Alton Brown's Egg Carton Hack Makes Storing Condiments Hassle-Free

If you're like us, you probably have a ton of condiments in your fridge. Whether it's ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, or packets of sauce from your favorite fast food establishment, these all can take up significant real estate in your refrigerator, especially if they're nearly empty. Leave it to celebrity television personality Alton Brown to give us the secret to storing condiments and getting the most out of them: an egg carton. 

In a highly dramatized video clip on YouTube, after Brown searches in vain for a mustard bottle that still has some contents inside, a lightbulb goes off. Brown grabs an empty egg carton, cuts off the lid, and stacks his condiments upside down in the individual cups of the carton. While this "Mustard Caddy" is ideal for any dijon or spicy brown, it also works for any other pesky condiment that never seems to want to exit the bottle. 

This hack ensures an organized refrigerator shelf and allows gravity to push the condiment to spread to the mouth of the container — guaranteeing you won't have to pull an arm muscle the next time you are decorating a hamburger. 

Along with creating Alton Brown's convenient "condiment caddy," there are other tips for storing your beloved toppers and keeping them fresh for as long as possible. If you've collected quite a few McDonald's Creamy Ranch packets or have a stack of Chick-fil-A Sauce, instead of just piling them up in your fridge, use a utensil divider to keep them organized. This way you can categorize by flavor, restaurant, and taste—and keep them out of the way in an unused kitchen drawer.

Another idea is to pour all your sauces, relishes, and toppings into squeeze bottles. This cuts down on space because all the bottles will be a uniform size, rather than the range of shapes that condiments often come in—plus, it'll look aesthetically pleasing. With coordinating labels, you can also write down what each one is and the expiration date.

Of course, you don't have to store all your condiments in the fridge, so save space with options that can be left out. For example, soy sauce can be left out at room temperature (since the sauce's high sodium will ward off bacteria), although placing it in the fridge will slow the oxidation process down and sustain its quality for much longer. When it comes to hot sauce storage—those that contain lemon juice, vinegar, or sodium benzoate can be kept in the pantry. But fermented hot sauces (and those who have more fresh ingredients rather than preservatives) must be kept in the fridge.