I love cooking and spending time in my kitchen, but my fridge is a constant source of stress. I’m often stuck in a vicious cycle of throwing out old food that’s been forgotten, still feeling like I don’t have enough, then ordering takeout, which results in leftovers that — you guessed it — eventually get tossed. It was making me not want to spend time in my kitchen … until I learned about my friend’s brilliant fridge hack. It’s easy yet effective — and now it’s yours to steal, too.
My Friend’s Game-Changing “Eat Me First!” Fridge Trick
While visiting my friend, I opened her fridge to grab a soda and was surprised to see it extremely clean and organized. I had never seen a fridge so orderly! In the middle of her refrigerator was a bin with a simple label: “Eat Me First.” When I asked her about this bin, she said it was her trick to a tidier, less wasteful fridge.
It’s shockingly simple: She designates a specific bin in her fridge at eye level, and labels it with a sign that says “Eat Me First.” Anything she puts in this container, from leftovers to produce that’s about to go bad, becomes the top priority for meals, which makes it an ongoing reminder for her whole household to use up the food before it spoils. This “EMF” trick is less about a mindset shift and more about a simple visual cue, which is what makes all the difference.
What Happened When I Tried the “EMF” Trick Myself
When I got home, I knew I had to give it a try. Unfortunately, my fridge didn’t have a bin at eye level, but it did have a bin for vegetables, slightly below eye level, which I converted to the “Eat Me First” box. I told my husband about the new rule: Going forward, we had to prioritize the “EMF” drawer.
Initially, it took a little effort — both to put things in the bin and then to prioritize eating from it. Slowly, we began to fill it with leftovers, cut-up veggies, proteins, and open sauces that needed to be used up. After a few days of feeling like it was an added chore, it became a habit to always check the “EMF” bin, well, first.
Once we got into the swing of it, the difference was almost immediate. Not only were we not throwing out cooked food, produce, or condiments, but meal prep also became much easier. Instead of opening my fridge and feeling overwhelmed, I felt like I had a Chopped-style “mystery box” of ingredients ready for a quick meal.
We were also able to finally break our takeout habit and get creative with the ingredients in the “EMF” bin. We used the items to make frittatas, soups, deconstructed salad bowls, and even a leftover steak and pepper fried rice. Moreover, as we were constantly moving things out of the main compartments and into the “Eat Me First” bin, the rest of the fridge became less cluttered. We could finally see everything and were also saving money by not buying duplicates of condiments and produce.
The biggest benefit of this hack is that it gave me back my joy of cooking and helped spark my creativity. Now, I look forward to opening my fridge and checking what I need to use up. And next in line to get the “Eat Me First” treatment? My pantry!