If someone were to judge you for the current state of your refrigerator, how would you fair? Would you pass the test for having a clean and organized kitchen, or would you fail miserably? For most of us, we don’t care to comment on such matters.
We would be far too embarrassed for anyone to even consider peeking inside of this busy appliance that receives more wear and tear than practically any other machine in our home. Your fridge is being opened and closed and sifted through at all hours of the day. Toddlers hang from its doors, begging for the chocolate milk or cheese slices inside. Teenagers stop and stare for what seems like hours at a time, debating on how much leftover pizza and snacks are available to bring upstairs to their friends. And moms and dads stand in front of it, afraid to open the door and discover just how little is left inside.
The huge grocery haul that was done just yesterday is already leaving the kitchen running low on this or that. There are carrot sticks spilling out across the shelves, and three different jars of half-eaten jelly. Mom is having trouble coming up with enough ingredients to throw something together for supper, even though she is sure that all of the necessary foods were there this morning.
A messy and uncontrolled refrigerator makes for a very inefficient kitchen. When someone reaches inside to pull out a certain food, they need to know what they are looking for and easily find it. The little fingers and hands that reach into the fridge on a consistent basis need to have a place where they know to look for “their” stuff. The parents who are always running around with zero extra time on their hands need to know precisely where to find that last ingredient for making lunch or that extra jar of whatever it is that they promised their neighbor that they could borrow.
The bottom line is that nobody has time for fighting with their fridge, and the solution is to keep it organized and tidy to maintain efficiency for the whole family. Everything needs to have its place, so that it can return to its place and be restocked accordingly. Whomever is making the grocery list will be able to open the door and quickly take inventory of what is missing. Whenever the kids are cleaning up after dinner, the bottles and jars that have been used can be returned to their spots in an organized manner.
Set some time aside to get a handle on cleaning out and organizing your refrigerator, and you will be so very grateful to reap the benefits of your hard work!