Who's Cooler? - Part 2

I’m back again. I know you’ve been waiting with baited breath to find out how to make the inside of your fridge great. A sight to behold. A wonder of the kitchen. Or at least how to make it work for you, instead of against you.

Good news. Your wait is over. Yay!

Here are the easy shortcuts, the super simple step by steps. How to be happy in a nutshell. At least when it comes to your fridge!

Today's topic - Part 2 of shortcuts for refrigerators - the inside. 

The fridge. the last place you probably want to spend any time on. But I promise you, these shortcuts I’ve listed below WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER. And easier. So you have more time. For other things. That are more fun.

Set the fridge up once, and it will reward you with time over and over again.

Ready? It’s time to turn your fridge into a lean, mean, cooling machine.   

1. 1.take everything out. (have you noticed that's always the first step of any reorganizing job?)

2. 2.toss anything that is past its expiration date, or anything you just never use.

3. 3.wipe down the shelves with a cleaning cloth and a food safe cleaner (vinegar and water, baking soda, whatever strikes your fancy)

4. 4.line the produce drawers with newspaper (my drawers are the exact size of a regular newspaper section, go figure!) and a paper towel. This makes it easy to clean the next time - you just toss or recycle the whole bit.

5. 5.get a small plastic turntable that you put on a short shelf. This is used for all of your condiments. Put it on a shelf and fill it up with all those small things that like to lurk on the back of the shelf. Spin it around when you need to get to something. See how cool that is? Here’s one at Amazon.

6. 6.designate a leftover shelf. Anything that needs to be used up and/or is free range for snacking goes here.

7. 7.give each family member their own reusable water bottle. Label them. Store these on the door. Family members can grab it easily and not use a glass. (run it through the dishwasher once a week.)

8. 8.if you want to get fancy, put plastic place mats, cut to size on the shelves. These are easier to wipe off then the actual shelf because they are easy to remove. Just keep in mind they need to be replaced fairly often, due to wear & tear.

9. 9.consider getting a milkman. Lots of areas have them now. Fresh milk, eggs, & juice delivered right to your door. Costs a bit more, but you're worth it. And it eliminates last-minute runs to the store and all those impulse buys. Have had mine for over 15 years! Just google "milkman" and your state to see what's available.

10. 10.designate a bread shelf so all the bread products don't end up smooshed in the back of the fridge.

11. 11.store fresh washed lettuce directly in the salad spinner you washed it in. Perfect atmosphere for lettuce - not too wet, not too dry.

12. 12.put everything else back.

13. enjoy you're newly designed, better functioning fridge!

That’s it. You now have a happy fridge. And going forth, more time to do the fun things in life.

I’m Evelyn Cucchiara from The Hopeful Life - showing you shortcuts to make your life happy, organized, peaceful, efficient & full of fun. And save you tons of time to boot.