Battle Fridge: How to Stay on your Roommate's Good Side

Let's be honest, people. Fridges are the most frustrating part of a kitchen, especially if you have a room mate, or maybe five. Maybe you like to cook some steaks during the summer and your room mate is a vegan. Or maybe you have a bottle of hot sauce that is mysteriously getting lower by the day. Or just maybe, you just moved in with your significant other and realize that one of you likes white bread and the other whole grain. Oy, the disasters a fridge can cause to your relationships and to your budget. A disorganized fridge is like snipping a hole at the bottom of your pocket and letting your money pour out.

The official definition of refrigerator is an appliance or compartment that is artificially kept cool and used to store food and drink. But what the definition does NOT include is that this compartment that looks rather large, bulky and (if you are a renter) ugly on the outside, is actually quite small and very rarely customizable on the inside.

If you have a fridge that doesn't fit that particularly large bottle of wine vertically in any section of your fridge, can I get an AMEN! Or how about those of you who have a lot of perishables that won't quite fit in your crisper, can I get a HELL YEAH! Well renters, unfortunate fridge owners, those of you with too many room mates just to make the rent, I have for you some ways to keep the peace in your apartment, house, or home.

The best way to save space and money while grocery shopping is to create a joint grocery shopping list for perishables and share-ables. These items could be fruits, vegetables, salad dressing, milk, and OJ or any other sort of item that people in your household share. For example, Melissa and I share eggs, TJ Orange Peach Mango juice, tofu, vegetables, fruit, and condiments. We do NOT share bread, milk and cereal. Imagine if we bought double of those items? This is what happens when you have multiple room mates. You could have 3 egg crates and then half of the eggs go bad by the expiration date. Another big one is ketchup or mustard. Right now, I live with Melissa and another friend, but we probably have 4 bottles of mustard in our fridge. How silly. Why would I need 4 bottles of mustard? And then I'll probably complain about not having space for Woodchuck tonight in the fridge.

Another excellent point on sharing is creating family dinner nights for you and yours. You could make it pot luck, or you could even make it a night to just clear out all of your left overs or soon-to-be-expired foods.

For those of you with many room mates, this will probably be hard to instill at first, but will work wonders. Clear bins. Assign each room mate to a bin, and label the front with the room mate's name. Each room mate keeps their individual items in the bins, and every room mate knows who bought the food. So if you want to borrow something, you know who to ask. There can be a community shelf on the top or the bottom of the fridge for bread, eggs, etc. It's important to have clear bins so that way you know what is in each container and there are no funky smells or mystery meats later in the week. For bin suggestions, I would suggest Mainstays containers at Walmart. They're really cheap, come in different sizes and are made for your fridge. If you are not near a Walmart, Container Stores or Bed Bath and Beyonds have similar solutions.

Foods that are not in clear bins or for some reason do not fit in clear bins should have your initials or color coded dots. You can find colored dots at any dollar store, Walmart, Target, or any office supplies store. Assign each room mate with a color and then label accordingly. I would strongly suggest having a notecard with the colors and names on the outside of the fridge so that there is no confusion, or no "I thought that was my color" bull crap when you realize someone ate your cookies.

All condiments should be placed on the door of the fridge, unless you want to keep it in your bin. Trust me, this saves space. And if you haven't done so already, adjust the height of each shelf to fit all of your items. If you think something doesn't fit, you can make it fit.

Once a week, check foods that have expired. Expired foods are probably what take up the most clutter in someone's fridge. If you have had ketchup or any condiment in your fridge for over a year, it's probably bad--don't use it and throw it out. Reward yourself with a new bottle of ketchup. It'll probably taste better and look better. Make sure every room mate does this with their individual eats, and if you see something that's expired that belongs to them, don't just throw it out. Let them know nicely or write them a note on a white board on your fridge.

So I hate to say it, but a lot of the items that you store in the fridge really belong elsewhere. Here's a little taste of what doesn't need refrigeration. And who knows? Maybe this will make a lot more room in your fridge. Of course, you CAN refrigerate these things if you want, and if it's more practical for your kitchen space, but that's all up to you. It's not necessary.

Potatoes, honey, onions, tomatoes, peanutbutter, bread (up to you), bananas, baked goods, oils, apples, basil, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, ginger, grapefruit, jicama, lemons, limes, mangoes, oranges, papayas, peppers, pineapple, pomegranates, watermelon, squash, sweet potatoes, unopened canned goods, hot sauce, jellies and jams, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, mustard.



Hope this helps!! Send pictures of your refrigerator's before and after! As for me, I'll probably do this to my fridge too.

