Issa Reyes of Neat Obsessions gives us tips on how to maximize your fridge space and minimise food waste
Staying at home means having the time to declutter and organise our living spaces. The things that we usually don’t have time for or put off for a later date have suddenly become top priorities on our to-do lists. I have interviewed home organiser extraordinaire – Issa Reyes – founder of www.neatobsessions.com to walk us through a series of tips to sort out your home per area. Since we are all currently rationing our food and stocking up on groceries to minimise our out of home excursions, I thought it would be best to start with the refrigerator.
How important is it to keep a refrigerator clean and organized?
"The kitchen is one of my two priority areas in the house to keep clean, (the other is the bathroom) because this is where we prepare our food and where we store the utensils we use to take in food. It goes without saying that the kitchen is prone to germs and bacteria. The fridge is an essential part of the kitchen since it is where we store food. As much as we keep our kitchen clean and organised, we should also extend the same care to our fridge.
Doing so will help save a lot of money and energy. When your fridge is organised, you will be able to easily locate the food or ingredient you are looking for, hence saving electricity. Also, if it is organised and you can easily see what is inside, you won’t buy in the grocery what is already available in your own home. Having things in their proper places in the fridge will also prevent food wastage and spoilage."
Is there a best particular way to organize your refrigerator?
Every fridge has its built-in layout and zones, manufactured in a certain way to maximise the shelf life of food. It’s best to learn that different types of food are stored differently, and that there is a specific place in the fridge for each of them.
While there are specific areas or zones for eggs, butter, fish, vegetables, and meat, there are also areas which may be used to store other categories of food. To organise these spaces, we have to consider our family’s needs. In my case, I have three children who finish one carton of milk in a day. Instead of me putting the carton of milk in the middle where it should be stored because of even temperature, I store it instead in the door of the fridge where they can easily reach it.
It has always been my practice to store leftover food in clear food containers for efficiency. This way, not only I can easily see what is inside the individual containers; I can also just pop them in the microwave for reheating, saving us time and energy to transfer food from one container to another. I avoid storing leftover food in the fridge in their original take away containers, and I make sure to remove them from paper bags or plastic bags, because these may be carriers of germs and bacteria. Also, food may not be that enticing to eat anymore if it is stored in plastic bags.
Before preparing another dish, you may check your leftovers first so you avoid food wastage.
