This weekend we spent some time helping my daughter Britta move. And even though she only moved about 10 miles north of her previous apartment, it’s still never fun or easy to move your whole life from one place to another. And after you’ve done all the hard work of moving all of your stuff, there’s still the dreaded move-out cleaning left to do! Among all the horrible cleaning tasks involved in the process of moving out, one job in particular stands out to me as being especially unenjoyable – cleaning out the fridge.
It takes forever, involves a lot of awkward reaching and stretching, and is usually pretty gross, too. Some very clever person realized these things, and invented a way to prevent the sticky fridge messes that take forever to clean – fridge liners! Fridge liners can be placed on shelves and in bins, and are meant to serve as a barrier between foods and the fridge itself. So when spills and messes occur, you only need to remove and wash the liner, rather than struggling to wipe out the fridge. But you can pay anywhere from $10 to $25 for a set of fridge liners, which feels like a pretty steep for a few pieces of plastic!
I recently came across an idea for a DIY version of fridge liners that can be made for a couple of dollars. I gave it a try, and now I’m kicking myself that I didn’t know about this sooner! If Britta had had a set of these in her fridge, it definitely wouldn’t have taken as long as it did to clean out this weekend! Oh well, live and learn. :-)
Here’s how you can make a set for your own fridge.
DIY Fridge Liners
You’ll need:
- A set of placemats (dollar store mats work great!)
- A marker
- Scissors
To make liners for your fridge’s drawers, remove the drawer and set it on top of one of your placemats. Use a marker to trace the outline of the bottom of the drawer.
Cut out the shape using your scissors, and place the liner in the bottom of the drawer.
It’s a little tricker to do shelves, since they usually can’t be removed from the fridge, but it’s definitely doable.
Just place a piece of paper onto the shelf, and use your marker to mark the shape of the shelf.
Use the paper as a template on your placemat, cut out the correct shape, and place it onto the shelf.
The liners we made stayed put pretty well, but if you’re worried about them shifting around, I’d recommend sticking them down with a couple of removable Glue Dots.
Not only is the project affordable and practical, but its totally customizable, and looks really nice, too. We also thought it would be fun to color code your fridge using your fridge liners. For example, the cheese goes where the yellow liner is, the veggies go where the green liner is, etc.
Note: We loved the look of the colored liners in the drawers and on the fridge door shelves, but the dark-colored liners on the interior shelves blocked quite a bit of light. If you’re worried about that, another option would be to use clear placemats for the liners of the interior shelves.
Have you tried using shelf liners in your fridge?
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One issue that we would have with liners such as those is that the sole light source in our Samsung is an array of led’s at the very top of the refrigerator compartment, so liners such as those shown would block light from getting to the lower shelves, and actually, as you’d still have to remove whatever is on the shelf to remove and clean a liner, it’s just as easy to remove and wash the shelf itself. Also, many shelves, such as ours, are designed with a spill containment edge, and placing a liner on them would only serve to allow spills to flow over the edge and onto whatever is below.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You can use clear Fridge Liners: Plast-O-Mat Ribbed Shelf Liner, Clear, 12″ x 25′ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GUOGGTO/?tag=cb-010236-20&th=1#
This is what I use on my shelves, and I put the PUL Fabric in my drawers.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I only line my vegetable drawers. I use the grip liner that you find in dollar stores. It is easy to cut to size and when your bins get full of onion skins, lettuce leaves or whatever, I just pull them out and rinse them in the sink and let dry before placing them in a freshly wiped bin. Easy peasy and they don’t get any nasty gunk build up. Not a fan of lining all the shelves in a fridge when we pay big bucks for glass shelves in order to just wipe them down and, sorry, but I think it makes the fridge look cluttered.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am sorry but refrigerator liners are not a good idea. They harbor bacteria underneath which contaminates food. That is why you will never find them in any restaurants or institutional kitchens. It is one of the many rules in kitchen.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi! Thanks for the great ideas. I’d like to try out one of mine. Why not use aluminium foil? It is cheap
Please log in or create a free account to comment., disposable and easily adaptable to all size of shelf. Your thoughts ? Thanks again.
