A Place for Everything...Fridge

 Downgrading from a mighty side-by-side fridge to the military housing's version was tough for Fam Och...well, mainly for me. With high-energy children, and one of them a growing pre-teen, keeping a stocked fridge was a necessity.  There's not much to this, really, but I thought to share anyway since there were some ideas I've picked up from Pinterest and other various sources that have made the most use of this teeny space.

One of my favorite containers in this fridge are the Sistema slim-line pitchers by Martha Stewart. I use them for Kool-Aid juice (my kids are junkies when it comes to Kool-Aid). The thing is, each kid prefers their own favorite flavor.  The slim profiles let me fit in three of them (one is behind the water pitcher) so each child has a pitcher of their fave juice at all times.  Plus, if you take note of the top of those pitchers, the lid seals to the rest of the body, and the spout has a knob that seals it closed as well...no more spills!

Underneath the pitchers is another slim container that houses anything that is left in the fridge to defrost,  It doesn't take up much room, but the sides keep any juices that may seep out away from everything else on that shelf.

And those white bins from the Target dollar section make another appearance! I have two of them in there, one for a sandwich kit basket and another for the kids' snacks.

This sandwich kit is mainly for my lazy 13 year old who thinks it too much trouble to put all those things he pulled out to make a sandwich back in their proper places. Before, I would find the mustard thrown into the very back. This has deli meat, assorted cheese slices, and the standard mayo and mustard bottles.  

The snack bin has little containers of cut fruit in serving sizes, drinkable yogurt, fruit cups, and Babybell cheese rounds. The basket sits at a level that the girls can look right into when they open the fridge. This works the best for Miss Sophie when she comes home from school famished, she can simply grab two things from the bin and she's good to go for her snack.

And yes, you did see my onions, garlic, and potatoes in one of the bottom drawers. I know they keep best in a pantry..but we recently had a problem with mice breaking into the house...and ever since then, I have all of our food within the confines of the fridge, or in airtight containers in the pantry.

Although I would rather have my lovely old side-by-side, when organizing food in this current one, the trade-off in space isn't so bad anymore.