Day 1 of 12 Days of Back-to-School Prep: Fridge Clean-Out
Posted on August 27, 2026
Hi friends! Welcome to Day 1 of our 12 Days of Back-to-School Prep series. I am SO excited to walk through this with you this year. Over the next twelve posts, I’m sharing every single thing I do — the big projects and the tiny, five-minute wins — to get our house, our routines, and honestly, myself, ready for the new school year. From lunchboxes to homework stations to the little rituals that keep me sane once the chaos starts back up, we’re covering all of it together!
Day 1 of 12 Days of Back-to-School Prep: Fridge Clean-Out
And every year, I start in the same place: the refrigerator.
I know, I know — it might seem like a funny place to kick things off. But hear me out, because by the end of this post, I think you’ll see exactly why this is always my very first step!
Let’s do this!
Why I Always Start With the Fridge
Summer does a number on our fridge. Between pool days, popsicles, quick lunches on the fly, and all of us just grabbing whatever’s easiest, the fridge slowly turns into this soft chaos of half-used condiments, mystery leftovers, and produce that’s seen better days. By the time August rolls around, I genuinely could not tell you what’s actually in there.
And here’s the thing — once school starts, our mornings get tight. Really tight. There’s no time to stand in front of a cluttered fridge, digging around for the string cheese or wondering if we have enough milk for cereal. I need to be able to open that door and see, instantly, exactly what we have and where it is.
So every single year, before we tackle backpacks or school supplies or any of the “official” back-to-school stuff, I reset the fridge first. It’s become this little ritual for me — almost like a deep breath before the busier season begins. There’s something so satisfying about starting the year with a clean, organized space that actually works for our family.
A clean, well-organized fridge means:
Mornings move faster because everything has a home and you can see it at a glance
Meal and lunch prep is so much easier when you’re not hunting for ingredients
We waste so much less food because nothing gets lost and forgotten in the back
It’s genuinely one less thing weighing on my mind once the school year gets going
It really is a simple reset, but it sets such a good tone for the rest of the season. I always feel like if my fridge is a mess, my whole week feels a little more chaotic — so this is where I take my control back before things get busy.
How I Tackle the Fridge Clean-Out, Start to Finish
Here’s exactly how I walk through this every year. It usually takes me about an hour, start to finish, and I always put on a good podcast or some music to make it feel less like a chore and more like my little reset moment.
1. Take absolutely everything out.
I mean everything. Every jar, every container, every questionable leftover from three weeks ago. I pull it all out onto the counters and the kitchen island so I can actually see the full scope of what we’re working with. Yes, it looks like total chaos for the first ten minutes or so — my counters are covered, my kids are asking what’s for dinner in the middle of it, typical Tuesday — but this step is non-negotiable. You genuinely cannot organize a space you can’t fully see.
2. Toss what needs to go, and sort the rest.
This is the cathartic part. Anything expired, anything nobody can identify anymore, anything that’s been pushed to the back and forgotten — it all goes. I don’t feel guilty about it either; food waste happens, and this is just part of resetting. Once the tossing is done, I group what’s left into categories: condiments together, dairy together, snacks together, drinks together. Seeing it all sorted like this makes the next steps so much easier.
3. Wipe down every single shelf and drawer.
While everything is out, I take the chance to actually clean the fridge itself — not just wipe up an obvious spill, but really clean every shelf, every drawer, every little nook. I like using a simple mix of warm water and a splash of white vinegar; it cuts through sticky spills and lingering smells without any harsh chemicals, which feels better knowing it’s where our food lives.
4. Bring in bins and clear containers.
This is genuinely the step that changes everything. Loose items in a fridge get lost and shoved to the back within a week — but the second I group things into clear bins, everything has a home. And here’s the real win: when everything has an obvious home, my boys can actually find what they’re looking for (and, miracle of miracles, sometimes even put it back correctly). Clear bins also mean I can see at a glance when we’re running low on something, instead of discovering it’s empty right when I need it!
5. Restock with the school year in mind.
Once everything is clean and organized, I restock thinking ahead to what our mornings and afternoons are about to look like. That means easy grab-and-go breakfast items, pre-portioned snacks, and lunch-prep ingredients that are ready to go rather than requiring a whole production. Setting this up now means the rest of the week — and honestly, the rest of the school year — runs that much smoother.
I won’t pretend a clean fridge is the most glamorous part of back-to-school prep. It’s not the cute outfit or the fun school supplies. But out of everything I do in this whole series, this is genuinely one of the resets that makes the biggest quiet difference. It’s the first domino — once the fridge is calm and organized, it’s like the rest of the kitchen, and honestly the rest of the house, follows right along.
If you only do one thing from this whole series before school starts, I’d tell you to start here. It takes an hour, and it buys you so much peace for the weeks ahead. I’m then set up well to be able to tackle this each month since I have a great starting point!
Shop My Refrigerator Storage & Organization Pieces
Click on any of the thumbnail images in the gallery below to shop the exact bins, containers, and organization pieces I use to keep our fridge running smoothly all year long!
This is Day 1 of our 12 Days of Back-to-School Prep series! Follow along @thisisourbliss for the rest of the series, plus everyday boy mom life, style, and family adventures.
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