have always loved berry baskets, but since we are strapped on space I realistically can't have them right now. I love that I found this melamine option because it will be so easy to clean. They are also super bright and affordable! You can find them HERE


Since my egg container only holds 6 eggs, naturally I will have to upgrade when I get a bigger fridge! I love this option by Rachael Ray. I love the color, but I will probably end up getting one in white. You can find it HERE


I am a sucker for food containers. BIG sucker!!! I have one requirement: They have to be clear so I can see what is inside! These are a little pricey, but investing in a few of these beautiful pieces would make me super happy! Head over to ANTHROPOLOGIE where you can get some!



This ended up being a very long and detailed post about refrigerator organization!!! Can you tell that I am ready for a new, spacious fridge!?!


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3 comments:

  1. Love the place mat idea Lauren and removing the drawer also made sense! My hubs is always complaining that everything always ends up on the top shelf!

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  2. I love those handled baskets. They are the best thing since sliced bread. I use them everywhere in the house, fridge, pantry, cabinets, etc. I got most of mine at Big Lots. And I've been wanting those fridge coasters for awhile now but haven't purchased any, yet.

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    Replies
    1. They are amazing aren't they!?!? I think the fridge coasters would be awesome to have as well! Thanks!

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