Organizing

The Chrissy Teigen–Approved Method to Organize Your Fridge

Foolproof tips to fill your fridge in a way that makes sense.

May  8, 2021
Photo by Rocky Luten

There are countless ways to organize your fridge. On this site alone, we’ve suggested bins and baskets and plastic tubs for storing greens. I’ve spent many a moment lamenting the calamity that is my cluttered icebox, wondering if there was some method to escape all the madness. A clean and tidy fridge is close to godliness…isn’t that how the saying goes?

Well, perhaps this Chrissy Teigen video can offer some advice. A few weeks ago, she partnered with organizing expert Krystal Guinn (whom she met through Instagram) to make an informational video about fridge organization. The video, uploaded to Teigen’s YouTube channel, clocks in at just over 4 minutes and offers a foolproof, easy-to-follow method to fill your fridge in a way that makes sense.

“My general approach to organizing is to start with a plan of action, no matter the space,” Guinn told me over Instagram. “Mapping out a plan is what will help you execute your organization project most effectively.”

Before doing anything, Guinn empties out the fridge and cleans the insides. Then, the fun begins. Guinn’s approach can be easily summarized in four steps—think of them as guiding principles:

Grouping

What this means is putting like with like. Guinn puts all her condiments in one area, she keeps the dairy items all together, and she even sets aside an entire shelf only for beverages. Grouping helps create patterns and establish a visually understandable system of organization.

Compartmentalizing

Guinn likes to add other accessories to the fridge to help create more spaces for grouping and organizing. This means clear bins for citrus or small racks for cans of Coke. My personal favorite (Teigen's, too!) is the clear plastic lazy Susan she uses for sauces. (Teigen also employs this trick in her hyper-organized pantry, where she has a turntable devoted just to Tabasco!)

Visibility

What this means is making sure everything is always visible so nothing ever gets caught or forgotten behind other items. To ensure visibility, Guinn recommends keeping tall items behind shorter ones, putting juices in clear bottles and leftovers in clear plastic storage containers.

Uniformity

Guinn prioritizes “keeping in mind the flow of your fridge.” Here she is making sure the aesthetic appeal of everything in your fridge works. To ensure uniformity she stacks beverages by size, and spaces out rows of items to allow for an easier-on-the-eyes experience.

Now it’s time to put some of Guinn’s tricks to the test. I know what I’ll be up to this weekend.

What are your go-to fridge organization techniques? Let us know in the comments.
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Valerio is a freelance food writer, editor, researcher and cook. He grew up in his parent's Italian restaurants covered in pizza flour and drinking a Shirley Temple a day. Since, he's worked as a cheesemonger in New York City and a paella instructor in Barcelona. He now lives in Berlin, Germany where he's most likely to be found eating shawarma.

1 Comment

M May 11, 2021
It's easy to organize a fridge and make it look great when half of it is equal-sized beverages and mass amounts of citrus, and the other half has been chopped, washed, decanted, and stored in containers. What happens after a farmers' market trip full of large greens-topped vegetables? Or your condiments grow bigger than the space allowed? (Which happens when you frequently make food from different cultures.) Or food going bad because you put it where it fits best, but it's the wrong cooling zone for the fridge? (Buttermilk lasts longer in the cool, back corner regardless of size.)

I've sadly yet to see one of these organizing experts actually take on these everyday challenges.