Your COVID Kitchen: How To Reorganize For These Strange Times

We spoke to Maeve Richmond, the founder and head coach of Maeve's Method, about her strategies for keeping our kitchens organized, clean, and functional while we're staying at home.

"For the coming months, our home refrigerators are going to be working overtime," Richmond told mindbodygreen. "Honestly, most of us only think to do a deep clean on our fridges maybe once a year, but now more than ever we want to keep on top of it." This means wiping up small spills when they happen and being more diligent about errant vegetable skins in the crisper or drips on the sides of drink containers.

"Open your fridge once and take a picture. While it's tempting to do this with the doors open, it's a big waste of electricity. Then grab a seat and make a list of what's inside. Group your items however you wish—try clustering your meats or perhaps cluster your sandwich fixings—then search your kitchen for clear plastic tubs or trays. Remove foods from your fridge one at a time, placing them back tucked neatly inside storage containers."

She recommends finding a space inside or near your kitchen that you can store nonperishables on shelving or even just on top or in boxes. "Think of it as your own tiny backup store," suggests Richmond. "You can go shopping there before you go to pick up or place an order out in the world."

As for how to do this, Richmond's method is simple and effective: "Wash them carefully at home, then slice, dry with a hand towel, and put in small baggies or containers in the freezer. If you are short of room, make small groupings and look for gaps in between your other food." And while she doesn't recommend freezing lettuce, she did remind us that many of our favorite dark leafy greens freeze well for cooking later.

If your plan for this time is to use it for a deep spring clean of your home, be sure to take into account Richmond's advice for managing projects with productivity, and try out making a cleaning schedule to add some much-needed structure to your days.