.the refrigerator.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a post of any substance over here! I’ve been a tad obsessed with my house and then life just gets going, you know how it goes. I don’t know if everyone who reads my blog knows but I’ve lost 34 pounds in the past few months and am making changes in my life – little by little. Recently I have cut out all my grains, legumes, and dairy. I have a lot of digestive/tummy issues that I don’t know where they come from, and no one can really figure it out either.

I heard of the ‘Paleo Diet’ and bought Dr. Cordains book, The Paleo Diet and after reading a little bit of it I thought why not? What is the worst that can happen? I cut out all my soda, sugars, and foods that are possibly making me sick all the time? That doesn’t sound like such a bad deal does it? So I did, and in the first week I lost 3.5 pounds! I have more energy, and I just generally feel better. This new food life I’m living calls for a lot of produce and meat, and my biggest question is how do I store it properly?

After some research I learned that the crisper drawers in my fridge do actually do something! When I got home from the store this morning I tackeled re-organizing my fridge wiping it out and making ‘fridge rules’. As Mr. B mentioned, he didn’t know we had old fridge rules – well, we didn’t.

Now we do.

Meet my fridge…

And this is everything I took out of it…

I’m not the only one that eats out of my fridge, nor is it 100% Paleo but it’s what it is – the majority of my fridge consists of produce/meat, etc. The other stuff is for when the Mr. comes home and wants Fry Sauce or Chocolate milk.

You can pretty much see what all I have, if you want to know about something go ahead and ask, :). I realized that I wasn’t utilizing my drawers right, nor was I using all my produce up because ‘I didn’t feel like cleaning it’.

• Nothing enters the fridge without being washed.
• Items that need proportioning / slicing / cutting won’t be placed in the fridge until this is done.

That’s it. Just two pretty simple rules to follow. Nothing major. I want the fridge to be a grab & go for healthy foods and snacks, not an extension of the grocery store.

This is how I store my stuff in my fridge, you can disagree or you might know a better way, if you do – please share, but this is how I’m doing it until I learn / find out a better way.

Low Humidity Items -  These are things that I just keep in the fridge, no drawers just alone: Strawberries, Avocados, Tomatoes, Apples, Grapes, Mushrooms, Okra, Peppers, Squash, and Pears.

Medium Humidity Items – These go in a drawer that I have the slider halfway open: Sweet Potatoes, Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Melon, Onions.

High Humidity – These are in a drawer with the setting set high: Leafy Greens (unless washed and stored in paper towels in bags), Broccoli, Brussels, Cauliflower, Carrots, Green Onions.

This is my finished fridge, all proportioned and pretty! Makes me want to cook and eat! Love the final product, only took me 3 hours to accomplish it all but I’m very happy – next is the freezer… or maybe not.

I also need to mention that in the bottom drawer I keep my meats and some fruits, coconut, etc. This is the coldest part of my fridge so it’s good for proteins, and all the stuff you want really chilled.