What’s in your refrigerator?

I just read an interesting thread on a forum I occasionally peruse. Everyone was sharing what is in their refrigerator and some even shared photos. I haven’t figured out the picture posting thing yet so I’ll have to settle for just describing the contents. I tend to keep most of the same things on hand and generally have specific places for each item. If David or Chris put something away it is very likely not going to be in *my* spot but since I do most of the putting away of things in this house it’s not usually an issue. So here goes:

Top shelf:
This one is fairly close to the top so this is where shorter items generally go. I have three rectangular, white plastic baskets which fit side by side across the back of the shelf. The one on the left holds little glass jars of homemade plain yogurt. The middle one contains jars of jams, jellies, and preserves. Currently we have homemade strawberry freezer jam, Bonne Maman cherry preserves (David’s favorite), and Archer brand apricot preserves (just apricots, sugar and pectin). The basket on the right contains marschino cherries, wheat germ, lemon and lime juice. The top shelf also is where I keep the really cute wire basket that looks like a chicken. I put eggs from our chickens in it. There is also a pint container of 1/2 and 1/2 and a glass dish with lemons and limes.

Second shelf: This is where the tallest items go. At the back is a huge jar of dill pickles which I need to slice and make into bread and butter pickles. Additional items kept toward the back as they aren’t used as often include: a jug of real maple syrup, pina colada mix (this makes wonderful bread pudding!), bottle of Triple Sec and a tall can of parmesan cheese.
In front on the left side is a Pur brand water filter with dispenser. Our Amway water filter on our faucet that also filtered our in-door refrigerator water and ice dispenser died several weeks ago and we haven’t decided what to replace it with. In the meantime I’m using this Pur water filter. It’s okay but it takes up a lot of space. I also have a carton of ultra-pasteurized organic milk which I use to make yogurt and carton of 2% from our local dairy store for David’s cereal and our tea/coffee. There’s a pitcher of O.J. which I mix up from the frozen concentrated stuff and a bottle of 100% cranberry juice.

Small drawer: natural roast deli beef for sandwiches, feta cheese, American cheese, parmiaggiana reggiano, gouda, really good sharp white cheddar, mascarpone cheese, flour tortillas. Oh, I’ve also got part of a package of bacon that I opened a couple of days ago. Guess I’d better plan to use that soon!

Shallow shelf under small drawer: The drawer above is about 2/3 of the width of the shelf below so there is more verticle space on the right side of this shelf. This is where I keep a plastic egg carton. When the cute chicken basket on the top shelf is full I transfer the eggs to this carton. I generally use these for hard boiled eggs, saving the freshest ones for scrambled eggs or quiche. The rest of the shelf is just deep enough for a wine bottle on its side. I currently have partial bottles of pinot grigio, merlot, and something else I can’t recall at the moment. There is also a bottle of sweet and sour mix and one of apple martini mix.

Last shelf: This one is fairly tall, too. There’s a box of Bisquick, glass jar with yeast, glass jar with sourdough starter, glass jar with dairy whey, covered bowl with cut up cantaloupe, small bowl of hard boiled eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, a bottle of Corona beer, an unopened bottle of Reisling (wasn’t room on the usual shelf above), couple of small bottles of Perrier, a few cans of SlimFast, organic raisins, opened carton of organic beef stock, package of smoked sausage for tonight’s dinner.

Large drawer number one: part of a head of lettuce, partial bag of mixed spring greens, red, green and yellow bell peppers, 2 yellow squash, 2 zucchini, partial bag of organic baby carrots, celery (wrapped in aluminum foil to keep fresh), green onions, cherry tomatoes and parsley.

Large drawer number two: orange, plum, gala apple, red grapes, whole chicken for tomorrow’s dinner.

Shelves on door: On the top shelf there is a clear cover that opens. This is where I keep a covered glass butter dish. I also have a couple of additional sticks of regular butter and one of European butter.

It would take forever to list every other item on the door shelves but here are some of the main things I keep on hand: ketchup, mustard (French’s, Creole, Dijon), variety of pickles and relishes, mayonnaise (Hellman’s), small jar of Miracle Whip for David (yuck), A-1 steak sauce, Worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, Pickapeppa sauce, garlic sauce, green sauce, hot sauce, liquid smoke, salad dressings, freeze dried yogurt starter, spray bottle of aloe vera juice (great for minor kitchen burns).

I line my drawers with a couple of layers of paper towels to absorb any spills and make cleanup easier. I’ve recently prettied up the fridge a bit by using white paper doilies on some of the shelves. I would like to purchase some of those rectangular covered glass refrigerator dishes from the 50s to use for leftovers instead of plastic. I also want to get some glass jars/pitchers for milk and juice which I think would look nicer than the cartons.

So what’s in your refrigerator?