Your refrigerator is a microcosm of your life.

I may have a personality disorder. I like the front of my fridge clear of clutter but the side is busy with this and that.

Previously published in The Wave.

You know how people look inside their friends or family members medicine cabinets*? Well, I like to peek inside their refrigerators. How is the fridge organized (or not organized)? What kind of food is in stock and how much? Even the outside of a refrigerator is telling. One can learn a tremendous amount about who a person is, just by opening up the refrigerator door.

If your friends’ refrigerator is disorganized, he/she is most likely unorganized in all aspects of their life – at work, school, at planning ahead, etc. If your friend has an orderly fridge, they have their shit together. I bet if you opened said friends’ underwear drawer, everything would be folded and neat.

How about tupperware… does your new girlfriend have all rubbermaid containers with matching colored lids of various sizes? Even those cute small ones that hold like one ounce of food? Or does she reuse Chinese food and pecorino Romano containers? If her tupperware is matching, she’s good at adulting and your girlfriend most likely is a “type A” person. If you peak in her fridge and see recycled containers, you got an eco-friendly naturalist on your hands or an opportunist with good money-saving skills.

By scanning the contents of a fridge, you dig deeper. Off the bat, you can ascertain the following: if this person is a vegetarian or meat-lover;  spot almond milk, they’re lactose intolerant or a vegan; low fat mayo (gross) and The Laughing Cow cheese, this individual is trying to slim down for the summer;  Baby bottles, where’s the screaming child?

There’s a likely chance you can pinpoint your new friends nationality purely on fridge food but it can be a bit tricky since today, people are cooking a wide variety of ethnic foods. This is what to look for: if you see a dominance of food products that correlates to a certain ethnicity you can make a determination. Look for the staples. If you notice chorizo, homemade salsa, plantains, queso blanco and aji verde sauce, you’ve got an amigo. If you find  Romano cheese, fresh mozzarella, a large jar of olives, a pot of sauce and a tray of frozen lasagna in the freezer, this person is a paesan.

Is the refrigerator in question over-stuffed with too much food? This individual could have food anxiety (the fear of going hungry). If you open their freezer and almost get hit on the head by a block of frozen spinach because it’s jam-packed, your new pal is ready for the apocalypse and could be a conspiracy theorist (run for the hills!!).

Lastly, the outside of a refrigerator paints a picture of personality. People with nothing on their refrigerator could be minimalists, they like interior design and fashion and I’m guessing they have a good paying 9-5 desk job.  People with notes, magnets, invitations, family pictures and newspaper clippings of recipes on their fridge tend to be more relaxed in demeanor. A carefree spirit. They’re visual people but may be forgetful at times. There’s a good chance this person is a maker, self-employed, works at a non-profit or an unorthodox job.

So, what does your refrigerator look like?

*so wrong don’t do it!