Getting Holiday Leftovers to Fit In the Refrigerator

Everyone has that problem during the holidays when they cook too much food and there is no place to put the leftovers. The refrigerator is just too packed and it feels impossible to get those holiday leftovers to fit in the refrigerator. Additionally, I personally hate when I have to dig through food obstacles just to get to what I want. There is always something that will tip or spill over, making more of a mess and time waster. Make the holidays less stressful for yourself and everyone else involved by fitting everything in the fridge right the first time.

There are a few easy solutions to this problem. The first one does not involve any organizing or tricky maneuvering.

• There are less fortunate people everywhere who wouldn't mind a bit of extra food this season. Check out homeless or food shelters to see if they will accept cooked food. If you know someone who might have lost their job recently and might need some help with feeding themselves or their family. Just make a friendly gesture that you need some help clearing out your refrigerator. They would be doing you a favor.
• Friends and family are great ways to lessen the strain on your refrigerator. Get a lot of disposable Tupperware and pack the food. If you buy a lot of food that is in a plastic container, wash them up and reuse them. Butter containers, yogurt containers, tomato sauce glass jars, takeout containers and salsa jars are just a few great reusable containers. If you don't have any of these available, I usually ask the guests, family or friends to bring their own Tupperware so they can take as much as they want.

• Get some Tupperware that is stackable and pile the food into these containers. Do not put dishes in the fridge because it makes it impossible to stack the food safety without it tipping over. The best way for me to get leftovers to fit in the fridge is to imagine everything like boxes. If it's not in a box like shape container, then put the food in one. It makes everything much easier to organize in the fridge. By doing it this way, I can cram whatever I want, in just about any direction. As long as it remains still, I know it will fit.
• For soups, broths or jams, get yourself a funnel and wash up a milk or juice plastic container. Make sure it is clean. Give it a smell and make sure there are no remnants of the old liquids. Pour your leftover liquids into the funnel and you're set. Now you have a closeable lid to prevent any spills.
• Combine food that has one or two pieces left. Obviously this doesn’t work as well for wet foods but works great for rice and semi dry meats. If you intend on eating them together, just save someone else the trouble and put them together.

• Be sure to date the food with some simple masking tape applied the containers. That way you know which ones need to be eaten first and which ones need to be tossed out. Find out what can be frozen and placed in the freezer. Jams, soups and some vegetables can be easily frozen and eaten at a later date without much flavor loss.
• With all this food stuffed in the fridge, it is a great time to make sure it is being cooled at the right temperatures. Get yourself a fridge thermometer and make sure it is around 38-40 degrees F. When your food is properly cooled, it will last much longer and you won't have to eat everything or throw much out.

If all else fails, just eat at friends or family’s house and take their leftovers. Let someone else be stressed out this season when trying to cram all the food into the refrigerator. Happy Holidays!