* Diary of a Sweet Little Blonde *: Rachel's Weekend Project: Refrigerator Reorganization

Please, hold your applause.

I've been wanting to reorganize my refrigerator for a while.

I am not sure what specifically irked me about it:

it being empty, not smelling great, being disorganized,

or the fact it just needed a major cleaning,

but most likely a combination of all of the above.

So I got down on my hands and knees

scrubbed that bad boy good, and decided

"ehhh, I'm still not impressed with you.

you need a Spring makeover."

I knew I wanted to organize it into sections

via bins but I wanted something clear

so you could not only see the items,

but they looked natural in there (i.e NOT tacky).

No one likes a 'fridge TRYING TOO HARD. ;)

So after cleaning the refrigerator out,

I gave it some more thought and came up

with these 3 criteria for the look I was going for

with this reorganization project:

1) Clear bins 2) Tidy Compartments 3) Labels

I went to The Container Store

which honestly you can spend all day in if

you suffer from organizational OCD

and like everything to have a "home."

I made the comment that for people with OCD,

its the equivalent of handing an alcoholic a brown paper bag.

I was wandering around there in a stupor,

completely in a dazed, dream-like state through the aisles

just 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing at all the bins.

I woke up in my car 2 hours later with 10 bags

filled with store merchandise.

Where am I? What just happened?

I BLACKED OUT.

Kidding.

But I'm telling you - you can get lost in there!

Here are some photos from my
newly, reorganized refrigerator:

Want the look?
Make it your own...

Reorganize your Refrigerator in 5 Easy Steps:

1. Take an inventory of what kinds of food you stock, so you know what kinds of bins and containers you'll need.

Do you stock juice boxes for the kids? In that case, you'll want a narrow, long container. Perhaps you'll need a wide bin for cold cuts, etc for the family's supply of sandwiches for the week. Jot down a few different size containers you'll need for the items that need to be organized. For example, they had these cool bins for soda cans - I don't drink soda, but the soda can bin they had would be great to organize that kind of thing. NOTE: Refrigerator sizes vary (standard, two-door, etc) so you'll want to take a mental note of how many bins you can store across so you ensure they fit into the space.

2. Clean out your refrigerator. Thoroughly.

I'm not talking about a little surface multi-cleaner, I'm talking: Empty the entire thing out, get on your hands and knees, and scrub that bad boy. Let's face facts. We don't do this nearly as often as we should, so take the opportunity and go to town with your rubber gloves and sponge. Using hot sudsy water, wipe down the shelves and rinse out the bins. If you're using disinfectant, make sure you rinse them well when you're finished cleaning to ensure your food does not come in contact with any cleaning products. That would be no bueno.

3. Roll out. It's time to head to The Container Store. And oh yeah, bring a lot of cash.

Talk is cheap, but reorganizing your refrigerator certainly is not. These "binz" (their spelling, not mine!) aren't cheap. Right now The Container Store is having a sale, so I suggest high tailing it there soon while everything is discounted for the Spring Cleaning sale they have going on. If you prefer to shop online, I'll link you there now: Fridge & Freeze Bins. If you're heading to the store, which I suggest so you can get a better feel of the container sizes- you'll be looking for the Kitchen section. Once there, the line is called 'Fridge and Freeze Binz', which you guessed it - are good for both sections. Now is when you pull out your list, look at your items you jotted down earlier, and choose your bins accordingly. This is the fun part - getting home and pulling everything out again, not so much! :)

4. Unload & Reorganize.

You're almost there! Pull everything back out (I know, I know. Annoying - but its already clean, the hard work is done) and add your refrigerated goods to their proper new "home". I always stock water, so I have a bin for that. I'm a huge salad freak, so I liked the divided deep dish binz tray - which gives me a side for my lettuce and fixings, and the other side for some fresh herbs that I often cook with and/or throw in my salads. You'll also see (in photos above) that I've used the Narrow Deep Dish Binz Tray for my yogurt. What I love about the "Fridge & Freeze Binz" tray line is that they are all stackable, including the wine binz you see at the top of my refrigerator (see photos above). I like the fact they are clear, versatile, and I can mix them up around the fridge as my dietary needs change.

My favorite is the little egg tray! :)

5. Add your chalkboard labels.

Now for the fun part! Add your chalkboard labels from Paper-Source, which you can find here. Grab some white or colored chalk and label your bins accordingly. You can erase and add new titles as your refrigerator evolves throughout the week or month! Happy labeling! :)