Refrigerators often become a dumping ground filled with old leftovers, expired food, and various condiments.  An organized refrigerator will help you to reduce food waste, utilize space available, and find needed items quickly. 

The first step to having an organized refrigerator is to clean it out.  Start with a clean slate so that you can effectively begin your journey to organization.  Throw out old food, trash, unused or expired condiments, and anything you are not planning on using.  Wipe down the many surfaces to complete the cleaning. 

Organize and categorize the various items that will be remaining in the fridge.  The door often becomes filled and cluttered with many bottles of various condiments.  The door is an often underutilized and unappreciated storage area.  Scale back your collection of bottles and jars to the several that you plan on using again in the near future.  Store these near the back of the fridge or in another area that you do not frequently use.  Save the valuable door space for regularly used items like fruit and vegetables, butter, juice and more.

Make a plan for storing items in the fridge.  Store and organize items using this plan so that they will easily work with your cooking style and needs.  It works best to cycle items through the refrigerator.  New items should be placed near the back and older items near the front.  This tactic will help you to use the most urgent items before they expire. 

Clean and maintain the refrigerator at least once a week.  Before going to the store, take a few minutes to discard unnecessary food items and to see what you have available.  A weekly cleaning will lessen the amount of food waste you create and will help you ensure that old food is disposed of quickly.  Additionally it will help you to effective plan for shopping visits as you will know the items that you have available.

A clean and organized refrigerator will help you to stay more organized and to reduce food waste.  It will make cooking more enjoyable because items will be easy to find and access.