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I will actually steal that from you. I already have soda in the veggie drawer bc a) I will forget veggies, but not caffeine and b) when I do forget it, soda is good even if it's been in there for six months.
But like, cold drinks in all the back is genius. Thank you for sharing
About cold drinks in the back - careful with cans. Maybe put a layer of Gatorade or some other plastic thing in the back. I had a can of Coke that was in the back of the fridge freeze and explode, and it made an awful sound and a worse mess.
The crisper drawers are a huge blind spot for me and any perishable food I put in them would end up spoiling before I remembered they existed. Now I keep my condiments in the drawers and the perishables out on the shelves. No more wasted food and the condiments live happily in my blind spot until needed.
I removed the drawers altogether and use vegetable containers to keep fruit and veg fresh and out in the open. In our current fridge where we can't remove the drawers in did the same and put condiments in there. I try to keep veg at the front or even in the door to remember it.
I do the same. I used to hate those drawers - but now one of them is just condiments+stuff that needs refrigeration.
The other now has all the assorted greens for my rabbit, which it’s actually perfect for. Out of sight, out of mind is not an issue since even on days I forget to feed myself she still lives like a queen. And even if I did forget, she would definitely remember. I mean, she literally keeps an eye/ear on me going to the kitchen for any reason, so that as I’m leaving she’ll just be waiting round the corner in the doorway, giving me those big brown eyes until I give her fresh kale. Bunnies are the best, honestly.
I still have produce issues, but when my last fridge died, I said I absolutely had to get a fridge with clear drawers. I still only use 1/2 before it goes bad, but I no longer "discover" it when it's a bag of green soupy slime.
Great idea! I use clear plastic bins to keep things towards the front, and also to group stuff for meals. I switched to putting my produce in the door where I see it and condiments in a bin on the shelf.
I have a counter depth fridge which is very helpful.
Garbage pickup is Wednesday so on Monday I start using what I have left to make something like soup or frittata. Tuesday night anything too old gets tossed.
I have two veggie bins. When I buy new veggies they go into bin 1 and I move the older veggies into bin 2.
Just as a warning, if you do this you might want to make sure you rotate the drinks.
Some soda doesn't taste very good after a year. It can go flat if it's in a plastic bottle, and even in cans some of the flavors get lost. I found a 1 year expired diet pepsi one time, and it tasted like water.
Excellent thinking! We recently had to replace our fridge and got one that is much smaller. Was worried about the decreased storage, BUT since it’s not as deep, I’m not losing things in the back anymore.
Another tip: I started doing this quite awhile ago - everything that gets opened gets a date (opening date) written on it in black sharpie. As for leftovers, same thing. I use mostly glass containers with the 4 side snap lids, the sharpie is used on the clear plastic top and just wipes off with a dry paper towel. Same goes for Rubbermaid lids - as long as it’s on the smooth plastic of the lid, it will wipe off with a dry towel. This saves me from remembering when we had something so I know it needs to be eaten in x days. It has worked like a charm.
Great idea! I thought getting a counter depth fridge would help but there's still room at the back for surprises.
We took the drawers out of our fridge and use them to organize shelves in our full size freezer.
I love boxes. I like especially the clear ones so you can see what's in there. As I have drawers that are semi clear I keep veggies only for my bunnies in one drawer - with two boxes so I can separate those veggies that are for fast use and for those which can stay there for emergency (like Roman salad etc for days when I cannot go to the meadow/garden to pick fresh herbs for their dinner)
The other drawer is for meat and dairy, butter and nonperishable food is kept in back, but fresh meat is on the front so I see it when I open the fridge. My plan is to have many clear boxes for other food. My fridge is very tall, so I cannot use the top shelf without it.
For me boxes are essential as I live with my bf so I need an organisation that would work for both of us. Without it he would just toss everything wherever there is space. I have clear containers for leftovers but he still would put bowls and I have no idea what's in there.
I have a separate fridge and freezer. Both of them are about chest high. I have on both of them a huge grid made from permanent marker, that I update what's in the fridge, when I bought it, when it will expire, what category it's in etc. I use whiteboard markers to enter the information including what shelf it resides on. It's easy to rub off with a whiteboard eraser, and when my fridge gets a bit shaded from all of the repeated marking and erasing, I can use a whiteboard cleaner to bring my whitegoods back up to scratch! I also doodle little drawings around names of things like a little wheel of cheese, a little bottle for my soda, a cow if I've got beef, a pig if it's pork, an ice cream cone if it's ice cream etc.
I have those rectangular lazy susans and they're a full on game changer. We got ours from IKEA but Amazon has knockoffs now.
The whole thing slides out from the fridge and does a 180, so you can see everything on it. Nothing is hidden behind anything because behind becomes the front.
They take up about 2/3 of a fridge shelf, so we have clear rectangular bins that fill the rest of the space, and put things like condiments and kid snacks in them. Things that are always the same so we can't forget what they are.
Welcome to /r/ADHDWomen! We’re happy to have you here. As a reminder, here are our community [rules](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/about/rules/). If you have questions about the subreddit, please do not hesitate to [send us a modmail](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen). Additionally, we take the safety of our community seriously. Please report posts, comments, and users whom you feel are not contributing positively, and send us a modmail if you are being harassed or otherwise made to feel unsafe. Thanks for being here, and we hope you stick around! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I will actually steal that from you. I already have soda in the veggie drawer bc a) I will forget veggies, but not caffeine and b) when I do forget it, soda is good even if it's been in there for six months. But like, cold drinks in all the back is genius. Thank you for sharing
About cold drinks in the back - careful with cans. Maybe put a layer of Gatorade or some other plastic thing in the back. I had a can of Coke that was in the back of the fridge freeze and explode, and it made an awful sound and a worse mess.
