Tidy Your Fridge Regularly

Recently I talked about the importance of clearing out your kitchen cupboards and stay on top of what you’ve got in there. Today, we are getting honest with ourselves and looking at our fridges - and what we most often find has gone off before we finished it.

It’s just like your wardrobe.

Well, if your clothes would go mouldy regularly… When your wardrobe is packed full of clothes, you always open it and feel like you have “nothing to wear”. Right? Please tell me it’s not just me! You cannot possibly hold in your head what you’ve got in your wardrobe all the time, especially if there is tons of stuff in there - you need some visual reminders. You need to make it easy for yourself every day. And the same goes for your fridge.

When our fridges are overflowing with food, we might feel good and safe, knowing that we have all the food we need and more. It’s a very privileged place to be and we are aware that many people all over the world don’t have that opportunity. But frankly, to be helpful to not just yourself, but the planet and overall consumption, tidy out your fridge. It will minimise how much food you throw out. I guarantee it.

It will also, just like with your wardrobe, make you feel more excited about the things you do have in there. Because you’re not just opening the door to see a wall of stuff that you hardly recognise, you get the opportunity to really take in what you are seeing. If your pots of yoghurt are all stashed at the back with a bunch of condiments you rarely use in front of them, you might not remember that a lovely yoghurt, fruit and nut mix can be a delicious breakfast. You have to make the fridge appealing to really use it in the best way.

If I do a big shop, I often even make a little note on my phone of what I’ve got in there that is going to go off quickly. And then I start thinking about the next few meals and how I can use those ingredients. I gets me excited to plan the meals, instead of suddenly coming across a packet of chicken and think “oh god! We have to eat this today!”

I have a habit of tidying out the fridge pretty much completely every time I have a big food delivery. I clear out the vegetable drawer and all the shelves and clean them quickly, so the fridge is ready for the brand new produce, which can go in first, and then the older stuff goes on top and in front. This way I’m not tempted to use all the brand new stuff and ignore the food I already had. It really helps minimise food waste.

Also be honest with yourself. If you tidy your fridge and often find something about to go off, and it’s frequently the same ingredient (a vegetable, lettuce, or whatever it might be), ask yourself if you either need to stop buying it - or really make an effort to make something with it. Spinach that goes from the shop, to your fridge, to the bin does nothing for your body or the environment. But if you get excited about adding it in your dinner, your smoothie or your summer salad, then we’re talking!

Also, have a look at your condiments. These do tend to overflow. Have you got a bottle or two that you’ve been squeezing the last drop out of the last four times you used it? Maybe it’s about time to properly clean those bottles out and make your own mayonnaise or something exciting that can fill it up! That way the bottle is taking up space for a good reason.

Do you regularly clean out your fridge? What’s your technique? Post on Instagram and tag me @TheFromScratchBody and use the hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!