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From the outside, refrigerators can appear to be stoic, unfailing kitchen appliances. They’re big and tall, always quietly chugging along to make sure your food stays fresh (without ever asking for any upkeep). But on the inside, your fridge may need some help keeping everything in order. (And that’s okay.) If your fridge is going to do its job to the best of its abilities, it’s going to need a little assistance, namely in the form of fridge organizers.
We’ve discovered so many useful refrigerator organizers in our time at Kitchn. (Our editors even have their favorites!) But one feature that is difficult to find among most fridge-cessories is something that adds storage capacity, rather than simply organizes eggs or condiment bottles. That’s why we were happy to see that OXO made an adjustable shelf unit that addresses this very need. It fits inside any size refrigerator and can go a long way toward making your fridge look as impressive on the inside as it does on the outside.
This shelf riser has slim legs that stay out of the way and hold up a durable shelf that can be raised or lowered to meet your food storage needs. Changing the height is easy — it’s done by pressing levers on the legs and moving them up or down between five presets — and it can go from being 6 inches tall to nearly 9 inches tall. To make it align with your fridge’s aesthetic, OXO gave it a neutral color scheme and a transparent shelf that resembles the glass or plastic shelves in your fridge. This tool can support up to 25 pounds, so whether you use it to hold big containers of leftovers, canned drinks, or condiments, it’s ready to get to work.
Having an extra mini shelf inside your fridge may seem a bit unorthodox, but it helps by making better use of vertical storage space, which isn’t always maximized by shorter items. If you place it along the side or back wall of your fridge, it can also help you keep track of food by raising it up so it doesn’t get lost behind things. You can put this inside full-sized fridges or mini fridges, and if anything ever spills on it, you can rinse it off in the sink and it’ll look good as new.
I could really use one of these on the middle shelf in my fridge to make food easier to find. My wife and I have tried different organizing methods, such as lining items up along the sides of the fridge, but none of those tricks are foolproof; we still routinely discover expired yogurts or old takeout containers hiding behind larger jars. If we simply had a bit more shelf space, we would be able to put all our food in plain sight and save some money (and frustration) from accidentally letting things go bad.
Pick up this simple yet effective shelf unit from OXO and give your refrigerator the upgrade it deserves. And if you’re a renter and don’t own your fridge, this is an affordable way to make your current fridge and your future fridges more useful — take it with you when you move so you’ll always have a little extra shelf space where you need it.