Don't Throw Away That Cardboard Six-Pack. Use It To Organize The Fridge Instead

Upcycling is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. It involves extending the lifecycle of single-use items to lengthen their usage before discarding or recycling them. Some liquor stores offer a mix-and-match six-pack deal. They keep a collection of empty cardboard six-pack boxes for customers to reuse to choose from an assortment of different beers to fill their packs. The cardboard boxes are biodegradable, making them a more environmentally friendly option than the six-pack plastic rings in the wake of ongoing efforts to eliminate them. You can bring your box back to reuse it again with your next mix-and-match adventure or upcycle it to organize the limited shelf space in your refrigerator. Refrigerator shelf space has always been an issue in my house. 

I don't know who thought two shelves and a couple of drawers were enough room to store all of our refrigerated food in. There are some clever ways to avoid making common food storage mistakes with the help of these handy cardboard six-packs. All it takes is a little imagination and a few simple tricks to turn these ordinary little boxes into a neat, organized filing system for your refrigerator. These tricks can declutter your refrigerator while saving time, money, and the planet in addition to maximizing the potential of your food storage space. The greatest part about these boxes is that they are easily customizable. You can cut, fold, or adapt the shape of the box to meet your specific storage needs.

The compartments in these six packs are ideal for holding cans or bottles in the fridge. The structure allows you to keep drinks in a row ensuring that your fridge looks tidy and well-organized. Bottled items on the door of your refrigerator, such as condiments and jars1, can be easily grouped into the six-pack's divided sections. The compartments can help to separate small bags of snacks such as cheese cubes, cheese sticks, or fruit cups. Organizing small items this way can help you easily inventory what you already have when it's time to restock. This can prevent purchasing things you already have and reduce the amount of food that gets wasted. It also makes it easy for kiddos to locate and grab a quick snack. Butter sticks and yogurt cups fit perfectly in the six-pack's compartments, creating a visually appealing display.

The individual sections make an ideal storage solution for pre-chopped veggies and meats used in meal prep. Lining the insides of the compartments with plastic wrap or wax paper can help prevent spills and degrading of the cardboard and further extend its life cycle. Using six-packs of cardboard to organize your refrigerator is just a small step toward sustainability and can help make your mealtime run a little more smoothly. Next time you build your own six-pack, use your cardboard box to organize your fridge and look for other clever ways to join the upcycling movement.