First of all you don’t need all the produce in the grocery store. All you need are the basics and stuff you would normally buy on a normal day. The supermarkets and grocery stores are still open. Movement days in Abuja are Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, 10am to 2pm.

My kitchen is small so all my appliances are small. My fridge is a one door refrigerator with 6 deep shelves. It comes with a freezer attached to the top of it where I just store meats, cheese and frozen veges. (Though I would normally just opt for the fresh ones.)

So what are the tips you ask? Well, here are my go to ones;

1. Get separate containers for everything;

I like to use acrylic/plastic containers for my veges and bowls for my fruits, this way the fridge has more space and looks appealing to the eyes.

2. Find a place for everything;

Choose a section where you want everything to go. I personally would store all the condiments, sauces, dips and dressings on the door shelves. My butter goes on the top door shelf and my sons paracetamol and vitamin supplements go on the smallest shelf.

All the greens and veges go to the central shelves of the main fridge, the everyday drinks go to directly to the bottom. I tend to place things that I need in the fridge so as not to over crowd it and create space for leftovers.

I put only one milk, one jam, one cheese spread and a bottle of pickle on the second shelf. This way, I can only replace them when they finish. I see people put like three cartons of milk, nutella, peanut butter etc in fridge which is very unnecessary.

I store my peanut butter, nutella, cadbury spread, coffee, creamer, and extra bottles of stuff in the pantry. My spices have a separate shelf under my main pantry drawer.

My husband is obsessed with tea, so I created a tea drawer for him near the microwave and directly by the stove and kettle. This makes it accessible to him no matter what he chooses for boiling his water.

For sugar, flour, cereal, cous cous, oats, milk powder, baby milk powder I store in jars. I also put leftover uncooked pasta in a separate jar.

On the other end of the kitchen, I store my takeaway packs, satchet instant oats, satchet soups, nori, actual oats tub, baking powder and other dry stuff in their original packaging, because its a one time use for them.

I store canned goods in the larger pantry drawer, bottles of flavorings, extra maggi, extra spices, extra salad dressings, extra ketchups, tomato paste and all the fridge extras there.

I keep cookies in a jar and apples in a bowl on my dining table. I never put water in the fridge because we have a water dispenser and I find it weird having to put water in the fridge when the dispenser has already given you cold water??! I keep bottled water in room temperature incase we need room temperature water.

I store my plates and bowls, jugs, glasses, mugs, Nour’s cups, casserole dishes, pots and pans in separate drawers.

I have a whole drawer for turaren wuta, trash bags & new sponges, and a separate drawer for cutlery. I store my knives in a bin on the counter (but I want to get a knife magnet). I also have a separate glass bin for openers, peelers and cutters.

I keep rice and drink cartons beside the plates drawer, I store extra pasta in the bottom drawer where I also put cooking oil, aluminum foil, cling film, and other appliances like mixer, food processor, the blender jugs, and toaster .

I dont have a lot of appliances because they take up space and well, preference. I only have a slow cooker, an electric kettle, a coffee maker, a microwave, an electric grill displayed on the counters. On the other end of the counter beside the sink, I just keep handwash and dish soap.

I never put eggs in the fridge because a whole crate lasts 10days (I know we eat eggs) but its because I bake a lot and my husband and child have 3 every morning. For everyday oil, I pour into a glass jar that I keep next to the eggs and cous cous.

I have nothing under my sink, except the gas cylinders. (Okay yes its not safe but I have no where to keep them. I live in an apartment which is upstairs).

I store potatoes, garlic and onions in the kitchen balcony. Because they need air to stay fresh.

That’s everything in my kitchen and I hope it helps you or gives you an idea of how to store your stuff.

Stay safe guys

xx