National Clean Out Your Fridge Day

Did you know that how you organize your refrigerator will affect it’s overall performance? For instance the temperature of your fridge is often affected by how much food is in your fridge and where it’s placed, or even if your fridge is clean. Can’t remember the last time you cleaned your fridge? Well there’s no better day than today on National Clean Out Your Fridge Day!

Where you place certain food items will determine how long it will last. Optimal food placements may surprise you. Let’s dig into how to organize the perfect fridge.

The entire point of organizing a fridge efficiently is for food safety. Placing raw foods that need higher cooking temperatures (like raw meat) at the bottom of the fridge prevents bacteria from contaminating other food. Keeping foods that go bad easily in the colder part of the fridge helps them to last longer. Since the door is the warmest place in the fridge you shouldn’t put eggs or milk there even though many of us do! Keeping food that doesn’t need to be cooked up top helps to keep them free of contamination.

• UPPER SHELVES – Deli meats, leftovers, canned drinks, and foods that don’t need to be cooked
• LOWER/MIDDLE SHELVES – Milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, and any foods with a higher safety risk
• BOTTOM SHELF – Raw meat, fish, poultry – this is the coldest part of the fridge
• DRAWERS – Vegetables, herbs, salads, and fruit
• DOOR SHELVES – Foods that have natural preservatives, such as condiments, jams, and juice.

Tips:

1. Leave enough space between items for cold air to circulate.
2. Keep the temperature under 40 degrees to avoid bacteria growth.
3. Regularly wipe down and clean the fridge to ensure no crumbs get trapped in the door seals, as this could effect overall temperatures.
4. To extend their life, keep tomatoes, potatoes, bread, and onions out of the fridge.

Are you surprised by where you should put your food? We hope this clears up any confusion about why certain foods are placed in certain sections of the fridge. Remember, food safety first!