The Smart Way To Use A File Folder To Organize Fridge Drawers

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Organizing a cluttered fridge can be a daunting task. With mystery spilled substances and spoiled food, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, especially when it comes to cleaning the drawers. But, figuring out how to organize your drawer space can not only help reduce overall frustration in the kitchen, it can also help save you money. According to a study published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics by researchers from Pennsylvania State University, Americans lose about $1,866 a year per household due to wasted food. Additionally, homes that prioritize healthier, more produce-heavy diets often waste more due to spoilage. While there are ways to create extra storage in a cramped fridge, there is also a way to help avoid the clutter and spoilage all together with a smart office supply hack: use file folders to separate items in the refrigerator drawers. 

These should be plastic, not the cardboard variety, to ensure they hold up to the humidity levels in your fridge. They come in all shapes and sizes — from individual bins, like the Youngever file holder, to a unit with multiple compartments, like the ZQS collapsible magazine file holder. Measure the drawer space to ensure the organizers you choose will fit. Something else to consider when you're picking out your file folders is opting for ones that are clear or have holes in them, so you can see inside them. This is helpful to keep an eye on what you already have in stock and provides a useful visual cue for if food starts going bad.

Clean out your fridge's drawers, and add as many of your file folders as will fit. From there, store whatever items you need — leafy greens in one folder, fruit and cheese in another. This hack can also be useful to strategically organize your refrigerator in general. If your fridge drawers are too small to fit file folders, use them on the upper shelves to help separate beverages, spreads, meats, and dairy items.

Using these holders is not only a game changer for your cluttered fridge, it can also help you maintain its cleanliness. Forgot about the spinach you bought last week? Take out the file folder, dump the old food, and wash the file folder for a quick and easy clean out. To further streamline the organization process, label each holder with the products' expiration dates using freezer tape, like Duck write-on freezer tape, so it's easy to see when something is going to go bad. Labeling the folders will also make your next grocery haul simple and efficient because everything will already have an assigned place.