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Kitchen Organizing: Making the Most of the Refrigerator

An organized refrigerator makes it easy to see what’s inside and helps avoid wasted food—no more small hidden items at the back of a shelf. And organization can help make the most of a limited space.

Stacking square or rectangular storage containers for leftovers help, and so do some good stacking refrigerator-sized bins, such as these from InterDesign’s Fridge Binz collection. Bins can keep like items together, prevent the lost-in-the-back syndrome, and make it easier to clean up when bottles get sticky. Purchasers rave about how sturdy the Fridge Binz are. One drawback: Hand washing is recommended; some purchasers have had the bins warp in the dishwasher. 

The stacking wine holder keeps the bottles on their sides (keeping the cork moist) while also keeping them from rolling around. It also helps avoid wasting the space above a single bottle of wine. 

But there are other designs that address those same problems with wine bottles. The bottle rack from Mindful Products is another stackable option, but it also provides a shelf on top for storing other items.

With this rack, the bottles are stored on a slight angle. The company says,“Its unique design allows bottles to be stored both forwards and backwards (backwards for unopened bottles, and forwards for open bottles to keep them from leaking).” I’m not sure how useful this is; unopened wine bottles are usually stored horizontally with no tilt, and that’s what many experts recommend. (Some recommend keeping the bottles at a slight angle with the cork side up, not down, but that only applies to situations where there will be temperature variation.) And I’ve never seen a problem with an opened wine bottle leaking, assuming the cork was replaced properly. 

The Fridge Monkey from Cooks Innovations also solves the rolling-around problem. It can hold five wine bottles or 10 beer or soft drink cans. But it doesn’t use vertical fridge space as well as some other choices, and it would waste horizontal space if the end user only had a couple bottles to refrigerate.

The Holdups hanging wine holder wouldn’t work in refrigerators with solid shelves rather than wire ones, but it’s a clever idea for the right fridge. I was afraid it might interfere with placing items on the shelf it clips onto, but one purchaser said that’s not a problem.

Moving beyond wine: Another way to make use of space (and keep smaller things from getting lost) is to use drawers that clip onto the bottom of a shelf. However, end users would definitely need to work around the clips when placing things on the shelves.

Some purchasers have complained about the small size (although that’s pretty evident from the photos, and dimensions were provided) and note that the clips aren’t big enough for many refrigerator shelves. U.S.-based purchasers seem more unhappy with these than purchasers in other countries, so this seems to highlight the problem of designing (and marketing) a product for a global market; refrigerator size and use isn’t the same worldwide. The Fridge Binz mentioned earlier are too deep for smaller refrigerators, so this sizing problem works both ways.

Another product designed to hang from a shelf is the Fabrack, which didn’t meet its Kickstarter funding goal. The idea here was to make produce more visible, so it wouldn’t be forgotten and contribute to the large amount of food waste generated by most households. Visibility is always a good strategy, and reducing waste is a great goal.

However, there’s a significant drawback: This is not going to be the best way to make the produce last. Some fruits need to be kept away from some vegetables. Cornell says that veggies stored in plastic bags (with ventilation holes) don’t wilt as quickly as those stored openly. And there’s also expert advice for specific types of produce, like this for carrots: “Place them in closed container with plenty of moisture, either wrapped in a damp towel or dunk them in cold water every couple of days if they’re stored that long.”

Here’s a design that does help prevent a specific kind of food waste. The Herb Savor from Prepara says it keeps herbs fresh for three weeks, and purchasers generally say it really does work. The stems sit in a basin of water, which the end user changes every three days. It’s designed to fit into the door on many refrigerators. The reservoir is weighted so it won’t readily tip over.

The drawbacks: Purchasers have said it’s a little small—large bunches of herbs won’t fit. (On the other hand, it’s space-efficient for those who have smaller bunches.) Also, some end users will find it over-complicated; they won’t have the patience to fit the herbs into the container and maintain the water level. And some will prefer to emulate this with items they already own rather than buying another kitchen gadget.  

The refrigerator roll-out trays from Lori Greiner (in 14-inch and 17-inch sizes) are another way to avoid problems with items in the back getting overlooked. Since they attach with suction cups, they require flat shelves—not wire shelves and not grooved plastic shelves. Also, they aren’t recommended for heavy items.

The Inmyel freezer cube is designed for storing meals in quart-sized freezer bags. While it makes those meals easier to find, it also takes up more space in the freezer than if those meals were put in the freezer without using any such device. That’s a trade-off that will work for some end users and not others. (End users can also remove the shelves and use the Inmyel to hold the frozen meals vertically, thus packing more meals into the same space.)

For those end users who need to share a refrigerator with roommates or officemates and have had problems with foods going missing (or those who need to keep things away from children), there’s the Fridge Locker with its combination lock. Purchasers say it’s a sturdy product. Possible drawbacks: Small items can slip out and some purchasers have found the assembly to be a bit challenging (while others say it’s easy).