How to Transform A Refrigerator Drawer Like A Pro

A recent refrigerator purchase gave me a new dilemma - what to do with the wide deli drawer?  If you looked at refrigerators now, some have a super-wide "deli" drawer that usually has one or two dividers in it and not a lot of flexibility.  Adding items to this drawer can be quite annoying - the items lay on top of one another and over time get forgotten and pushed into the back where it is left uneaten.  No good!  We don't like wasting food in our home so this drawer needs to be updated.

Here's how to transform a refrigerator drawer like a pro.

First, empty out the drawer.  Here is what my drawer looked like before I reorganized it. See how the items layer on top of one another. There are other things underneath the lunchmeat and cheese. Then, as you open and close the drawer, those items move from the front of the drawer to the back of the drawer - annoying.  We end up digging through the drawer to find the right item, hoping and praying the food didn't go back because we had forgotten about it for a few days.

Next, I wrote down how many containers and what size I needed. I also made a note of the measurements of the drawer.  I start by measuring the length of the item I wanted to store in the container.  If it has measurements on the packaging, like 4 cups of shredded cheese, I made a note of these measurements because most containers show how much volume they hold. If items are flat, like lunchmeat, I measure the height and width and length of them.  This will help with determining the container size also.

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The best use for a large drawer like this is buying shallow containers with or without lids. Since it is a drawer, it's up to the user if he/she wants containers with lids. The benefit of lids on containers is it contains the odor of the item if it goes bad.

I found these great Pyrex® Snapware® glass containers at my nearby grocery store.  FYI - I am not getting a commission from Pyrex®.  They snap on all four sizes and have a great seal all the way around the glass container.  I love that the container is glass because it will last longer than plastic. The lid is plastic but that doesn't bother me since the food in this drawer usually doesn't touch the lids.  The product is made in the USA too =) and has a Limited Lifetime Warranty.  It also is oven safe glass, microwave safe, dishwasher safe and airtight leakproof.  Cool, right?  I purchased 2 of 6 cups /1.5 L food keepers and 4 of the 4 cups / 950 L food keepers.

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I cleaned the containers first and let them air dry. I prefer to let it completely dry as opposed to drying them myself because if I miss an area and there is a wet spot in the container, adding food to it will make the food go bad faster.  Moldy food is no Bueno unless you like that sort of thing.

The next day, I removed the affixed divider in the drawer and removed the food from the wrappers. I added them to the appropriate sized containers. I also added a label to each with the date of when I purchased the food. You can also write the expiration date on the label if you want. It usually finishes before the expiration date in our house so it's not that important for us.  Here's the after picture. What do you think?  Much better, right?  

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Making this change has really made the drawer much more functional. Items don't move around as much anymore. And, the food is not laying on top of one another.

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I hope this helps you with your refrigerator drawer.  Do you have one of these drawers? What did you do to deal with this large drawer?  Please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.

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