Creative Fridge and Pantry Organization Ideas
Creative Fridge and Pantry Organization Ideas, Straight From the Experts
March 15, 2021 by Emily Huddleston
Updated on March 17th, 2021
Are you feeling overwhelmed by your messy fridge? Do you feel like it’s impossible to keep your overstuffed pantry tidy and clean? Well, don’t throw in the towel just yet – having an organized, insta-worthy kitchen is not too far out of reach.
The truth is, there isn’t one, correct way to stay organized in your space. It’s about finding and creating systems that work for you and your family. To help get you started, we spoke to professional organizers along with cooking and baking experts from Fort Worth, TX to Washington, DC. They shared their best advice on cleaning out and tidying up your fridge and pantry, including creative ways to solve some of the top kitchen storage problems. Check out what they had to say so you can start creating the organized kitchen of your dreams today.
Expert tips for pantry organization
Try an over-the-door organizer for kids’ snacks. Give kids easy and swift access to their favorite snacks and juice. Taking less than five minutes to install, over-the-door organizers provide pocket storage for light- and medium-weight items. – Neil Edley, Sugar Plum Chocolates
The pockets are perfect for holding small items like packages of rice, popcorn, and snacks. For non-food items, store bulky utensils and water bottles. – Tidy Butterfly
Use clear bins in all different sizes to accommodate different items. Bonus: you can see everything that is inside of them. When organizing the items in each bin, be sure to put the largest items in the back and the smallest in the front so everything is easily accessible. – Sprinkle Some Sugar
Hack your habits with pantry placement. Think about what you love/want to cook most, and put the ingredients that inspire you front and center. Plus, giving what you use most a home at eye level makes it easier to put things back quickly. – Simply Maven
Group similar items together in the pantry. Transparent bins, baskets, and jars work well to store things in categories. Storing items this way uses space efficiently and you know exactly where to find each type of item. – Low Carb Yum
Create storage space for duplicate items. If I have duplicate items (usually ones that I’ve purchased on sale), I use closed bins at the bottom of my pantry to store those items – again, it keeps everything neat and tidy. – My Crazy Good Life
Organize pantry items in zones by how often you use them. Store daily use breakfast items and snacks at eye level for quick access. Keep baking supplies and canned goods below that, and back up stock items on lower shelves. – Tidy Life Happy Wife
Utilize the corners. I love using a big Lazy Susan in each corner and storing like items on each – cans, condiments, oils/vinegars, etc. – Simply Squared Away
Create an area, generally higher up and out of your ‘prime real-estate’ zone, where unopened products are stored. For example, have the opened boxes of cereal accessible and locate the new/unopened boxes higher up. The same rules apply for crackers, potato chips, cookies, etc. – Time 4 Order
Using shelf dividers to maximize the height of any pantry space. It gives you instant “shelves” to organize your pantry goods. One that I like using is the Container Store’s Large Cabinet Shelf which is perfect for double stacking canned goods, pasta, or anything you need. – Tidy Warrior
Make food easy to access, for each member of the family. Healthy snacks should be in single-serve packaging and low for kids to reach and help themselves. Staples that you use often should be front and center, and then you can use high shelves for seasonal or seldom-used items. Keeping everything easy to find makes your pantry stay organized. – Sunny Day Family
Take advantage of labeling. If you’re going to do one thing in your pantry, we recommend labeling. First (and most obvious) labels tell your family and guests where to find products, but more importantly, they indicate where to put them back; thus creating a self-sustaining solution! Labeled areas can also make it easier to determine when you need to replenish your inventory. – Tidy Nest
Expert tips for fridge organization
First, take inventory. Condiments take up a lot of space, so avoid buying doubles which contribute to clutter. Store all your condiments in the doors as this is the warmest part of the refrigerator. Upper shelves should contain prepared foods, drinks, and ready-to-eat foods. Lower shelves should house raw ingredients. – Sorted
Tailor the organizing of your fridge to your specific needs. Food items you frequently access should be in the front of your refrigerator or in the door. Also, using pull-out plastic refrigerator bins allows easier access to items in the back of your refrigerator. – Shirley Collins, My Little Organizer
Once a week sort through items in your fridge and purge leftovers or expired food. This will open up space in your refrigerator for you to categorize and group together what remains. Creating a routine such as this will make meal planning and meal prep so much easier and more enjoyable. – Organized by Jenny
