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Organizing a fridge isn’t necessarily intuitive. Once you’ve filled the prime central space with all the big cartons, pitchers, and storage for leftovers; the top shelf with cans and jars; and the crisper drawer with produce, you’re left with all the random miscellanea that fridges do not account for. This is because they do not adhere to the old human adage: It’s the small things in life that count. A fridge will look at those little jams you stole from a hotel, that sample bottle of hot sauce, and that half-eaten edible you’re still holding onto and say, “Figure it out yourself, bitch.” Scenarios like this need a solution, and that solution is a fridge junk drawer.
This drawer is essentially an extra fridge drawer that clamps onto the bottom of a glass shelf. I sought one out because I was sick of submitting myself to the chaos of stacking tiny tubes and jars on and around larger objects, only to hear a muffled crash as soon as I shut the door. This cycle confounded me. Whenever I opened my fridge, I was thinking about where things should go or how I could do a better job maintaining order. I wanted something in my fridge that would act as a miniature junk drawer: an easily accessible place for all the things that had no place.
There are plenty of these bonus drawers available online that are affordable and easy to install without tools. I like this Smart Design one in particular, a lightweight plastic basket that slides along two rails, can hold up to 15 pounds, and costs only $26. It can adjust to fit fridge shelves between 14 and 22 inches in length, the basket itself is nice and narrow (about 8 inches wide), and it doesn’t eat up too much vertical space (adjustable up to 5.25 inches tall). I installed my junk drawer as soon as it arrived, and five minutes later I discovered a newfound order and harmony within my fridgescape.
Tubes—tomato, harissa, anchovy—have been the primary occupants of my new fridge drawer. In my old fridge setup, they refused to stack, slid around and wedged themselves behind larger objects, and often split and leaked at their creases. This drawer gives these restive tubes of paste a place where they can flop around in peace. I’ve also nestled in a few Taco Bell Diablo sauces, a jar of homemade lemon curd, and a couple tins of anchovies (since those also should be refrigerated).
It’s been a small change, but after implementing the drawer, I noticed that my overstuffed and chaotic fridge was actually not that overstuffed and chaotic. Just as my vegetables and milk cartons had their own designated spaces in my fridge, so did my nonessentials essentials I’ve been squirreling away in hard-to-reach spots but turning to again and again. Now they are fully in my line of sight—and at the ready for whatever I’m cooking.
I accept that some level of clutter is inescapable. The fridge is premium real estate after all, and newcomers are always finding their way in and trying to stake their claim. (Aside from food, more and more people keep makeup, face creams, analog film, and batteries in there too.) However, maintaining it doesn’t require a masters degree in organization science. Adding this drawer was a cheap and easy solution—and it hast completely reconfigured my relationship with my fridge. I no longer spend thinking about how to best manage it. I actually don’t think about my fridge really at all now. I just get in there, grab what I need, and start cooking, which is how it should be.
Smart Design Adjustable Sliding Fridge Drawer
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