Learning how to make a refrigerator accessible for visual impairment is a task that can include not only arranging the contents of the refrigerator inside, but organizing information or other items that can be attached to the refrigerator itself or placed on doors. Many of the students and clients I’ve worked with tell me that they spend lots of time looking inside or outside of their fridge whether it’s finding something to eat or finding where they put a coupon or other item for safekeeping, so having an accessible refrigerator is important for locating items quickly- especially when hunger or other distractions can make it more challenging to use vision or focus eyes effectively! Here are my favorite strategies for learning how to make refrigerators accessible for visual impairment, inclusive of blind, low vision, and other forms of visual impairment.
Things to consider when choosing a refrigerator with visual impairment
While this post primarily focuses on making an existing refrigerator easier to use or access for someone with vision loss, there are some design elements that can have an impact on how accessible a fridge is, including:
- Fridge color: for some people with contrast deficiencies or neurological visual impairment (CVI), the color of a refrigerator can have an impact on how easy it is to see. Having a lot of light colored items against a light colored shelf can make it more challenging to see, or a reflective door may create unwanted glare. To customize the appearance of a fridge, vinyl wrap, fridge wrap, or auto wrap can be wrapped around the appliance without damaging it.
- Fridge controls: Blind users may prefer to have tactile knobs or dials for adjusting fridge settings, compared to flat LCD displays or arrows that do not have tactile controls or elements. Alternatively, some users may prefer the backlit digital displays, which can be easier to see/enlarge.
- Removable/adjustable shelves: Having shelves that can be adjusted or moved can be helpful for addressing storage needs, especially for tall items or items that are difficult to move otherwise
- Contrast between elements: Buttons, labels, and other visual indicators should not blend into the background or otherwise be difficult to read.
Related links
- High Contrast and Low Vision
- How I Decorate A Bedroom For CVI
- How To Organize Apps On iPad With Low Vision
Document what is inside the fridge with a running list
When it comes to refrigerators, what matters most is what’s on the inside. In this case, I find it helpful to keep a running list of the contents of the refrigerator using one or more of the following tools:
- Keeping a shared digital list in an application like Microsoft To-Do, Google Keep, Notes, or another application that shares what is inside the refrigerator at any given time. This can also be helpful when going shopping.
- Writing a fridge inventory on a dry-erase board, which can be attached to the fridge for easy access.
- Drawing or writing pictures/labels for food on reusable magnets, which can be placed on the door to indicate what is inside. Dry erase magnets are one option.
- Alternatively, another option is to use magnets that are shaped like food items (such as fruits and vegetables), or print off photographs or PECS images and use those as magnets to indicate what is inside
When it comes to creating a refrigerator inventory, some people find it helpful to break items down into categories, such as produce, dairy, proteins, etc. Others find it more useful to indicate where something is in the fridge, such as top shelf or bottom shelf.
Related links
- Magnets to write on | Amazon (not an affiliate link)
- How To Make Things On The Board Easier To See
- Upcycling Music Stands into Assistive Technology
Organize items into bins
In my family’s fridge, we have clear acrylic bins for smaller items like dips, snacks, and corralling leftovers into a centralized location so that I don’t have to reach behind items or lose items in darker corners of the refrigerator. For a mini fridge, clear drawers can also be used to keep items from rolling out and falling behind surfaces. Another option is to use a rotating organizer like a lazy Susan, which makes it easier to avoid stacking items behind each other.
Related links
- Organizing Dresser Drawers With Vision Loss
- Organizing A Dorm Mini Fridge With Low Vision
- Lighting And Low Vision
If allergies are a concern, use distinctive labels
I have highly sensitive food allergies and have found that many of the products and alternatives that I cook with can resemble the “real thing”, which is a problem when sharing a fridge. Alternatively, I might not want to try and guess if I am allergic to something that was stored in a container just by looking/smelling it (“are these the mashed potatoes made with dairy?”). To help avoid accidental cross-contact or cross-contamination, I use the following tools to maintain an accessible fridge:
- Separate food containers for leftovers, which have different colored lids
- Rubber bands around bottles to indicate which are allergy safe (helpful for identically sized containers)
- Keeping items inside acrylic bins to protect against spills or being placed alongside allergen-containing items, or creating “zones” for where to store specific items
- Adding stickers or labels to indicate if items are allergy safe
Since I rely a lot on color to convey information and as a labeling tool in my day-to-day life, I tend to use a lot of visual labeling tools to label my own items.
Writing notes on the fridge
When hanging notes on the refrigerator, I find it helpful to either print information in large font sizes, write with a high-contrast pen, or use a dry erase board and write as large as possible. For a student I worked with who had a chore chart on their refrigerator along with the rest of their siblings, I worked with their parents to create a tactile chart that used braille labels and had a tactile divider to indicate when chores were completed— I linked a tutorial for a similar version from the Paths to Literacy website below.
