Welcome to the first day of the 7-Day Food Waste Challenge! We’re so glad you’ve decided to take action on your household food waste. Today, we’re starting with how to organize your fridge.
You’ll want to set aside about an hour for today’s challenge because we’ll be doing some cleaning. We’re tackling the fridge and pantry (don’t worry about the freezer just yet, we’ll get to that later).
What does cleaning have to do with food waste?
Food waste happens because we don’t know it’s there. When food gets hidden at the back of the fridge, it’s much more likely to be forgotten and wasted.
Today’s project will also help you know how to organize your fridge, assessing the state of the food you already have on hand. We want to find out what you have and what needs to get eaten soon before it has a chance to spoil.
We’ll walk you through each step to get your fridge and pantry in order.
A note about “best by” dates.
Before we start, we need to talk about one of the biggest sources of food waste: misunderstanding date labels.
With the exception of baby formula, date labels aren’t federally regulated. They also aren’t an indication of food safety, but of peak quality. The “best by” date simply means that the manufacturer thinks the product will taste the best before that date. Plenty of foods are perfectly good to eat after that date has passed.
How can you tell if your food is still good to eat? Use your senses. Take a close look and give it a smell. If it seems fine, give it a small taste. If it passes all three tests, it’s probably just fine to eat.
Step 1: Toss or share
Our first clean-out step is to remove anything you’re truly not going to eat.
Compost or trash anything that’s not salvageable. Get rid of anything that’s moldy, visibly spoiled, or smells off.
If you come across something you know you’re not going to use before it spoils, give it to a friend, neighbor, or family member who will.
You can also donate items to a Detroit Community Fridge. These are open and accessible 24/7 so you can drop off a donation anytime.
Step 2: Create a “use this first” spot
Now that you’ve likely cleared some things out, it’s time to organize your food.
Designate a “use this first spot” in the fridge and pantry. Move everything that needs to be used ASAP to this spot so you know at a glance what to consume first. If possible, put this spot at eye level so you’re more likely to see everything.
Step 3: Store it right
Make sure you’re working with your fridge by storing things in the right place.
A few general rules to follow:
- The door is the warmest spot in your fridge. Only store items that aren’t at risk of spoiling here, like drinks and condiments.
- The bottom shelf of the fridge tends to be the coldest spot. Store things like meat and dairy here.
- Use your crisper drawers. They help control humidity to keep your produce fresh longer.
- Buy a fridge thermometer, and make sure the temperature stays within the food safety zone: 40°F or below.
- Store leftovers in clear containers so you can easily see what’s in there.
Confused about how to organize your fridge? How do you store onions? Do apples go on the counter or in the fridge? Check out the Save The Food Storage Guide for all the answers.
That’s it! Now that we’ve organized our food, we’re prepared for tomorrow’s task: deciding what to eat and shopping.