Kitchen Pantry

 

Of all the things that I have done in my life, I regret one thing: not taking a before picture of this pantry. If you would have seen the before, only then would you know the extreme impact of decluttering and organizing this pantry. The picture above is pristine, I know, but it does not show how many things were stored in here. For example, there were 5 cans and bottles of gravy. You think that's funny? Look at your pantry and tell me you don't have cranberry sauce from last Thanksgiving. There was also a large basket on the floor that housed a lot of Nutrisystem, but we ended up throwing that away along with the 8 other trash bags of expired food and one box of donated canned goods. 

Since these shelves are pretty deep, the main problem with functionality in this closet was the visibility of all the food items. I suggested that we use Lazy Susans from Bed Bath and Beyond for canned goods and bottles. This way, Cindy and Greg would easily find items and save money by not buying doubles of something. Something as simple as Lazy Susans created a more functional pantry. There was no need for labeled containers, or fancy shelving, which is what I feel like people tend to resort to in times of pantry disorganization. The more simple a solution is, the better!

 

We then separated the food into sections to the left and right of the Lazy Susans.The categories that work best for this family ended up being pasta, breakfast, snacks, Nutrisystem shelf (my personal favorite, since it's now all in one place and organized by meal), plastic bags and storage, baking, party supplies, and cooking supplies. Some minor adjustments that we made were adjusting a shelf to fit cereal boxes, fixing a crooked shelf, and removing the basket on the floor! Ta-da!

Entryway Plans

When you walk into my apartment, the first thing you see is my kitchen, and the small tunnel-like entryway leading into the living room area. It's dark and sloppy and smells like whatever we cooked for the last meal. Maybe I'm being cruel, but no, I'm pretty sure the hallway resembles a panic room or a hobbit hole. If you've come to visit my apartment and haven't mentioned the smell, or the mess--thank you. You're in my good graces. Thank you for being patient with me and with Icky's shedding season.

There are some awesome things about my entryway too, like that its rounded, sort of like....a hobbit hole OR to add a cool retro feel. It's actually the first part of the apartment I fell in love with. I wasn't sure why, but I think in a world of very blunt edges and tall skyscrapers, round things are sort of cute. And they make me happy.

So this entryway obviously needs a face lift. There are no lights, except one infamous boob light.You know which one I mean. The one that plagues all cookie cutter homes and apartments. Sorry to let you down.

There she blows!

I was pretty tempted to stick a boob comparison picture next to this, but let's be real, we're adults here. ( . )

As you can see, this light doesn't effectively light my tunnel passage. So I did some research on hot wiring track lighting. I think it's doable, but will have to hold off for future funding.

My main concern in the hallway is really a matter of storage. There is a little nook in my hallway that I had previously mentioned. Please brace yourself for the images I'm about to show you. This is the true representation of how it looks like before anything is fixed up. Ready? Take a deep breath.

Oh, God. Horrendous, I know. I bet my mom is cringing right now, saying "Anak!!" So this is my unsuccessful attempt of keeping everything together, neat and precise in the entryway. It worked for about...a week. And for the past three months, it's been in really poor condition. Visitors--you have been exposed to laundry and cleaning supplies, shoes, dog supplies, our blow dryer, and old boxes.

So moving forwards, here is my task list for this little nook. My goal is to transform it into a calming, storage-packed, minimal entryway, filled with light and a place to sit for shoe-tying.

Task List:

1. Add some color-Painting horizontal stripes will make the hallway nook look longer and lighter.
2. Get rid of storage cubes-I'm going to nix the college dorm cubes and stick them in the closet.
3. Add shoe storage solution. 
4. Get a storage ottoman for seating and storage.
5. Add shelving for the entryway mirror and some flowers!
6. Find a mail solution.
7. Add track lighting.
8. Add a personal touch. 

So, as I've said before, I'm on a student budget aka I have no extravagant budget to make this entryway look like a Color Splash renovation. BUT, I have tricks up my sleeve, and I'm really excited to get workin'! I don't want to post too much at once, so I'm leaving you all with a picture of what I hope the final product will look like, minus the "personal touches" like photos and such. I am also still brainstorming on a mail solution.

 Yay! So I know I have a horrible sense of perspective, but bear with me--you get the idea. I have a black corner shelf (which Melissa already owned) in the corner of the nook. This is where I'm going to place the mirror I repainted the other day and a glass for flowers. Underneath that, I want to put some white Skubb shoe boxes from IKEA for shoe storage. They're $9.99 for a 4-pack if you want to grab some for yourself, but we already have some.

As for the storage ottoman, I am still looking, but I think I want to get this Microfiber Storage Ottoman with a Tufted Top in Grey from Bed Bath and Beyond. It's about $20, but I want to see it in person first.

As for paint, I will be using Behr sample paint colors that I've had from a while ago, to save money and because the colors actually looked great. The green in the image looks a little greener than the actual paint color, but if you closely in the first nook image, there is a painted swatch on the wall. I'm also going to paint the inside of the arch a peach color and the dividing wall that dark grey from the bathroom. I want to use the grey to unify each room in the apartment because the apartment is broken up awkwardly.

