Kat Starks **Disclaimer: This post may include affiliate links, which means we receive a small commission if you buy through the link on our website (at no additional cost to you). Using our affiliate links helps support our blog, which means we can provide you more content that you love.
Products Purchased
For the pantry
- Airtight containers for dried goods https://amzn.to/377SA6U
- Open container style #1 https://amzn.to/3rSzL1f
- Open container style #2 https://amzn.to/3zMKxZr
- Open container style #3 https://amzn.to/3iaNpcM
- Labeller https://amzn.to/2UQAYdj
For the fridge
- Produce saver containers https://amzn.to/3ycGHZi
- Open container https://amzn.to/3rDSzkB
- Clear egg carton https://amzn.to/3icMDfn
A New Adventure
When the pandemic hit last year, Branden and I had just moved out of a studio apartment and into a larger, two-bedroom apartment with our dog. We then adopted a second puppy and between being cooped up all day working at home and trying to potty train a puppy from the third floor of a large apartment complex, we quickly realized that we wanted to buy a house. Fast forward a few months and we were moving into our very first house with plenty of space for us, our dogs, and any future kids we might have.
When we moved in, I made a VERY long list of projects that I wanted to accomplish in our house–from simply painting the guest bedroom to full bathroom remodels. Needless to say, the remodels have been pushed off for a few years so that we can save up some money, but I’ve been slowly tackling the smaller projects. One of the projects that got added to my list recently was to reorganize my pantry and refrigerator. After almost a year of living in our new house, both spaces had become very messy and weren’t very functional.
Finding Inspiration
Before starting out, I went over to my trusty Pinterest account to find inspiration for what I wanted to do. I also watched a ton of refrigerator organization videos on Youtube. After looking at a ton of beautiful pictures, I knew I wanted clear containers with some cute labels so that I could easily see what I had. I knew I also needed a space in both the fridge and the pantry for the random things that didn’t quite fit anywhere else.
After I got my inspiration and I had an idea of what I wanted, I headed to Amazon to find containers that fit my space. For the fridge, I bought these produce saver containers along with these clear bins and this clear egg carton (although in retrospect, I probably should have gotten a smaller one). For the pantry I bought these airtight containers as well as several different plastic bins. I also got this labeller.
Getting Down to Business
A few days later, my containers arrived and I was so excited to get started that I stayed up until almost 2am washing the new containers, clearing out the old food, and getting ready to reassemble everything. I had to warn Branden the next morning that the kitchen was in complete chaos so he wouldn’t freak out over the huge mess all over the counters and the floor. It was a disaster! I wound up throwing out multiple bags of expired condiments and food that I knew we just wouldn’t eat.
After a late night, I got up early and made sure that all of the shelves in my pantry and all the drawers in my fridge were cleaned before I got started adding everything back in. I also wiped off all of the remaining condiment bottles and jars of food so that nothing was sticky when it went back into the fridge. Once everything was clean, I could get started on filling my containers.
The Pantry
I started by lining up all of the containers I had and adding sticky note flags to temporarily label what I wanted to go in each container. That way, I could move things around before I got out my labeller and added the food. I also thought about which foods I would group together so that I could make sure I wasn’t putting two containers of the same height in front of each other (otherwise I wouldn’t be able to see the one in the back).
Once I finished deciding what would go in each container, I went ahead and filled them all and then got out the labeller. I got the cheapest labeller I could find, which worked out fine for this project, but it definitely took some extra time! I had to punch each letter into the embossing tape and there was no undo, so if I messed up, then I had to redo the entire label. If you expect to use your labeller more regularly, I’d suggest spending the extra $10 to get a fancier one.
After about an hour of filling and labelling containers, I finally got to start putting things away! I added two baskets to our pantry–one for potatoes and onions, the other at the very top for all of the overflow that doesn’t quite fit in the containers. That way, I’m not pressured to make everything fit perfectly and the excess isn’t cluttering up the rest of the pantry. I just stock the containers as much as I can and throw the rest of the box or bag in the top basket and go along with my day!
One thing I had to be careful with when I was planning out where I would put everything in the pantry was that the tallest containers that I bought would only fit on my bottom two shelves. That meant that I had to organize everything else around what I decided to put into those tall containers.
The Fridge
Once I was finished with the pantry, I moved onto the fridge. Everything was already cleaned and ready for me to go, but I didn’t have much to fill it with so I did a quick grocery haul to stock up on some essentials. I focused on fresh fruits and veggies, as well as some fun drinks and quick lunch items, since I knew our pantry was fully stocked to prepare more hearty meals.
Once I got home, I chopped up all of the fresh produce and filled up the containers that I had purchased for the fridge. (UPDATE: these containers definitely held up! I’ve been very impressed with how well they’ve kept my produce fresh and I would definitely recommend them if you’re looking for something similar.) After a little bit of rearranging all of the bins and containers, I now had a beautifully organized fridge.
The top shelf is now dedicated to extra sauces and yogurt (we eat so much yogurt it was hard to fit it all!) The middle shelf is dedicated to drinks and our new egg carton, and the bottom shelf is solely for all of our chopped produce. Throughout the week as I make food and we accumulate leftovers, we also slowly empty out the produce containers, which makes room for everything.
We now have one drawer that is dedicated to quick snacks (such as yogurt cups, snack packs, and cheese), another that’s just for all of our deli meats and cheeses, and the last drawer we use for our bread as well as all of the miscellaneous produce that doesn’t make sense to put into the larger containers (small bit of diced onion, freeze dried herbs, etc.).
UPDATE:
It’s been a few months since I completed my pantry and fridge reorganization project, and I can happily report that it’s holding up amazingly. Our pantry still looks just like it did after I finished putting everything away. Our fridge has been tweaked slightly, but is still mostly intact.
Not only has it made it easier to find things, but it’s also helped me so much with not buying excess at the grocery store. Because we have labelled containers (and only two smaller containers for snacks), I know that if I buy too much, there won’t be anywhere to put it. It has also helped remove some of the pressure of figuring out what to make each week because I know that as long as all of our containers are full, we’ll have all the staples we need to make a variety of meals throughout the week. Each week I simply have to clean out the containers we emptied and do a quick look to see what needs to be refilled.
Now that this project has been checked off of my list, I’m feeling very inspired to tackle the rest of the closet spaces throughout my house. I’ve also got a few bigger projects that are in the planning stages, so make sure to stay tuned and subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss out on all of those exciting blog posts in the upcoming weeks and months.
See you soon!
-Kat
