The label on each container

Every container gets its own label: what it is, an optional name you would write on masking tape, and the date and time it went in the fridge. The chips under the date (Just now, Last night, 2 days ago, 3 days ago) fill in the evenings people usually mean. The type sets the USDA range: most cooked dishes get 3 to 4 days, quiche gets 3 to 5, hard-boiled eggs get a week, and rice, pasta, cooked fish and takeout use the general leftovers rule of 3 to 4 days.

Time on the counter comes first

Before any date counts, pick how long the food sat out. Over 2 hours and Left out overnight turn the verdict into Toss no matter how recent the fridge date is, and with the above-90°F switch on the limit drops to 1 hour, following the USDA rule for perishable food. Under the limit, the window is counted from cooking rather than from the fridge, so those hours come off the 3 to 4 days instead of being added to them. That subtraction is this calculator’s cautious choice: USDA gives the 3 to 4 days and the 2-hour limit as separate rules, and does not say which moment to count from. Chicken that went in the fridge on Sunday at 8 PM after less than an hour out comes out as eat by Wednesday at 7 PM and still inside the range until Thursday at 7 PM; the same chicken after 1 to 2 hours on the counter moves both times back to 6 PM. Not sure gives Check first, which shows both outcomes side by side instead of guessing for you.

The freezer stops the clock

Switch on It went in the freezer and add the date yourself; the calculator waits for it instead of guessing. While the food stays frozen at 0°F it is safe indefinitely; the months shown are for quality only. Thawed in the fridge starts a fresh 3 to 4 day window from the day it came back. Thawed in cold water or the microwave means reheat now, because USDA says food thawed those ways should be cooked right away. If the container went into the freezer after its fridge window had already ended, the verdict stays Toss: freezing does not reset the date.

The verdict and the line under it

The verdict uses words, not a score: Eat by, Eat soon, Eat or freeze today, Last day, Toss it, Reheat now, Check first or Frozen. Under it, What changed explains the last edit in one sentence, such as why a container moved from Eat by to Toss after you marked it as left out overnight. The seven-day strip shows the same window: solid green before the USDA range starts, striped while you are inside it, coral after it ends, with a mark for now.

The fridge view

Add up to eight containers and they sort themselves onto shelves: Eat first for anything due today or tomorrow, This week for later dates, Toss for anything out of time, and the Freezer for food that is still frozen. Tap a container to edit it. On a phone the shelves become a single list in the same order.

Copy the list

Copy list turns the fridge into plain text with today's date at the top, grouped by action, so you can paste it into a note or a family chat. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

What it assumes

The dates follow USDA guidance for a fridge at 40°F (4°C) or below. They are rules, not lab tests: smell and looks cannot tell you whether food is safe, and people at higher risk may want to be stricter. Holiday turkey has its own planner for when to start thawing.

Sources: USDA FSIS, Leftovers and Food Safety; USDA FSIS, Safe Handling of Take-Out Foods; FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart.