Onion Skins and Potato Dirt

Onion Skins and Potato Dirt

Does your refrigerator produce drawers have onion skins and potato dirt?   When I get a bag of onions or potatoes, before they are gone, the drawer is loaded with with skins and dirt.  It’s such a mess and not the easiest to clean unless you remove the entire drawer.   That was until I came up with a solution.   After removing everything, I took the drawers out and thoroughly washed and dried them.   Then I got two plastic storage bins, I had a few plastic shoe box sized ones that worked perfectly.

In one bin I added the onions, the other I used for the potatoes.  They fit side by side just great.  I pushed them to the back of the drawer and that gave me room in the front of the drawer to store peppers, squash or other vegetables that weren’t “dirty”.   It’s so much easier to remove the bin to clean without taking everything out of the refrigerator drawer.

Another way I keep things organized in the large refrigerator drawer is by using the plastic inserts that come with products I purchase.  I save everything, knowing someday it will come in handy.  I keep my cheeses, salad dressing packages and other condiments in this drawer.  It’s hard to keep small things in place so that’s where the place inserts come in very handy.

One insert opened up flat and was usable on both sides so the salad dressing packages were perfect for that.  I had a rectangular shaped one that wasn’t very high and it holds the cheese slices so they are easy to keep in order.   Another similar shaped one is for the individual packs of catsup and mustard.  I had a small insert that came from a portable battery charger that is just right for my lemon juice packets.  It looks so neat and orderly when I open the refrigerator and so much easier to clean.

So next time you unpack something you purchased, check the little plastic inserts and think before you throw them away. Whether it be for in the refrigerator, kitchen drawers, bathroom cabinet or desk drawers, there is always somewhere a little storage tray will work perfect.  They don’t take up much storage space either. I stack them by size into the largest one with the smaller sizes piled in the large one.  I love saving the landfill and finding ways to re-purpose things that I already have and saving money by using what we already have.