back to school refrigerator organization tips

With school back in session, it becomes critical to have the refrigerator organized. We have some great back to school refrigerator organization tips to help you launch the school year right.

Best Back to School Refrigerator Organization Tips

Great organization begins with the right tools and techniques. Here are some tips for great ways to implement back to school refrigerator organization so your weekday routines are seamless.

Clean the Refrigerator

We like to do spring cleaning, so how about fall refrigerator cleaning? The first step in organizing your refrigerator is to clean shelves and drawers, purge any old or expired food, and make a list of what you have and what you need. Once your refrigerator is clean and tidy, you’re ready to organize.

Refrigerator/Freezer Prep

Washing produce, chopping vegetables, and even assembling dinners and lunches saves a ton of time. Although doing some of this ahead of time requires a little bit of forethought, it will be well worth it, as it will make the morning and evening routines less hectic. Assemble dinners into gallon-size bags, disposable tins, or casserole dishes. Lunch items can be packaged up in snack bags or small containers for the week. Breakfast items can be placed in a convenient spot low enough for the kids to make their own breakfast.

Bins & Baskets

Now that your meal prep is finished, what do you do with it all?

organize refrigerator with bins

Organize with Refrigerator Bins. You can find these on Amazon.

A great refrigerator organization hack is to use bins and baskets to group items together for easy access. Here are some examples of items that are helpful to put into bins for your refrigerator/freezer:

  • Apples
  • Condiments
  • Cheese sticks
  • Yogurts
  • Juice boxes
  • Bread products
  • Snack bags for lunches
  • Ice packs
  • Frozen meats
  • Premade dinners

Once items are categorized into bins, place a label on the outside so the contents are easily identified. Consider using pictures on labels in you have little ones who are not yet reading.

Food Zones

Creating food zones means you have a designated space for common foods or daily meals. The most common food zones are a Snack Zone and a Lunch Zone. Placing all the snack items together in one designated area allows family members to get in and out of the refrigerator quickly. Having a snack zone also allows you to provide healthy snacks that are ready to grab when you’re busy and on the go. A Lunch Zone provides the opportunity to include everything you and your children will need to prepare and assemble lunches with ease. This can include sandwich fixings, juice boxes, and individually packaged fruits and vegetables. Teach the kids to make their own sandwiches and pack their own lunches. They will know exactly where to find everything they need- in the Lunch Zone!

Prepare Lunches the Night Before

There’s nothing worse than the morning rush of trying to get out the door on time. Save time by prepping lunches the night before. Now that you have your back to school refrigerator organization in place, getting lunches ready will be a breeze! Kids can use the zones and labeled bins to get what they need and have lunches packed and ready to go in the evening. In the morning, they just need to add an ice pack. Teach the kids to unpack their lunch boxes when they get home from school and put ice packs back in the freezer.

Your back to school refrigerator organization project is complete! If you noticed your refrigerator not operating as efficiently as you think it should, schedule an appointment with our service department and let our expert technicians ensure your appliance is running at peak performance.