We're rebels. We like to sit too close to the TV—and we always go to the grocery store hungry. So after a long trip up and down aisles stocked with delicious grub, the last thing we want to do is spend 20 minutes reorganizing the fridge to it's maximum efficiency. But the truth is that practicing these 3 key moves next time you stock your fridge will save you money, save energy and make your delicious food last longer.
1. Make use of "filler" foods.
A empty fridge space can be a huge power (and wallet!) suck. So stock up on stay-cold nonperishable "filler" foods. Pack a frequently bare shelf with bottles of water, or cans of beer and soda. Or you could always keep a few unopened bottles of white wine for a last-minute party.
2. Stock like a grocery store with a FIFO method.
FIFO stands for "first in, first out." Grocery stores stock new perishables in the back so that us shoppers reach for the older stuff first and keep their stock fresh for much longer. You can follow the same method at home. Put the older carton of eggs in front. And stock a few older Apples in front of the Strawberries you just brought home to keep snackers going for the older stock first.
3. Look at pictures of your refrigerator.
This one comes from our clever reader, funstraw. Use Google to search for product pictures of your fridge. The manufacturers photos usually show the best place to put your veggies, meat and drinks (and everything else). As funstraw said, "the manufacturer spends lots of time and money developing an efficient way for the appliance to work."
(Images: Flickr member Sontra licensed under Creative Commons, Mirror.co.uk)
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Really? Encouraging people to stock up on bottled water?
I fill a shelf with glass bottles full of tap water. I prefer water chilled, and this is the easiest way. Plus, the bottles are quite pretty to have on the table at dinner parties.
I do the same thing, Doddibot!
Cans are evil. Don't buy them, they contain aluminium that needs insane amounts of energy for production. Re-usable bottles are better. Coated carton is best, but doesn't work for bubbly stuff.
who keeps apples in the fridge? and why?
I like my apples cold and crunchy. :-)
So I do =)
The "filler" idea just lends substance to my "must keep fridge well stocked with beer and champagne at all times" theory. Yay! :)
I third the cold & crunchy apples bit. Though I don't understand putting them in front of the strawberries - strawberries perish far more quickly than apples. In fact, I find mine only last maybe five days max, whereas the apples I purchase are good for weeks.
I prefer my apples room temperature, but I have put them in the fridge from time to time.
One thing we do is we have a Tupperware with all of our cheese, butter and ghee on one of the shelves. Cheese frequently comes in odd and nonuniform packaging that often has to be re-shrink-wrapped after opening. So instead of searching through the fridge, we just pull out the Tupperware, close the fridge, pull out the cheese we need and quickly replace the Tupperware.
Actually thats FILO (First in, Last out) not FIFO. FIFO would mean that what ever you put in first, is the first thing that you take out and use. If your putting new food in the back, and taking out older food, you are using FILO (first thing to go in, is the last thing to come out).
Yes, do stock up on bottled water! September is Emergency Preparedness Month. You can survive for 3 weeks without food, but only 3 days without water. But as Katiekills was alluding to, just don't go sucking it down out of laziness.
The post is correct in its definition of FIFO. The older grocery items are in stock earlier than the new items, making the older items "first in". By positioning those older items in the front of the grocery display, the grocer is encouraging older items to be chosen first: aka "first out", FIFO. New items stocked in the back of the display would be the "last in". Those who are placing their newer strawberries in front of their older apples are using the FILO/LIFO methodology described by @operator.
I won't ever eat an apple if it isn't cold, I absolutely detest apples at room temperature
Can anyone point to some empirical data to backup #1? It has always seemed like an urban myth to me. Air has a very low heat capacity so only as small amount of cold is "lost" when the door is opened. And if you have to remove a bottle of cold water when you need the space for food, loads more energy is wasted.
FIFO isn't always the best system, particularly in your apples/strawberries analogy. Yes, if it's the exact same food then use FIFO, but apples will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, whereas those strawberries need to be eaten in the first couple of days.
All berries are weak so FIFO works in that case. However, apples can last absurdly long at cold temps, thus why the apple industry freeze their product post harvest to keep supplies coming year round.
I think the bigger picture here is become better aware of your foods' individual lifespan and map your fridge accordingly.
my father taught me ways to save everything, electricity, food, etc. when I was a small child. I never knew it was suggested by other people. however, people ignore my suggestions. (when you leave the room, no one in it, shut out the lights).
I live alone in an older house...which is relevant to this thread because I've started keeping my box of sugary stuff (sugars, molasses, honey etc) as well as any open and tempting items (the rare cookies or cereals) in the fridge. Yes, it's bloody hard to open and pour the honey/molasses, but it's way better than ants and it keeps the fridge full!