Transform your refrigerator into a piece of art
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen or read about fridgescaping on social media. It’s difficult to escape the ubiquitous pictures and descriptions of colour-coordinated vegetables and groceries stored in transparent containers and symmetrical bottles of milk, juices or plain water lined up in neat rows in refrigerators.
But fridgescaping is not just about following a trend or prettifying the interiors of your fridge; the primary objective here is to optimise space and have an organised (and good-looking) refrigerator filled with food that you actually like and regularly eat. Yes, it offers you a fun and easy outlet for your creativity, but it also helps you keep track of what you have and what you don’t in your fridge and ensures that nothing goes waste. And in the process, you elevate your kitchen decor game.
What’s not to like about that, and how can you join the party?
Start by clearing out your fridge and taking stock of its contents. Throw away anything that’s expired, expiring or gone bad.
Take out all the removable racks and drawers and wash them thoroughly with soap and water. Clean the inside of the refrigerator, including the door seals, thoroughly with a damp cloth.
If some parts are particularly dirty or smelly, dab a cloth with a paste of baking soda and water and scrub those parts with it. If you don’t have baking soda, use a wet cloth dampened with lemon juice. Dry everything with a clean kitchen towel and put all the drawers and racks back inside.
Next, shop for containers to store the items you typically put in your fridge (cooked and uncooked). Look for matching sets that are attractive as well as functional. There are plenty of affordable options in the market, both online and offline. You can buy glass containers or jars with screw tops or silicon ring lids. You can also get square-shaped plastic cases with vacuum seal lids or covers that snap on.
Removing food items from their original packaging and transferring them to containers gives your fridge a cohesive look. (But do measure the shelves of your fridge before you go shopping. You don’t want to get stuck with oversized containers).
For best results, decide on a colour palette for your containers in advance. You can also get decorative baskets in similar hues to store fruits and vegetables. Colour-coordinated containers enhance the visual allure of the fridge.
Before putting your food items back, mentally divide your fridge into zones. This is a must for food hygiene. Store your cooked items apart from the raw produce; keep your meat and fish far away from your dairy. Put all your bottled drinks together, and your precious sauces with your condiments. For best results, place all the tall jars and bottles with each other and the square or round boxes together. Placing vegetables and fruits of the same hue in one container will further amp their appeal.
Stock the fridge back to front. Place the newer items at the back and the ones with an early expiry date in front. This will ensure that they get consumed first and reduce wastage.
Diehard decorators like to add fresh flowers to their fridge shelves. If you don’t want to go that far, you can put herbs such as cilantro and parsley in jugs and mason jars (filled with water) and place them in the fridge for a soothing touch of green.
Remember not to fill every inch of your fridge with containers and bottles; leave some areas empty for a clean and uncluttered look. Most importantly, scrub the exterior and interior of your fridge regularly to ensure that your fridgescaping remains hygienic and attractive.