Organize your fridge with clear plastic bins. My bins include a place for condiments, dairy products, and meat. I also use a clear can organizer for sparkling water or soda and a clear egg organizing bin. I love that the whole family knows where to put things and everything is really easy to see. – Keto Karma
Clear bins allow you to see what you have. You can also pull the bins out to access what is in the back and the bins catch any spills or drips and make cleaning up easy. – K Hargrove Designs
Store cut-up vegetables like carrots and celery in water to maintain freshness for up to a week. You can cut them into sticks for easy snacking or chop them up small so you can cook with them in the future. A large mason jar works great for this. – Minimalista Organizing
Remember, not every vegetable or fruit needs to be stored in the fridge. This includes bananas, tomatoes, onions, and more. Knowing this saves more space in the fridge. – Tidylosophy
Organize on a shop day. There is no use organizing your fridge on a day it is empty, it will just become overrun again the first time you hit the store. Make sure you are organizing your fridge and setting up a system that works when it is fully stocked. – Rachel Rosenthal
Follow FIFO. This stands for “first in first out” to keep your food fresh and looking good to eat. – Quite Organized
Use a Lazy Susan for items that you use often, but are usually pushed to the back and lost. I do this with jelly because we have around 6 kinds, and of course, every kid (I have 8) wants something different. I also do this with pickles and olives. The lazy Susan also helps to catch any spills from the jars so cleanup is way easier than cleaning up a whole shelf. Plus, it is easy to pull the whole thing out and set it on the table. For example, for breakfast when you have all the jelly out together, or for burger night with the ketchup, mustard, etc. – Fabulessly Frugal
Have you ever had to reach an item in the back of your fridge, only to knock over everything else in front of it? A quick spin of a Lazy Susan results in easy access, and you won’t suffer from the “out of sight, out of mind syndrome” which results in buying multiples of what you already have on hand. – Organized By Lisa
To keep foods fresh in the refrigerator longer, it is always best to have a Lazy Susan with easy to reach options. If you are storing ready-to-eat foods, like Keto Chaffles, these are best stored in an airtight container on the top shelf so they are visible and easy to grab when you are on the go. – Low Carb Inspirations
Do a 5-minute reorganization of your fridge every time you unload groceries. Place any food that needs to be eaten first in front so it is easier to spot; don’t put that new container in front of the open one. Use pretty dishes, platters, and clear storage so you can easily see all of the food you plan to eat and prepare over the next few days. – Your Home Simplified
Make your grocery or trash day the time to discard expired and unused items. This will keep your fridge fresh and clean. – A Lifestyle Organizer
Adjust your fridge shelves to maximize your storage space based on your needs. This makes it so much easier to store and access items and frees up space for other essentials. – Chelsweets
Set up snack and lunch stations at a height that is easily accessible for little ones to reach. Keeping healthy items, such as carrots with ranch and premade guacamole make it simple to grab and go when you’re in a hurry. A little planning with intent makes a week well spent. – LESS Luxury Home Organization
Place fruits and veggies in brown paper bags and label them with the item name and the date purchased. This helps them stay fresh longer and does not let them fall through the cracks. It also forces me to self-moderate/manage the amount of stuff I have in the fridge. – The Spatial Guy
Make items in your fridge more visible and accessible. If your product is perishing before you have a chance to enjoy it, you may be losing track of what’s in your fridge due to a lack of visibility or accessibility. For deep fruit and vegetable drawers, try upcycling the bottoms of plastic salad containers – divide up different types of fruits and vegetables in these mini ‘bins’ then place them within your fruit and vegetable drawers. This method also works great for fine herbs, deli meat, and cheese – all of which can be stored vertically, so everything is visible and nothing is hiding underneath or behind anything else. – Tidy Concierge
Keep your fridge organized by creating zones for each type of food. Produce and cheese in their respective drawers, large beverages along with condiments and dressings should go in the doors, and leftovers should be kept on a shelf and preferably in stacking glass containers. You can group smaller items like jars and sauces into long, narrow plastic bins that sit on the shelves. – CW Home
Emily Huddleston
Emily is part of the content marketing team and enjoys writing about real estate trends and home improvement. Her dream home would be a charming Tudor-style house with large windows to let in lots of natural light.