This is part of my Home Ec. series, where I cover the basics of running a household. If you don’t know how, and/or are too embarrassed to ask because it’s so simple you think you should know, don’t worry. You are not alone : ) This post I want to take a look in your fridge and see what’s in there… If that makes you a little uneasy, or like you need to go to the grocery store because you don’t have a plan for dinner tonight, don’t worry. You may find what’s for dinner and feel relieved that you have a clean fridge by the end of this post (or whenever you clean your fridge. No judgement, I know how difficult it is to find time to clean.)

Early Lessons Learned, Die Hard

When I was on my own for the first time, I knew how to cook and clean thanks to working in the food industry. Also in my early 30’s I was cleaning like a champ thanks to my parents. Especially my mom who was very clean. But I didn’t do it very thoroughly and I neglected some of the most basic areas of my home, like my fridge.

Nutritional Neglect Takes Many Forms

It makes sense though. When I was very young my parents were just scraping by. My mom had a plan for everything she bought from the grocery, and if we deviated from it you would be scolded or punished. But we were poor, so it made sense. We always had food to eat and clothes to wear, so I didn’t think much of it. But this set the tone for my kitchen management skills.

What was so difficult about these early childhood experiences weren’t that my family was broke and trying to make ends meet, but that no one was around to teach me how to manage a kitchen. For example, my mom said often that “there is a fridge full of food” when I complained about not having anything to eat. So one day I defrosted porkchops and made myself a meal. She was not happy. I can’t think of a time when I was scolded with more ire than that day. After that I would sneak food and eat it in secret because of my loaded feelings around the fridge. So by the time I was on my own I didn’t know how to take care of my nutritional needs.

Old Habits Reemmerging

That’s when I started working in the food industry. Because one, you don’t need a degree. And two, I was so food insecure that I needed to be surrounded by it in order to feel safe. By the time I was in my mid to late 20’s I was more stable, but the fridge was where my feelings were frozen. I didn’t speak to my partner about anything running a household, and I still felt like I needed to sneak food. I was also still working in the food industry, and my fridge was a reflection of my past food insecurities.

The Half-Baked Shopping Trip

Fast forward, see if this sounds familiar: You check your fridge before you go to the grocery store, see what you need. You head to your local grocery where you get the basics. You know you need milk, you grab that and a few other usuals. You see something that looks appealing for a dinner later in the week so you grab that. There are three recipes you cook regularly, but can’t remember if you have the ingredients so you buy them anyway. You get a few healthy snacks because this is the week you are going to eat healthier.

But when you get home and look in the fridge to put the new groceries away, you find the healthy greens you were going to make a salad with brown and juicy, the leftovers from three weeks ago are questionable and you’re not sure how you missed those last time you took inventory. The cheese and bread are moldy/crusty, and most of what you have left before you put the groceries away are a bunch of snacks and condiments. That’s how it was for me until I got a handle on my budget and saw where my money was going. What I found was a new way to manage my kitchen.

A Plan & Place For Everything, With Wiggle Room

When I was paying back debt I discovered the first, and most obvious place to save money was in eating out and the grocery department. I was spending easily more than half of my take home pay on food and alcohol, and I was throwing away most of my groceries. When I got my budget under control, I was eating out less because the food I was cooking was better than any restaurant I went to (one of the benefits of working in the food industry), and I was saving money and eating healthier, whole foods. But “where do I start?” you may ask. Well, first…

Assessing Your Fridge Situation

First, open the fridge. What do you see? Is it something like the below photo?

Sort of spars, use by dates missing, leftovers shoved to the back and spinach is brown and juicy. And whatever you do, don’t open the bottom drawer… If so, it’s time to make a change. Don’t worry though, it’s not that bad.

First things first. Take everything out of the fridge and take stock of what’s salvageable, and what needs to be tossed.

Toss Pile: one spinach was brown and juicy, two left over boxes had fries so old I cut myself on them, the milk was a couple of days past its due date but still usable if I do so quickly, and that’s about it. Not much in there so not much to toss.

Keep Pile: one box of spinach, a slice of leftover pizza and a bag of pretty recent leftovers. Four half used onions, a few sliced mushrooms that had some life left, two containers of cooked rice, all of the deli items, and some grated parm. Also three jars salsa, minced garlic, a bottle of wine, and a mystery sauce that I think was used recently (it was tahini.)

The Plan

My plan is to eat the leftovers I didn’t toss, first. That way I don’t have to make a grocery store run tonight. I’ll find a use for the milk and toss what I don’t use. The rice, spinach, garlic, mushrooms and onions are pretty versatile, so I’ll keep those, and the salsas don’t expire for a while. The deli meats are good, the mystery sauce is a mystery, and the bottle of wine is good.

Now that I have the ingredients, I can look for recipes with the items I kept, while I eat the leftovers for dinner. I’ll eat the pizza, I can use the rice, spinach, salsa, onions, some garlic, mushrooms, cheese and mystery sauce in a taco or burrito recipe, which will be good for a couple of meals. And I can use the deli meats for any meal. Either sandwiches, diced in an omelet, or cooked with some peppers and onions to make a sub.

So next time I go to the grocery, I’ll pick up what ingredients I don’t have for the taco/burrito recipe, and choose a few more recipes for the rest of the week. I’ll make a list of the items for those recipes and some snacks, but will stay fluid incase I see something that sparks my interest for another meal option, while I drink the rest of the milk on the drive to the store from the carton.

Next Steps: Clean & Put Everything Back In Its New Home

The next step is an important one. Find a home for everything. When the items you use regularly have their own dedicated space, you won’t end up with say, four onion halves scattered about the fridge. Unless you dedicate four different spots for your onions. If that’s your plan, don’t ( ; That way it’ll be easier to find what you need and have when you make a shopping list, or while you’re cooking.

On the left side of the fridge you can see I placed the milk top left with the salsas next to it, and garlic back middle. The second shelf from the top I put the leftovers. In the deli meats compartment I put the deli meats and parm, then the rice and onions on the bottom shelf, and all the veg are in the crisper.

Let’s Cook

That’s it. As long as you stick to the plan, where everything has a home, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find what you need. This will make cooking easier, as well as putting a shopping list together and knowing which condiments you have and what you should toss (we have way too many.) Don’t be afraid of the fridge. You’re in control. Get in there and show that chicken who’s really the boss ( ; Peace, & thanks for reading : )⛰️🌙