Today's fifteen minute decluttering missions is to declutter your refrigerator on the outside, on both the front and top of this appliance.
This mission is designed to be done while we work on the Organize Refrigerator & Freezer Challenge here on this site, which is one of the 52 Week Organized Home Challenges.
Of course, you can do it whenever it is important to you, and it really should be done more than once a year. However, if you work hard on it today, maintenance tasks to keep it clutter free will take minimal amounts of time going forward.
Why Is This Important?
Why is this important?
It's amazing how much visual clutter effects our mood and perception of a room.
Look at decorating or home interior magazines some time. We all yearn for rooms like that, and not only because they are beautifully decorated but because they seem calming, relaxing, a place you'd like to be.
Common Types Of Refrigerator Clutter
Those magazine homes don't have clutter in them and a prime place that clutter quickly accumulates in a kitchen is on your refrigerator.
On the top, if you don't have cabinets or other storage areas already up there, it is often a dumping ground for cereal boxes, plastic food storage containers, or anything really you don't have room for elsewhere.
(We actually in haste sometimes use the top of our refrigerator to put something out of reach of
our children, and then I find it much later, everyone having forgotten about it. Whoops!)
Must The Front Be Bare And Empty?
Now I'm not saying throw away every precious picture your budding artist has colored for you, or that you can't have any cute refrigerator magnets.
I'm just saying, curate carefully. Choose the best of the best, and then get rid of the rest. (Plus get rid of the trash still up on the fridge, like old reminders that have now passed.)
You'll appreciate the few touches you've kept on the front more this way.
Decluttering definitely doesn't require you to live in a sterile or boring environment, but the decorations you keep will stand out more when there is less visual competition for them.
Make Clearing Off Your Refrigerator A Habit
As I mentioned, I just have this Declutter 365 mission listed once in the declutter calendar. However, this is the type of simple quick task that you should make a habit.
Do it every week or two and it will take you less than two minutes each time!
Below I've collected hall of fame pictures from readers who've done this mission and sent in their photos to show off their accomplishments.
Plus, especially for top of the refrigerator I get lots of questions about what you should store up there, if anything. These pictures give some good ideas on this very topic.
Miranda shared this picture on the site's Facebook page.
She obviously places some storage baskets on top of this appliance, and there is no problem with that at all. The top can be a great storage area.
Just make sure that you know what is there, and declutter the baskets or other containers regularly, so it doesn't become just unused junk up there!
In addition, here's how another reader, Julli, decluttered the top of her fridge. She decided she didn't want anything up there at all, which is also a completely valid choice. (Oh, and I spy Julli's Declutter 365 calendar posted on her fridge! Makes me smile!)
She says: "Yes, I have small children! This was actually the hardest part for me, but it made the biggest impact as well.
I threw out a bunch of the magnets that had been collected from dentists, pharmacies, etc.
I also donated the two big musical magnets (they drove me insane!).
We never use the marker board anymore."
Taylor says:
I totally know what you mean Angela about some of those children's magnets being annoying, such as the learning ones from Leap Frog.
Yes, you want your kids to learn the alphabet, but not at the expense of your sanity. :) Good for you for letting some of the visual (and sound) chaos go.
Here's another before and after from another reader, Mickie. Removing a bunch of magnets makes a big difference.
Just Because Your Refrigerator Has Lots Of Magnets Doesn't Mean It Is Clutter
by Margaret
Margaret shared the picture of her refrigerator and brought up a rather philosophical point about what clutter is, really.
She said, "You call it clutter, I call it creativity."
My (Taylor's) response was as follows: "Margaret, thanks for the picture. See, I wouldn't say this is cluttered since it is the only thing on the refrigerator.
If you had all those magnets, but also a bunch of papers and other things that didn't let you use your fun magnets I would call it clutter. And yes, it is creative."
I guess my point is that I don't want people to think with this decluttering mission that I think they need to have a completely blank refrigerator. No. That's not it at all.
Just less stuff, so you can enjoy what you do have, like Margaret's refrigerator magnets! :)
She said, "The other 'hot spot' in our kitchen is the top of the fridge. One of the reasons is because it is one of the few 'up' places left on the main floor of our house.
It was just a matter of putting things away that had accumulated and restoring it to the state I had put it in over a year ago.
I also cleared off the front of the fridge and hung up the January Declutter calendar."
I think it looks great Megan! And if anyone else would like you can grab a free printable January Declutter 365 calendar here which lists all the 15 minute missions for this month (including this one!).
Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!
Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.
The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!
Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.
Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.
In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.
If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!
Before and after photos for mission collage from a reader, Debbie
Agreed about the stainless steel - clutter is never a problem!
what I've got on mine right now by: Lorie
My fridge has the weekly menu on the side facing into the kitchen, the side facing towards the garage entry door has a chore chart.
The front top has 2 pictures (me with each child), fun magnets, 1 graded assignment for my daughter that she did well on, my daughter's current student of the month award and my sons 5th district PTA reflections award ribbon. The bottom half is clear.
Some people like their magnets. :o) by: Anonymous
My grandmother-in-law always kept her fridge covered with decorative magnets. When she got a new refrigerator, it was a stainless steel one, so she glued them all on!
Top of fridge de cluttered permanently by: Anonymous
I have recently had my kitchen refurbished and now have integrated fridge and freezer so magnets or pictures can't go on the doors and nothing can go on the top. This prevents me from cluttering. The top of the freezer used to be a place to put things temporarily but the trouble was they got forgotten. Nice not to have that problem any more.
refrigerator magnets by: Quilter Pat
i would love to have those poetry tiles like Margaret has! She has the tile magnets with words and can form her own poetry or captions. So cool. Where are those available? Thanks.
Not tall enough by: Anonymous
I don't put stuff on top of the fridge as I'm not tall enough to see what's up there. After a few years of marriage I got a step stool to clean the top of the fridge and discovered that my tall hubby had a secret candy stash up there that he didn't have to share!! LOL
Poetry magnets by: BarbaraP
Poetry magnets are available in sets (affiliate link). There are a dozen or more themed sets. I have three different ones (same manufacturer so the font matches) that we mixed up and enjoy.
small kitchen by: Anonymous
My kitchen is so small that it is next to impossible to keep it decluttered. Suggestions are welcome!
Making use of areas above refrigerator by: Anonymous
I picked up a very large rectangular basket from the Salvation Army that fits the top of the fridge. Even large cookie sheets fit in it.
I will spray paint it as soon as the Raid spray dries..Seafoam sea glass paint and some white starfish.
I can barely reach the door on the cabinet above, not the contents and certainly not with the basket up there. I'm making some roller drawers, full extension,short in the front, so I can use that area. I'll tie a ribbon on each door and drawer so I can open the door and then pull the drawer out. Ribbon ends can go in the basket.
I'm doing a major organizing job on my kitchen and pantry and entry hall pantry and garage pantry.
P.S. I put paper towels on top shelves and tie a ribbon around them so they can come down without my going up on a ladder.