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Fridge
Clutter and How to Avoid it
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 Copyright
2000, Debbie Williams
Anyone who spends any time at all in a
kitchen quickly learns about refrigerator
art: what it is, how it's displayed, and
who created it. If your refrigerator is
anything like that of other parents, it's
plastered with kid art, the family
calendar, homework assignments, soccer
schedules, doctor's appointment reminders,
and.... that's just the front!
My refrigerator is full, too, but I gave
up rearranging those teeny magnets ages
ago. No sooner would I get six of them to
hold up one tiny school picture, than SLAM
- there went the whole arrangement
crashing to the floor. Below are some of
my favorite tricks of the trade to start
taming the fridge clutterbug in your
home:
Art du Jour
- Instead of turning the front of your
refrigerator into an art gallery, why not
limit artwork to 1 per artist, saving the
remaining paintings for Grandma or the
scrapbook. Rotate the pictures daily or
weekly, store in a tagboard portfolio
beside the refrigerator, and then move
them to a more permanent home (like a
treasure box or scrapbook). Hint: place
your budding artists in charge of this
project, letting them choose one day a
week to change out the artwork. Create a
"home" for undisplayed work to live after
its served time in the magnetic
gallery.
Photo Mat
- Consider using magnetic-backed
acrylic frames to display your favorite
snapshots. These come in various sizes for
your photos, from wallet to 8x10. Or
consolidate your pictures into a collage
mat. Purchase these ready-made from
catalogs, or make your own by backing them
with heavy-duty magnet sheets purchased
from your local craft or discount
store.
Clip Art
- Purchase extra-strong magnetic clips
to hold important papers. Think of this as
a vertical clipboard where you can post
grocery list, soccer schedule, homework
assignments, signed field trip releases,
and copies of your latest dietary
requirements. Not only does this conserve
precious space, but also if your magnet is
strong enough, you can just flip through
to the page you need with little
rearranging.
Chore Charts
- Eliminate the need for repeated note
posting and use a pint-sized chore chart
for your family. I found a small wipe-off
board shaped like a pencil in the school
supply section of a local discount store,
complete with grids, stickers, and
erasable marker. This particular product
is backed with strong magnets, but you can
easily improvise and add your own to a
poster or homemade chart. If your kids are
small, you may want to hang this high to
avoid creative rearrangements of the
stickers.
ABCs and 123s Please
- Let's take a quick poll to see how many
sets of plastic alphabet magnets you
purchased before your kids reached
adolescence - anyone? I'll bet that if you
pulled out the refrigerator from the wall
or used a coat hanger, you could fish out
enough ABCs to write the Gettysburg
Address. Why not use an alphabet poster
instead, with medium-strength magnets
attached to the back? Take a quick road
trip to your local school supply, and you
will find posters on any subject that your
child is interested in: alphabet (upper
and lower), numbers (1-10, 10-20), farm
animals, manners, The 5 Senses, etc. I
think you get the picture - it's much
easier to corral a poster than a menagerie
of plastic parts. Once Junior is old
enough to use those plastic letters for
spelling words, he's outgrown the fridge
easel anyway, and can easily use a laptop
magnetic board or one that is mounted on
his wall.
With a bit of creativity and a lot of
consolidation, you can regain control of
your refrigerator for the purpose it was
intended: to keep foods cool or frozen,
and provide nutritional snacks for your
family. But don't ask me if that little
light really does stay on when you close
the door. I haven't managed to figure that
one out yet.
Did you like this article!
Rate
it.
About
the
Author:
Debbie Williams is a professional
organizer and editor of the online
organizing forum, OrganizedTimes.com
http://organizedtimes.com
She can be reached by email at
mailto:debbie@organizedtimes.com
Mail
this article to a friend (or yourself)
You will be returned to this page after
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