What You're Forgetting When Organizing Your Refrigerator

New homeowners might jump at the opportunity to organize their first refrigerator, but some might forget just how hard it is to personalize their storage space while staying practical. Thankfully, there are plenty of tricks and tips on how to arrange your food (and, your life) to make your refrigerator work for you. 

The Container Store suggests starting by thoroughly cleaning the inside of the fridge before adding food to the mix. You don't want spillage from old items leaking into your fresh food. It also gives you a chance to get a good look at the space you're working with. To take it to the next level, HGTV recommends getting to know your fridge. The top shelf and door are designed to hold condiments and dairy products like butter, while meats and milk should be kept on the bottom shelves. Fruits and vegetables go in the crisper drawers at the bottom of the fridge.

Beyond these basics, organizing your fridge by meal is another option, says Bustle. Stocking the shelves to keep ingredients for a specific meal together instead of randomly throwing items in will keep your fridge in order, and help you keep track of everything inside. Staying knowledgeable about what exactly is in your fridge, and where, will also reduce clutter and food waste. The Organized Home shares that an overfilled fridge is worse than an empty one, and nothing creates overflow like buying items you already have but can't locate due to an overstocked ice box.

While these hacks are great, there's another important way you can organize your fridge — and it just may be the most surprising. 

Most fridge organization hacks focus on working around your fridge as is, but you might actually have more room for customization than you think. Not many people realize that fridge shelves can be removed, rearranged, and adjusted. The Kitchn shares that most refrigerator shelves are fully customizable, meaning shelf placement is up to your preference rather than design. Not a fan of a high top shelf? Or feel that the space could be utilized better with two shelves rather than one? No problem, perform some fridge feng shui; just remove and adjust the shelves to your heart's desire. Instead of making your food fit your fridge, make your fridge fit your food!

With 1.5B collective views, the TikTok tag #fridgeorganization is proof alone that aesthetically pleasing fridges are on the rise. Many of those videos teach viewers how to remove and replace shelves. Others show people finally realizing they can adjust the shelves in their fridges and their shock at not having known sooner. 

Now that you're in the know, don't leave this helpful hack unused. The art of grocery Tetris can be mastered by utilizing the full potential of your fridge's shelves. Believe it or not, that may be just the key to achieving the TikTok-worthy refrigerator.