Prepping Your Fridge For the Holiday
There is only one more week until Thanksgiving!
The holidays are going to be a little different this year and everyone is going to celebrate differently. Maybe you are going to be cooking dinner for your immediate family, or, maybe you will still be cooking a huge feast and having more guests over. OR, maybe you will still be cooking a big dinner and delivering it to your loved ones at their own houses!
Regardless of your plans, cleaning, clearing, and prepping your refrigerator is an important step to getting ready for Thanksgiving Day, or, any holiday or party you are hosting!
1. Remove All Items
The first step in prepping your fridge is going to be to remove all items. As you remove every item, you are going to want to pay attention to expiration dates and duplicates. If it’s expired, throw it out. If you have multiple jars of the same item, see if you can condense.
When you remove the items, you are going to want to place each item on a counter and place like items with each other. For instance: vegetables, fruits, dairy, deli/cheeses, leftovers, condiments, etc.
Last week in my post, How To Prep Your Kitchen For The Holidays, I talked about clearing those countertops. Check it out if you need some more tips of prepping your whole kitchen for the holidays!
2. Wipe Down Shelves
Since you now have everything out, you will want to wipe down all shelves inside and on the door.
If you do not already have your fridge shelves lined, I do suggest making this investment at this time. It does make for an easier clean up if there are any spills. After you wipe down the shelves, line your shelves and drawers.
3. Adjust Shelving
Now is the time you will want to adjust any shelving to make room for that big turkey or platters you will be prepping and needing the space for. I know that my family preps everything the night before. We peel potatoes and keep them in a bowl with water until the next day so they don’t brown. Those bowls take up so much space! So we definitely need to do some rearranging for that specific reason.
4. Place Items Back Inside
Contain like items and put them back inside the fridge. A few tips here when deciding where everything goes:
The door of the fridge is the warmest spot so make sure to put items like condiments on the door.
The middle shelves hold the most consistent temperatures so store things that are likely to spoil such as milk and dairy.
When putting items back inside, you may want to label each door shelf or container with its contents as a reminder for yourself, and your family, of where items should be put back. The Container Store makes Erasable Food Storage Labels that can be used in your fridge or freezer!
Do you find that you just don’t have the time to do these things on your own? Or maybe you just need some help, I am always here! Feel free to contact me directly!
Talk soon,