Related links
- Reading Handwriting With Assistive Technology
- Paper Sizes and Low Vision Accessibility
- Accessible Job Chart for the Home | Paths to Literacy
Adding tactile labels to items
There are several strategies for adding tactile labels to items to make refrigerators accessible for visual impairment, which can be helpful for organizing shared fridges or making it easier to put items back in the same place. Examples of strategies include:
- Placing rubber bands around products to indicate details of a product such as fat content (e.g. two bands for 2% milk) or who the product belongs to (e.g. four bands for Veronica)
- Adding bump dots to shelves to indicate details such as what items should be placed there or whose shelf it is
- Using dividers to separate where leftovers should be stored, either on shelves or within bins
- Placing mats on shelves to help absorb glare and improve contrast, as well as create a tactile indicator for where items can be found
To keep refrigerators accessible for visually impaired users, ensure that everyone who uses the shared fridge is familiar with how it should be organized and where items should be stored after being used.
Related links
Options for identifying products inside the refrigerator with vision loss
When it comes to identifying food items with low vision, some of my favorite assistive technology tools include:
- Using a barcode scanner or smart camera applications such as Google Lens to identify a product, which can also be helpful for reviewing ingredient lists online
- Opening a visual assistance app like Microsoft Seeing AI, Be My Eyes, or Aira to identify items inside the refrigerator, which can help with locating an item, reading labels, or providing a description of other details such as its appearance or expiration date
- RFID labels can be added to products, which can include audio labels that read information out loud or text-based descriptions that can be displayed in large print or read with a screen reader when scanned.
- Writing large labels on items when they are purchased, including the expiration date or date placed in the fridge.
When possible, I try to purchase or store similar looking food items in distinctive containers, so I don’t get confused over what they look like later. This can include things like marinara sauce and salsa being in different shaped jars, having different colored lids for multiple types of pickles, or placing leafy greens in bags with large print labels.
Related links
- Google Lens Review For Low Vision
- How I Use Google Assistant While Traveling
- All About Visual Assistance Apps For Visually Impaired
- Low Vision Assistive Technology For The Bathroom
- Assistive Technology and Dressing Aids For Low Vision
Food safety and visual impairment
One of the most terrifying texts I ever received in college was from a friend who asked me if a food looked safe to eat, and then told me they were going to eat it anyway when I hadn’t responded ten minutes later. The food had visibly spoiled (which my friend couldn’t see), but the expiration date suggested it was still safe to eat so they weren’t sure what to do. I immediately called them on the phone and was relieved to know they hadn’t eaten anything, but it did prompt a lesson on how I figure out if a food in the fridge is safe to eat:
- When it comes to expiration dates, use a tool like Envision AI, Seeing AI, or Google Lookout to read expiration dates out loud.
- Video magnifiers and magnifying glasses can be used to enlarge labels. Sometimes, these can be poor contrast, so I use an inverted color scheme to read what they say
- Writing the date the item was purchased or placed in the fridge can be helpful for determining if an item is safe to eat based on common sense. For example, month-old pasta is probably not safe to eat!
- Visual assistance applications like Aira or Be My Eyes can provide 24/7 access to visual interpreters that can answer questions about the appearance of food or read labels
- Some companies use stickers on their products that change texture when a product is expired
Of course, if something seems unsafe, smells bad, or shows signs of being moldy or spoiled— when in doubt, throw it out!
Disclaimer: I previously received free Aira service through a now-defunct program for college students in 2018/2019 and spoke at an Aira-sponsored event in 2018.
Related links
- Using The Envision App With Low Vision
- How I Use Be My Eyes With Low Vision
- iOS Magnifier and Low Vision Accessibility
- How To Use Invert Colors With Low Vision
More ideas for how to make refrigerators accessible for visual impairment
- Many of my friends with low vision or visual impairment shared how their parents let them play with high-contrast alphabet magnets on the fridge as kids, which also included braille labels. They said the vertical surface made it easy for them to lean in closely to examine letters, and the colors “popped” against the neutral background of the fridge door. Of course, proofreading the fridge to remove any inappropriate words is important before unexpected company arrives!
- Need to organize a smaller fridge? I share a list of tips in Organizing A Dorm Mini Fridge With Low Vision
- Make sure that lids are tightly screwed back on and bags are closed all the way before placing something back in the fridge. Admittedly, I struggle with this due to poor hand strength, but it can create a giant mess if items are not properly stored.
- I prefer plastic containers over glass because they are lighter weight and I don’t have to worry about items shattering. This isn’t to say that I avoid glass, but I do avoid large glass containers or items that I can’t lift on my own.
- Need more ideas for organizing different spaces with low vision? Check out Organization Archives | Veronica With Four Eyes (veroniiiica.com)
Published May 9, 2020. Updated November 2024