How often should the refrigerator be gone through?

The containers that pile up at the back of the refrigerator grow unnoticed in most homes and are usually seen only when a smell appears. A short, regular check is both easier and more useful than a long clean-out done now and then.

Why is a regular check needed?

A container forgotten in the refrigerator does not stay a single container. New food put in front pushes it further back, and in time the back row becomes completely invisible.

This build-up affects the shopping as well. When you do not know what you have, the same product gets bought again; and although the refrigerator is full, there is nothing to cook that evening.

A regular check solves both problems at once. A refrigerator whose contents are known both produces less waste and makes planning the menu easier.

How often is it done?

Big clean-outs done at long intervals are tiring and usually get put off. The more workable method is a short look taken just before shopping.

That look takes a few minutes. The aim is not cleaning but taking stock: you look for answers to what is there, what is about to run out and what is waiting unused.

Doing it before shopping is no coincidence either. When the list is written right after that look, both duplicate buying and missing items go down at the same time.

What do you do during the look?

The first job is to move what is about to run out to the front. An ingredient brought to the front goes into that week's menu; the same ingredient left at the back usually spoils unused.

The second job is to set aside what clearly will not be used. Some of it can be frozen, and some can be put to use by adding it to that evening's meal.

The third job is to take out the empty containers. Half-empty containers and small leftovers standing on their own take up far more space in the refrigerator than they appear to.

How much does shelf order help?

Giving each shelf a definite job noticeably shortens the check. When leftovers, breakfast foods, drinks and vegetables sit in separate sections, what you have is clear at a glance.

Transparent containers do the same job. A container whose contents are visible is judged without opening the lid, and the time it spends in the refrigerator gets shorter.

Deliberately leaving one shelf empty is a detail that gets overlooked. Empty space leaves room for pots and large containers and keeps the refrigerator from getting blocked.

The door shelves are the section opened most often and the one whose temperature changes most. It is more suitable to keep long-keeping items such as sauces and pickles there rather than products that spoil quickly.

Where does the smell problem come from?

A smell in the refrigerator usually comes from a single source and is solved not by a general cleaning but by finding that source. So when a smell is noticed, the first job is to check the containers one by one.

Containers left open are what spread the smell. A container left without a lid both gives off its own smell and takes on the smell of the others.

A regular check prevents this problem from the start. A smell appearing is most often the sign that the check has not been done for a long time.

What does this arrangement make easier?

The most concrete gain is that the question of what to cook that week gets easier. If you know what is in the refrigerator, the menu is built from what you have and the shopping is completed accordingly.

The second gain is on the budget side. Every item thrown away unused creates a cost both when it is bought and when it is thrown out; a regular check lowers both of those costs.

The third is the time saved. A refrigerator looked at regularly needs no long cleaning; one that has been left to pile up eventually turns into a job that takes hours.

Tying this check to a fixed day is what makes the habit last. When it is attached to a definite moment, such as the evening before the shopping or the first morning of the week, it no longer needs to be remembered separately.

Setting this arrangement up does not require a special day either. The few minutes of looking before the shopping turns into a habit on its own within a few weeks, and the state of the refrigerator becomes something you always know.