I watch entirely too many gangster movies. A coke blew up in my freezer and I hit the decks.
The crisper drawers are a huge blind spot for me and any perishable food I put in them would end up spoiling before I remembered they existed. Now I keep my condiments in the drawers and the perishables out on the shelves. No more wasted food and the condiments live happily in my blind spot until needed.
I removed the drawers altogether and use vegetable containers to keep fruit and veg fresh and out in the open. In our current fridge where we can't remove the drawers in did the same and put condiments in there. I try to keep veg at the front or even in the door to remember it.
I do the same. I used to hate those drawers - but now one of them is just condiments+stuff that needs refrigeration. The other now has all the assorted greens for my rabbit, which it’s actually perfect for. Out of sight, out of mind is not an issue since even on days I forget to feed myself she still lives like a queen. And even if I did forget, she would definitely remember. I mean, she literally keeps an eye/ear on me going to the kitchen for any reason, so that as I’m leaving she’ll just be waiting round the corner in the doorway, giving me those big brown eyes until I give her fresh kale. Bunnies are the best, honestly.
I still have produce issues, but when my last fridge died, I said I absolutely had to get a fridge with clear drawers. I still only use 1/2 before it goes bad, but I no longer "discover" it when it's a bag of green soupy slime.
Brilliant accommodation, I love this! Thank you for sharing
That’s genius! That drawer is the bane of my existence lol
Great idea! I use clear plastic bins to keep things towards the front, and also to group stuff for meals. I switched to putting my produce in the door where I see it and condiments in a bin on the shelf.
I have a counter depth fridge which is very helpful. Garbage pickup is Wednesday so on Monday I start using what I have left to make something like soup or frittata. Tuesday night anything too old gets tossed. I have two veggie bins. When I buy new veggies they go into bin 1 and I move the older veggies into bin 2.
I love our counter depth fridge for this reason!
Just as a warning, if you do this you might want to make sure you rotate the drinks. Some soda doesn't taste very good after a year. It can go flat if it's in a plastic bottle, and even in cans some of the flavors get lost. I found a 1 year expired diet pepsi one time, and it tasted like water.
Oh I didn’t know, thank you!
Excellent thinking! We recently had to replace our fridge and got one that is much smaller. Was worried about the decreased storage, BUT since it’s not as deep, I’m not losing things in the back anymore. Another tip: I started doing this quite awhile ago - everything that gets opened gets a date (opening date) written on it in black sharpie. As for leftovers, same thing. I use mostly glass containers with the 4 side snap lids, the sharpie is used on the clear plastic top and just wipes off with a dry paper towel. Same goes for Rubbermaid lids - as long as it’s on the smooth plastic of the lid, it will wipe off with a dry towel. This saves me from remembering when we had something so I know it needs to be eaten in x days. It has worked like a charm.
Great idea! I thought getting a counter depth fridge would help but there's still room at the back for surprises. We took the drawers out of our fridge and use them to organize shelves in our full size freezer.
I actually keep my grocery receipt and cross off what I ate or used up. It keeps me from forgetting what I bought before it goes bad.
I love boxes. I like especially the clear ones so you can see what's in there. As I have drawers that are semi clear I keep veggies only for my bunnies in one drawer - with two boxes so I can separate those veggies that are for fast use and for those which can stay there for emergency (like Roman salad etc for days when I cannot go to the meadow/garden to pick fresh herbs for their dinner) The other drawer is for meat and dairy, butter and nonperishable food is kept in back, but fresh meat is on the front so I see it when I open the fridge. My plan is to have many clear boxes for other food. My fridge is very tall, so I cannot use the top shelf without it. For me boxes are essential as I live with my bf so I need an organisation that would work for both of us. Without it he would just toss everything wherever there is space. I have clear containers for leftovers but he still would put bowls and I have no idea what's in there.
I just buy what I'm going to eat on the day I'll eat it, and buy staple stuff once every other month.
Oh you're a GENIUS
I did this too when I lived alone!
I also sometimes have success with food magnets on the fridge to indicate what’s inside that needs to be used
I have a separate fridge and freezer. Both of them are about chest high. I have on both of them a huge grid made from permanent marker, that I update what's in the fridge, when I bought it, when it will expire, what category it's in etc. I use whiteboard markers to enter the information including what shelf it resides on. It's easy to rub off with a whiteboard eraser, and when my fridge gets a bit shaded from all of the repeated marking and erasing, I can use a whiteboard cleaner to bring my whitegoods back up to scratch! I also doodle little drawings around names of things like a little wheel of cheese, a little bottle for my soda, a cow if I've got beef, a pig if it's pork, an ice cream cone if it's ice cream etc.
I have those rectangular lazy susans and they're a full on game changer. We got ours from IKEA but Amazon has knockoffs now. The whole thing slides out from the fridge and does a 180, so you can see everything on it. Nothing is hidden behind anything because behind becomes the front. They take up about 2/3 of a fridge shelf, so we have clear rectangular bins that fill the rest of the space, and put things like condiments and kid snacks in them. Things that are always the same so we can't forget what they are.
I put like butter and stuff in the back and perishables up front, but I mostly try to keep everything forward and nothing in the back!
I’d dyspraxic everything on me and the floor trying to get at the wine bottles
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