I Organized My Fridge "Wrong"— But It's Saved Me So Much Money on Groceries
I have always envied the aesthetic fridges that pop up on my TikTok feed, full of color-coordinated beverages, meals prepped in pricey glass jars, and somehow not a condiment bottle in sight. Not only is this an unrealistic standard for me because I cook cuisines that call for so many ingredients, but I am also fighting against my ADHD, which lives by the rule “if you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist.” The combination of the two has led me to periodic fridge clean-outs that result in decaying discoveries and disappointment, both in my waste of food and money, and my seeming inability to change.
If you have ADHD or know someone who does, you’ve probably experienced this disorganization firsthand. As much as you’d love to simply change your habits, the reality is that you have to figure out what works for your brain.
Fed up with being underfed and overspent, I decided to completely rework my fridge in a way that — though “wrong” according to how most people use it — seemed the most logical to me. I had seen similar organizational tactics online before, but I never got around to trying them myself; I figured if I didn’t formulate it myself, it wouldn’t make sense to me in the long run.
Here’s How I Organized in an ADHD-Friendly Way
I put the most perishable, and coincidentally most forgotten, items — things that I wanted to eat first — in the most visible places. I stashed fruits and veggies in clear plastic bins so I could not only see where they were, but also know what I had without pulling them out. I also put things like lunch meats, milk, yogurt, and herbs in my door, where I would normally store condiments, to make them easy to see and use.
Of course, rearranging a fridge this way does mean some produce may not last as long as it would in a crisper drawer, which is designed to maintain a humid environment to keep fruits veggies from losing their moisture and to generate airflow around them. But storing them in a drawer that I forget to check doesn’t help me use them, even if it does make them last longer. What does help is keeping those precious perishables in a spot I see every time I open my friend. In sight, in mind.
HOOJO Refrigerator Organizer Bins
Amazon
$23.99
What did I do with all of those displaced bottles and jars of condiments? I put my most used dressings and sauces on lazy Susans on the top shelf, and I stored the rest in the first veggie drawer below. My bottom veggie drawer became the catchall for anything that I would not forget to eat — chocolate, cookies, and anything dessert related, really. Somehow my memory never slips when it comes to a sweet treat.
Amazon Basics Clear Lazy Susan Turntable Organizer
Amazon
$16.64 (was $19.37)
While I had attempted to reorganize my fridge before using clear bins, my goal was always more to make it “look” good rather than feel functional for me. It wasn’t until I threw aesthetics to the wind that I was able to come up with a system that works. My new-and-improved fridge not only makes sense for my mind, but it’s helped me reduce food waste so much — seriously cutting down my grocery bill (and disappointment) over time.
Still, I’d be lying if I said that my system is foolproof. My effort to reduce my food waste is a work in progress; I’ll still sometimes let too much time go by before cooking my veggies or reheating my leftovers. But I have managed to significantly cut down on the food I am throwing out — and keep my bank account and belly full.
Further Reading
I Tried the 90/90 Rule and My Closet Is Now Fully Decluttered
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Article’s DTC Furniture
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
