Clean Sweep: Everyone is copying this mum’s super-organised fridge

This Melbourne mum’s super-organised refrigerator has attracted thousands of fans — thanks to her simple, chic home styling.

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When Belle Saf posted a picture of her newly organised fridge on Instagram, she had no idea how much buzz it would create.

The 37-year-old Melbourne woman, who runs the Belle Abode blog, said she had researched her fridge makeover for two years before diving in.

The mum-of-two spent time deciding the sorts of containers she wanted, and when she finally settled on the decor range, she slowly chipped away at purchasing them each time they went on sale.

When she did post a photo of the finished project on her Instagram account, it instantly got over 1100 likes.

“I menu plan fortnightly and do weekly top-up shops between,” she said, when asked about her meticulously pre-chopped fruit and vegetables.

“When I pre-chop and store like this everything lasts and stays fresh”.

Belle's finished product attracted a huge amount of attention. Picture: Instagram/@belleabode

Belle said every time she posted a photo of her fridge online, “people love it”.

“People are now copying my fridge. It’s just my food … I don’t get it,” she said.

“But I guess it’s a (home improvement project) that is achievable.

She said containers were relatively cheap and the layout was quite easy to mimic.

“People freak out because they don’t think of doing something like that,” she said.

“They are like, ‘Oh my God, that looks amazing’, and they’re inspired to do something similar.”

Belle, who has a background in real estate and event styling, also cited her pantry as a big favourite among her 22.6k Instagram followers.

The pantry, which was completed just this month, has been a year in the making.

Belle took her time to collect Pottery Barn baskets each time they went on sale.

“It takes a long time if you want to get the right pieces for the right spaces,” Belle said.

She also decided to wallpaper the pantry to add something a little different — a trend many of her followers are now emulating.

Another incredible project her husband undertook on the property was a cubby house for the couple’s two daughters.

Belle’s husband and his friend built the cubby house from scratch in time for one of the daughter’s birthdays.

“My daughters are born 11 days apart, so it was a combined present for them.,” she said.

“It took them three months and they built it through winter … poor guys, it was so cold.

“But it had to be ready for the morning of her birthday, and there were no exceptions.”

Another birthday party gift for her daughter was a tee-pee party, which also gained a lot of traction on her Instagram.

Belle is particularly proud of her girls’ cubby house, as it was built to her own custom design.

“People often do Kmart hacks or go and buy one, but this was done from scratch to my design,” she said.

“I basically wanted a mini house. When you stand in it it’s 2.2 metres high.

“The plan is that when they are teenagers, we can just strip it and it becomes a pool house, as it’s right next to the pool.”

She says it’s important to her that each area of the home she restyles can go the distance.

“Everything I do, it’s not a temporary option,” she explained.

“I am thinking about how it’s going to go down the track.”

For instance, Belle said her pantry wasn’t designed to be “super on-trend”.

“I wanted to do something that would last and suit my house for years to come,” she said.

“I don’t think, ‘OK, everyone’s doing this’ and just follow that trend.

“I just pick what I like and what I want to stick with.”

Belle said having two young daughters — almost six and two years old — can make it difficult to keep her home Insta-ready at all times.

“The children can trash it within three to five seconds,” she said.

“The room will be spotless, and you go outside to do something for just one second, and you come back, and it’s completely trashed.

“It’s typical mum life. I know people think my house looks like a display home all the time, but it doesn’t.”

To keep her spaces shipshape, Belle has had to introduce rules to minimise the chaos.

“There are certain areas the kids are not allowed to go into, like the lounge room, the living room, the pantry or my study,” Belle said.

Belle counts her study as one of her favourite rooms in the house. Picture: Instagram/@bellabode

The busy mum explained the family usually spent most of their time in their cinema/media room.

“The kids have a lot of their toys in there, and we don’t mind if they spread them all on the ground in there … at night we just clean it all up,” she said.

“They also have a playroom … They aren’t allowed up into their bedrooms unless it’s bedtime.”

This bedroom is every little girl's dream come true. Picture: Instagram/@bellabode

But Belle said she hadn’t always been this organised.

“My husband is very neat — it’s basically his fault that I have become this way,” she explained.

“When I got pregnant with my first daughter, that’s when I started this crazy nesting.

“I just needed to clean and organise. And it happened again when I was pregnant with my second daughter … every time I get pregnant I just go crazy.”

She said she found it easier to live and operate when everything was organised.

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