Sadly, the entry way is too small for a rug and too cramped for a cute chandelier. I'm going to have to use some personal touches to get it just right. In the meantime, Icky and I are going jogging. She's overweight. *surprise*

Bathroom Miracle Numero Uno

When a hardworking person is stressed out, they begin to daydream of lighting some candles and taking a long, bubbly bath, painting their nails or getting ready to go out on a night on the town. Unfortunately, my bath tub is far from providing a luxurious, relaxing bath, let alone a nice shower. These stress relievers all center around one room in the home. What room you say? Hopefully your bathroom! (Unless you are a lucky kitchen tub New Yorker.)

Seeing as my bathroom is much too small to hang out in, I settled for redecorating and organizing it during my Spring Break last week for a bit of therapy. When I say small, I don’t mean small. I mean the door scrapes the toilet and there is like 5 square feet of standing space. Oh, the joy of living in New York.

My major complaints: 

• No Towel Bar: The towels would have to dry hanging on the shower bar, and would get gross smelling too quickly. 
• No toilet paper holder: The toilet paper lived in a plastic bag on the floor or on the sink. 
• Off-white, yellowing walls
• Lack of storage

Here are some before images. 

Before: Rusty off-white pipes and walls, awkward mysterious wire, and yellowing grout.

Literally the storage situation on a daily basis...no exaggeration.

The two towels and two bathrobes.

Medicine cabinet storage

Waking up every morning and stepping into this hot mess was no laughing matter! From the gross rusty pipe running behind the toilet, to the half-broken toilet paper holder. From the leaky bathtub to the broken toilet seat. AND the infamous bathroom light on the ceiling.

There it is....staring right at me.

There was a ringing voice in the back of my head saying, “Paula, how are you going to pay for all of this?” Okay, so this voice was probably my mom. (Love you) But I had a plan. I wanted to re-do all of the bathroom for under $50. Granted, this is a rental, so it’s not like I can replace the bathtub and the toilet. This will come later down the road once I approach the super. What I can do is paint, decorate, and make things organized. And voila!

After

After

So first thing is first. Paint. I had been secretly thinking about painting this bathroom since the day we moved in. But paying for a full priced can of paint was not in my budget. I stalked the Home Depot "Oops Paint" shelf about every other day for two weeks until the perfect shade of dark grey popped up. $6 for a gallon! The bathroom is so tiny that I only used about 1/3 of the gallon. I am planning on using the rest mixed with a white base to create a light creamy grey for another area of the apartment.

Painting took about 3 hours all together. After waiting for the paint to dry, I rehung the shelf in its new location and added in the new toilet paper holder and towel bar! I bought these at Home Depot. It was an Oak Bath Accessories 4-piece Kit for $10. Since it's a rental, I didn't want to spend the extra money on fancy accessories. I would ideally like bamboo or stainless steel.

The doors are particle board so, unfortunately I could not add hooks for the robes.

This is our shower curtain, but sadly not our claw-foot tub. I couldn't get a good picture of it.

After installing all the accessories, I wanted to add some hooks above the toilet! My plan was to hang the brushes off the hooks. I bought some cheap hooks at Home Depot for about $5. The framed print above the hooks is NOT actually a print! It's a recycled tote bag that I found while unpacking our "hoarding room." I cut the tote to fit into a repurposed frame. Clever, no? Here's a better view.

The only thing left to tackle in this one-day venture was the medicine cabinet.You couldn't really tell through pictures, but the wood behind the contact paper had like crusted toothpaste or something mysterious in the corners. Yeah....I didn't want to see that. At least the toilet was right next to it. I was SO tempted to sand and revarnish the wood, but a rental is a rental and it's money that I did not want to spend. Who knows...maybe I'll change my mind down the road. I decided to sort through the contents of the cabinet and take out what we did not use on a daily or weekly basis. I found some great contact paper at Saiffee Hardware store down the street for only $3! Simple and temporary solution. I removed the shelving and cut a piece to cover the back. I'll have a separate post on all this cabinet organization stuff later on.

Yes, the nose is a glasses holder. The Q-tips are also in a repurposed glass bean container from Trader Joe's.

Let's conclude, shall we? Here is a rough estimate of the budget. Keep in mind, there is left over paint and contact paper for other projects!

Paint: $6
Paint Supplies: $15
Hooks: $5
Contact Paper: $3
Oak Bath Accesories: $10
Total (so far): $39!

For renters or home decorating junkies, work with what you own first, then branch out and purchase what you need. The items on top of the medicine cabinet were grabbed from the living room and the frame and tote made a great decorative piece. The same goes for the candles on top of the toilet and the storage boxes on the shelf.

I still plan on replacing the light to something more appropriate and organizing the under-sink storage.

That's all for now folks! It's the end of a very lengthy first post! Stay tuned for the under the sink storage post and a little something on my hallway make-over!