Sunday, March 16, 2008

A Refrigerator Rant

What is it about a refrigerator that makes it so impossible to keep organized?

Is it the number of people who use it on daily basis? Is it the amount of food that it holds for a family of 5? (now days it is likely to be 8 and run up to 14 on weekends) Or is it just me, the user?

After almost 27 years of marriage, Jim and I have made compromises and adjustments which have relieved most of the domestic tension in the household. For instance, I know he wants plenty of clean socks and underwear in his drawer at all times and he knows that I want the bed made if he is the last one up. Our one area of continuous domestic frustration these days is the refrigerator.

As kids we were both reprimanded for standing with the refrigerator door open as we stared inside deciding what we wanted from it's vast treasures. These days, we still stand there staring...only this time we are trying to find what we went to get from inside it's cavernous abyss. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to know that you just brought a certain item home from the grocery store yesterday but for the life of you, you just can't seem to find it while preparing the meal!

I have never claimed to be an organized person. As a matter of fact, the running joke around our house is how many baskets and containers that I have purchased over the years in an attempt to get organized. I have subscribed to 'fly lady', read numerous books on the subject and made several attempts at different systems, all to no avail. I have friends and family members who are so on top of their game that you can name any item and they can have their hands on it in less than 60 seconds. I admire their organizational skills...and I wish I could somehow catch some of those skills by osmosis...yet I cannot even conquer the 3' X 5' white box in my kitchen.

How about you? Do you have any ideas that might help us tame the savage GE beast that holds us hostage at meal time and hides the leftovers until they are in need of a surgeon general warning?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is so weird. I too have been complaining about our frig. Mine is a simple fix though. I need a bigger frig. I had a side by side when we moved into the house. It was wonderful but within 2 years it went out. So we got out our trusty little frig that we had hooked up in the storage room for overflow during the holidays or when something went on sale that we wanted to buy in bulk. This little frig is from the trailer and is about 15 years old and still kickin'. It is very small therefore the least little bit of extra anything makes it impossible to find anything. My advice is have a frig for you and one for everyone else. HA HA

Rita

Fonda said...

Rita,
I love that idea! I have thought about bringing the side by side from the Alief house to use for all drinks and snacks. That would keep the one in the kitchen for meal prep use only. I added two large drawers to one of the shelves yesterday morning -- one for cheeses and one for meats. I designated the top shelf for dairy, the second shelf for all the bottled items that do not fit in the door and the bottom shelf for the larger sized vegetables and leftovers. It worked for yesterday...but I will have to let you know if it sticks!