The Great Condiment Clean-Out: How to Do It and Make It Last — Fridge Fix-Up

From the mundane ketchup and mustard to an array of salad dressings to the toppings that give your cooking regional flare, those jars and squeeze bottles on the shelves of your refrigerator door seem to multiply on their own. "Most people have at least 15 to 20 condiments in their fridge," says Toni Hammersley, author of The Complete Book of Clean. To boot: Some of those things are duplicates!

And because you typically only use a bit at a time, they have a much longer "shelf life" (not the actual amount of time you should be eating them, but how long you hold on to them) than your average refrigerator food. "Most people keep condiments for about a year," says Hammersley. The result: A fridge door packed with half-full containers of condiments at questionable food safety levels.

Here's how to get a cluttered condiment area under control — and make it last.

READ MORE »