Looks so nice! Great idea to put your jars upside down to easily see what is inside! Thanks!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.By the way – you fried rice recipe is the only one we use and it’s a huge hit!
Contact paper can also be used as fridge liner, I’ll try it
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love it
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Brilliant idea,but then again most of your are!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Are the placemats you used the thick plastic ones? At first they looked like the quilted cloth kind; and I was like; well that makes no sense to me; but then I wondered lol!!!! Thank you in advance for answering what I am sure is a stupid question!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.They are plastic! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.LOVE the look in the drawers and door shelves! But if you want see-thru liners, you can use plastic wrap or press & seal wrap. Easy to put in, easy to clean. I buy the BIG roll at Costco. Maybe not as earth friendly, but another option.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This tips look great….will try them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.These place mats look terrific for refrigerator drawers
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hello – I love reading you great tips!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Curious. Why do set some of your bottles upside down? Is it to get all of the contents to the top? Genius.
It actually prevents mold!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great post! Just wondering can we use newspapers as fridge liners?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hmmm… I think that the newspaper would end up sticking to the fridge shelves when/if anything spilled.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Newspapers do stick and leave inky prints behind. And a newspaper smell. I have been using thick, white, shop paper towels as liners so they can do double duty as a wipe when I clean. Jill’s idea is much prettier and reusable!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If the food has any seeping juices the newspaper sticks BAD. Plus it stains the glass or plastic shelves.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.They’ll get wet
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You could use those clear plastic liners with ridges, ridges go up, or some PUL Fabric as the liner. Then place newspaper, at least in the drawers, over the line you have. The newspaper will draw the moisture into it and help prolong the life of your veggies!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks for your informative post share with us. Really Great Thinking.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Most fridges the door shelves ARE removable (like the ones in the picture above)…you press in on the sides and they pop out. Take what’s in the shelf or first so you don’t have any spills. If you have issues with your liners sliding around..or jars, and things like that, buy the rubbery textured cabinet liner(Dollar Tree carries it, also Wal-Mart) cut it to fit underneath and no more slippage! I love this site-so much wonderful information and a beautiful layout!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Really good ideas learn a lot
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Before I put my placemats on the glass shelves, I line them with cling wrap first. If you have kids who spill stuff & then don’t tell you about it, when you go to change the placemats, they are stuck to the glass & you have a huge mess. Lining the shelves with cling wrap first has saved me hours of cleaning.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.For my fridge bins I use the non-skid shelf liners made for cabinets. Can be cut to fit practically any size or shape. Easy to wash, replace or toss. Economical as well from the dollar store.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use “press and seal” for this purpose, but I think your way is better because the liners are washable and reusable.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If you have shelves that do are not removable, you can always insert aluminum foil and crease the edges. This will give you an exact dimension to cut your liners.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I bought a set of liners online and they didn’t last a month!!!! They weren’t even plastic! I LOVE this idea!!! I’ll be hitting the Dollar Tree right away!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I always put a layer of paper towel in my fruit and veggie drawers. Warm soapy water cleans up the other shelves nicely. The part I don’t like to clean is the back and sides and bottom when something has spilled. I was so glad when they started covering those tubes for the water dispenser. That was a mess to clean! Thanks for all your great ideas.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Those disposable cutting sheets work well too and you get 3 for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.great idea AFTER I clean out my own messy fridge shelves … and I wondered about the upside down jars as well … good to have liners when turning something upside down, I’m sure. love this site.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The jars are upside-down to prevent mold!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What an awesome ideal!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Such a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Beautiful! I too, won’t to know why the jars are turned upside down? Would’t this be extra work when (like my husband and son who is always spilling liquids), now having to remove the beautiful liners, clean them and clean under them. I love this beautiful idea, but my guys are pigs. :-((
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The jars are upside down to prevent mold! As for cleaning under the liners, you really don’t have to! Maybe after a BIG spill or during an occasional deep clean, but otherwise, the messes stay on the liners. :-) They’re much easier to clean – and can even be put in the dishwasher!
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