Do you have a specific way you place food in your refrigerator or do you just put food wherever you can find an empty spot? If you use the latter method, you probably see more food spoilage. In fact, you may have to occasionally go hunting through the fridge to find that rotten smell we have all been familiar with.

Decluttering your refrigerator is probably one of the easiest ways to prevent food from spoiling quickly. It’s an easy process once you develop a system for it. The main goal is to keep your food easily accessible and highlight the foods that need to be eaten as soon as possible (like strawberries).

The best way to start this process is to clear out all of the expired food in your refrigerator. This includes bags of leftovers you promised yourself you were going to eat and it also includes all of those jars you’ve had on the side of your door for the past few years.

Once you have only edible food left in your refrigerator, think about how you want to use it:

Dedicate space for frequent meal preparation. If you have a certain breakfast, lunch or dinner meal prep routine, dedicate a shelf or two for just those ingredients so you can easily grab them first thing.

Showcase the foods that will spoil soon. Have foods that are likely going to expire sooner than the rest displayed front and center. This will encourage you to use them in meal preparation. Clear containers also make it easy to see what’s inside.

Control the environment. Check the temperature to make sure foods are properly stored. Putting liners in the bins also helps absorb any moisture that could make your fruits or vegetables too cold.

Develop a rotation system. When you buy new food, make sure you put it behind your older food.  This keeps your food waste low and your budget on track.

Don’t forget the freezer. If it is older than 6 months, it is probably freezer burned by now and can be tossed.  Store your foods in airtight containers or bags and label them (include the date).  No more “mystery meat” for dinner, and no more wasted food.

The freezer is often underutilized. Bread, scrambled egg mix, leftover coffee, tea, and broths can all be frozen for later use. Your homemade soup, cooked rice and other dinner entrees can also be frozen if you don’t have a chance to eat the leftovers in time.

Try using an ice cube try to store single serving pieces of purees, sauces and beverages. Freeze leftover coffee for an iced coffee drink, or a cube of frozen veggie broth to whip up some gravy later in the week. Make smoothies down the road by freezing mashed or chopped fruit. Almost anything can be frozen except for canned foods in the can (although they can usually be removed and frozen) and eggs in the shell.

To keep your refrigerator decluttered, go through it once a week to identify foods that need to be eaten soon and toss what is no longer edible. Once your refrigerator is decluttered, you’ll save money by having less food spoilage and eat better because all of your food is easy to find.

Keep Your Refrigerator Running at its Best Quality

Making sure your refrigerator is well maintained can also prolong the life of the food inside. If your refrigerator isn’t working correctly, food is more likely to spoil. Consider these tips for proper maintenance of your refrigerator:

Electrical systems need to be maintained over the years to retain their functionality and safety. Because of that, it’s a good idea to have a Pasadena electrician take a peek at it every now and then. A poorly maintained electrical system is much more than a hassle to use. It can be a real hazard. Time takes its toll on everything, including electrical systems. As wires and connections age, there can be cracking, breaking, and assorted other little damages that interfere with function and safety. Extreme temperature changes or household pests moving around inside of the walls can contribute to damage as well.

Because so much of the action of an electrical system happens behind the scenes, in those out of sight and out of mind places — behind the walls, in the attic, in the basement — potentially hazardous damage often isn’t seen. The first clue that there is a problem is typically when something doesn’t work right. Sometime a person will make a repair, such as install new electrical outlets, but that may not really be the main issue. Why the outlets went bad is the real issue, something that an electrician Pasadena CA professional would probably recommend tracking down and repairing.

There’s a reason for that. Shorts in your electrical system can cause a lot of problems. Sensitive, expensive electronics can be damaged. Broken, sparking wires can cause house fires, as can overloaded circuits that allow wires to get too hot. Sometimes a broken outlet is just a broken outlet. Other times, however, it isn’t. A professional electrician in Pasadena, such as those at the Electric Connection, has the experience to know, and a deeper understanding of the overall system. The Electric Connection has been handling electrical maintenance and repair projects of all types throughout the region for 30 years.

If you’ve let your electrical system get a bit run down, and it’s time to consider electrical upgrades or perhaps even a whole house rewiring, the Electrical Connection can help. They offer a lifetime guarantee on all of their work, and they also offer a free home safety assessment with every job they do. During that assessment, they check your main electric panel, grounding, GFI protection, as well as surge protection, and smoke detectors, if they are wired into the main electrical system. Having smoke detectors installed like that is a good thing, as there are no batteries to worry about.

If having a large project, such as whole house rewiring, is more than your budget can bear, then it may be a good idea to have your electrical rewiring done a section at a time, as you can afford it. Be sure to keep an eye on the Electrical Connection web site, as they offer specials and discount coupons periodically. They also offer free over the phone estimates, based on what you tell them about the symptoms you are experiencing or the project you are considering. This Pasadena electrician company also offers free over the phone help and varieties of tips on their web site to help you better care for and understand your electrical system.

Excellent customer service is as important to The Electric Connection as is the fine quality of work they’ve become known for through the decades. If you schedule an electrical service call with a Pasadena electrician from the Electrical Connection and the technician that is handling that service call arrives late, your service call is free. That, however, is rare. What usually happens when you make an appointment with an electrician in Pasadena CA from the Electric Connection, is that your technician arrives at the appointed time, in a well supplied service vehicle, ready to meet the work goals of the day.

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TRENDING NOW: RETROFITTING OLD FIXTURES

By Clarissa Allison | December 24th, 2014

Watching lighting trends in 2014 has been an interesting ride. “LED” and energy efficiency, once phrases thought to be bandied about by tree-huggers and industry insiders alone, is now quite common. The cost of LEDs and solid state lighting in general has come down faster than it would in a normal competitive environment. That has helped global adoption creep up over 10%. Environmentally friendly technology is an absolute must as the traditional lighting options we’ve all grown up with are slowly being replaced.  In one example, we’ve noticed customers wanting to retrofit old incandescent flush-mounted fixtures with LED downlights.

Many homeowners start to get nervous when cooler weather starts to set in. Thinking about the rising heat bills is stressful, especially if you have holiday shopping to do. But don’t panic just yet: there are plenty of simple actions that can result in major savings! If you follow these 6 tips below, you’re likely to see a positive change in your energy bill.

Now that you’re prepped for a cozy but low-cost winter, relax and enjoy the season! If you need help installing any new energy-efficient lighting in your home or business, Bryant Electric Service is here to assist you.