HOW TO ORGANIZE AND MAINTAIN A REFRIGERATOR

Many a times you feel that the refrigerator at home is not sufficient as you need to constantly stuff things into the fridge. They look overflowing. And it becomes a tedious task to take out containers. That’s the right time when you need to organize your fridge. A well organized fridge has its advantages as there is space to store more and there is access to all racks in the fridge. Biggest advantage if you store upto ¾ capacity is that you save on electricity than an usually empty stored fridge. A full refrigerator uses less energy than an empty one. Once you organize the fridge you realize that your current fridge is sufficient and there is space for further storage too.

Note: Never store hot food in the fridge. Bring the food to room temperature and then place it in the fridge.

Tips On Organizing Your Refrigerator

Here are a few tips on organizing your fridge. I’m sure it will not consume much of your time to read and follow. So let’s take a look at the compartments in the fridge and how we utilize and organize .Take into consideration the number of times we access and place the items accordingly in the fridge.

• Freezer:

Store only food items that has to be frozen in the freezer. The latest models are having racks and provided with brackets to stack .

Store meat , fish in the bottom rack. The top rack or door rack can be used to store ice cream. Replace the water to make ice at a regular frequency . Discard ice cubes even if not used.

• Door :

Store eggs in the top racks . The middle racks to be used to store soft drinks, pickle, butter. The bottom rack can be used to hold large bottles and drinking water.

• The Main Section:

The main section of the fridge is divided in to 3 separate parts meant for 3 different purposes.

The chiller is at the top of the main section. You need to store cream, milk packets,  chocolates.

There are racks below the chiller. The height can be adjusted based on the height of container to be stored. Transfer leftovers into plastic containers with lids and keep them in front row such that we can access it upon need quickly. This will enable us to stack one container over the other too based on availability of space.

The bottom rack is designed for vegetable storage or crisper. Use zip pouches or poly bags. Wrap the vegetables in paper and then store, to avoid decay with excess moisture.

How to get Rid of Bad Refrigerator Odor

Regular inspection of the status of stored bags and containers will avoid bad odor. A well organized fridgewill not only allow you to access the food easily but will also make it easy for you to keep the fridge clean.

The lingering bad odor in the fridge can cause a tumbling feeling in your tummy and you may get annoyed. The foul smell spread fast and can affect the stored food also. You can be relieved of this dilemma by following the following tips to get rid of bad odor in the fridge.

• Remove all the food from your refrigerator. Push the defrost button. If that option is not there, unplug the power supply.
• Once defrosted unplug the power supply . Remove all the detachable trays and racks and dip them into a basin which has soapy solution . Using a sponge,  clean the dirt, grime and food residue from the trays.
• Dissolve little baking soda into lukewarm water. Baking soda ( Sodium bi-carbonate) is an excellent deodorant and contains a unique chemical property that allows the particles to absorb the odor and other foul smell from your refrigerator.
• Scrub out the entire mold, food particles and other stains on the walls of the refrigerator and deep freezer using a scrubber. Do not use a scouring pad as it will cause scratches.
• Clean the inner parts of the refrigerator by dipping sponge in warm soapy water. Clean the chiller, egg rack and the rubber lining of the doors thoroughly. These are storage places for pests like cockroaches.
• Once clean dip the sponge in clean water and thoroughly clean all the parts and the racks. Repeat once more to ensure all soapy and baking soda smell has disappeared .
• Keep the fridge open for 30 minutes. Allow to dry. Once dried, place all the detached racks back into the slots.
• Plug the power connection. Store all the food containers and bottles into respective brackets and racks.
• If you are still not experiencing good smell from the fridge even after cleaning, place a cut lemon . Cut lemon into half, squeeze a little lemon juice in water and place the container in the refrigerator. You will be relieved of the foul smell