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Take a scroll through the “fridge restock” tag on TikTok and you’ll be lured into a tranquil hypnosis by the alluring sight of people sorting apples, eggs, and seltzer cans into plastic containers.
Read the comments and you’ll find you’re not alone in being soothed. “These bring me so much peace,” someone writes below a video of a mini fridge restock. “I can literally watch these for hours,” says someone else.
In 2022 I found myself spending hours watching these organization videos—but doing no actual organizing myself. I fell asleep to visions of perfectly aligned La Croix cans and pristine condiment shelves, but my own fridge was a chaotic hellscape of sticky maple syrup bottles and containers of random leftovers living amid bags of lettuce and almond flour. So, with the new year coming, I decided to finally take action. I interviewed Kaeli McEwen, a content creator known for her home organization and fridge restock videos. With McEwen’s help, I’m hoping I can take the condiment and leftover sorting from the screen to my real-life refrigerator—and that you can too. Here are her two most crucial pieces of insight to help you get your fridge in tip-top shape ahead of the new year.
1. Use storage containers
First and most importantly, you should store your fridge ingredients in containers. “It doesn’t just look nice—it’s more functional because your ingredients are corralled together and accessible. You’re more likely to keep a space clean when you have a designated space to put everything,” McEwen explains. McEwen estimates she has probably over 100 storage containers in her home, but recommends buying a variety pack that includes multiple sizes for people who are just starting their fridge organization journey. Clear bins allow you to see what’s inside easily, and stackable bins allow you to use more of the vertical space in your fridge—you can store more with less chaos. Finally, bins that include pull out drawers are nice for storing delicate items like greens or herbs—you’re essentially adding additional crisper drawers.
As for what exactly to store in containers, read our guide to fridge decanting.
2. Give everything a dedicated space
Once you’ve got your containers and decided what you’re going to put in them, create zones in your refrigerator for ingredient categories. McEwen puts her snacks in one of the drawers and stores her dairy on the top shelf of her fridge; produce goes on another shelf, divided into eight storage containers dedicated to the particular piece of produce: apples, citrus, etc. This system will help you grab things efficiently when you’re cooking, but it also helps, crucially, with grocery shopping. Just glance in your fridge and you know what you need: “If a certain space is empty, I’m like ‘Oh, I need more apples’ or ‘I need more lunch meat,’” McEwen says.
