After the big shop, the cold things go away first

In late autumn, before the holidays, I come home from the big shop with so many bags that they cover the whole hall floor. Rain on my coat, cold hands, the bags cutting into my fingers. I used to unpack them in whatever order they came: whatever was on top went first. By the time I reached the bag with the chicken and the cream, it had been sitting by a warm radiator for half an hour, and the fridge was so full the door only shut with a shove.

Now the cold things go away first, and the job starts the day before. I use up what has been hanging around in the fridge, throw out anything past its use-by date and clear one whole shelf. Bottles of water, juice and fizzy drinks move out to a cool cupboard: they don't need the fridge, and they take up a lot of room. A little thermometer lives on the middle shelf, and before the big shop I check that it reads 5°C or below. Food safety advice is that a fridge should be between 0 and 5°C, and a freezer around minus 18.

At the shop I plan the route. Tins, rice, flour and cleaning things go into the trolley first; chilled and frozen food last, straight into one cool bag. If the drive home is long, a couple of ice packs go in the bag too. Raw meat and fish go into the cool bag in their own packaging, inside a separate carrier, so that nothing can drip onto bread or vegetables on the way.

At home that cool bag is opened first, before I have even taken my coat off. The frozen things go straight into the freezer. Raw meat and fish go on the bottom shelf of the fridge, in their packaging or in a covered dish, so nothing can drip onto food that is ready to eat. Cheese, ham, yoghurts, cooked meats and anything eaten without cooking go above. Vegetables go into the salad drawer. Only then do I deal with the rice, the flour and the tins; they are in no hurry and can wait on the table while I put the kettle on.

I wash my hands after handling the raw meat packs, because the outside of a pack is not always clean, and I wipe the shelf if anything has leaked. Use-by dates go to the front, so the things that need eating first are the ones I see first. The older yoghurt moves forward, the new one goes behind it.

I've also stopped packing the fridge to bursting. Cold air needs to move between things; a fridge crammed full warms up and stays warm. So I keep a little space between packs, and I don't stand hot leftovers in there to cool. A couple of hours after the shop I look at the thermometer again. If it has crept up, I take out what doesn't need to be there and stop opening the door every five minutes.

It takes ten minutes more than tipping everything out at random, maybe less. And in the busiest, darkest weeks of the year I know that everything inside is being kept the way it should be, and that the chicken for Sunday has spent its whole trip home cold.

Big-shop unpacking card. For one big weekly or holiday shop. About 20 minutes including the day-before clear-out. You need a cool bag, 2 ice packs, a separate carrier for raw meat and fish, a fridge thermometer, a covered dish for raw meat. The day before: use up leftovers, bin anything past its use-by date, clear a shelf, check the fridge reads 0–5°C. At the shop: chilled and frozen items last, into the cool bag; raw meat and fish in a separate carrier. At home: freezer first, then raw meat and fish on the bottom shelf, covered; ready-to-eat food above; vegetables in the drawer; cupboard food last. Wash hands after raw meat packs. Leave space for air; recheck the thermometer after 2 hours.