The best way to save time when planning or preparing meals is to organize your refrigerator. While it may seem faster to put groceries away wherever you see a space, it can actually make things more time consuming. Take a look at these eight tips that will help keep your refrigerator clean and organized.

Get rid of the clutter. The night prior to trash collection is a great time to check the fridge for rotten or molding food. Get rid of expired leftovers every week to keep the fridge spacious and cool.

Once you have thrown away spoiled food, clean the shelves. Be sure to clean out jars and storage containers that held the foods or condiments that were tossed. If you don’t plan to reuse the glass or plastic containers, you can recycle them.

Rather than wait for a designated time of “extended refrigerator cleaning time,” use an antibacterial cleanser or cleaning wipe as soon as you notice a stain or spill. You can also avoid the spread of bacteria and some stains by wiping off jars and containers before placing them in the fridge.

The sooner you seal and store food that is left over from a meal or a snack, the better. This will limit the opportunity for bacteria to grow and spread onto your food. Using airtight containers will help prevent oxygen from encouraging the growth of germs as well.

One of the best ways to organize your fridge is to categorize your food and separate it accordingly. For example, place dairy items, produce, and meat in separate areas.

You can store small, like items that are not large in size in baskets or plastic containers. This will save you time when you are cooking dinner or other meals and everything will be easier to locate.

Keep items such as salad dressing, condiments, soda, or jelly on the door shelves. These types of items are less likely to rot in warmer temperatures. You can then make use of the space in the coldest areas of the fridge for items like milk or meat that should be kept as chilled as possible.

If you have the space, consider using a spare refrigerator. With the additional room, you can stock up on drinks for parties or just to make space in your main fridge for food items. You can keep unopened drinks cold and quickly replace emptied bottles in the main fridge, and have plenty of extra beverages available for when company arrives.

Chia Trams is an expert author, professional organizer and image consultant she is also a contributing author for addspacetoyourlife.com .