 Loving Your Kitchen: The Refrigerator
Good Food Starts With a Clean Refrigerator
Do you know what's lurking in the back corners of your fridge? Or growing? Or moving? Let's find out. This is going to take about half an hour to forty-five minutes. Are you ready? You can do this. Before you start...
- Fill the sink with hot soapy water. You are also going to need a dish rag, a plastic scouring pad (or whatever you use for scrubbing), and a couple tea towels for drying.
- Get a trash bag ready.
- Clear a space on the counter top to hold the food from the fridge.
Let's get started. The Checklist:
- Empty the shelves that are on the door. Check the expiry dates. Anything that has passed the expiry date is trash. Anything you are scared to open is trash. Anything that your family will never eat is trash (don't feel guilty - just don't buy it again LOL). Put the rest of it on the counter.
- I get my kids involved. Their job is to sort the food on the counter - the ketchups, mustards, salad dressings, pickles, cheeses, vegetables, etc. They also help with the emptying.
- If the shelves from the doorway are removable, take them out and put them into the hot soapy water. Let the shelves, egg holders, butter dishes, etc. soak a bit while you wash down the inside of the door. Remember to wipe the top and bottom of the door and around the seal.
- Wash the shelves, dry them, and put them back into the fridge. Don't worry about putting the food back yet.
- Now, start at the top of the fridge. Take everything off the top shelf. Again, trash is trash. If it moves, is green, or can't be identified, out it goes! Skip the guilt. We have all been there. We have all trashed food at some time or another. And we all will again. With a plan however, it will be less and less. Put the food you want to keep on the counter.
- Remove the top shelves and put them into the hot soapy water.
- Repeat for the rest of the shelves. Empty, toss the trash, put the good stuff on the counter, and put the shelf in the water. Keep going until the fridge is empty. Woohoo!
- Remove any meat or vegetable crispers. Empty them out. They are going to get washed as well.
- Now that the fridge is completely empty, wash down the insides, the top, walls, and bottom. This is where you get all the mystery drips and puddles that have accumulated over time. If you have some stubborn spots bring in a little all-purpose cleaner to get them. Then rinse well. Dry out the fridge with one of your tea towels.
- Wash and dry all the shelves and crispers. Replace them in the fridge.
- Now, close the door and open it again. Wahoo - look at all that white! Way to go!
- Time to re-stuff the fridge. How many ketchups and mustards did you find? I found three of each. How about salad dressings? I have enough for about 6 months. Sheesk! Here is a trick. Get out a marker and put a big #1 on the bottles you want used up first. If possible, put these bottles in the fridge door so they are easy to get. When the table is set, the kids know which bottles to put on the table. When the #1 bottle is empty, dig out the next bottle and put the #1 on it. Shop at home first!
- Don't pack away the fresh veggies yet. Get everything else in the fridge. If the jars or bottles are sticky, wipe them off with a hot rag first.
- Ok, time for the veggies. If you are like me and often end up with veggies that have gone bad before you had a chance to use them, then you may find the food calendar will make a huge difference. Mark which day you are going to use up the vegetables on your calendar.
- Now, look at the fresh veggies you have left. Write on the calendar when you are going to cook/eat the vegetables. A salad on Monday, carrots on Tuesday, coleslaw and turnips on Wednesday, spinach, corn, and tomatoes on Thursdays... you get the idea. Now you have a plan. You are shopping at home first! Then put the veggies back into the fridge.
- Almost done! Take everything off the top of the fridge (you may need a chair to reach). Quickly sort through the stuff. Trash is trash. Toss the duplicate phonebooks, last year's school announcements, the hidden Easter eggs, and the broken fast food toys. If there is stuff that you want to keep, but not on the top of the fridge, put it away where it belongs. I keep my cutting boards on the top of the fridge. This prevents me from stacking other stuff up there.
- Wipe off the top of the fridge with hot soapy water. Don't be surprised at all the grey greasy fuzzies that are up there. You may need to wash it a couple times to get it off.
- Getting closer! Take a look at the front door of the fridge. Is it covered with artwork, announcements, alphabet letters, pictures, magnetic business cards, or other stuff? Peel it all off. Same as before, trash is trash. Kid's artwork can be added to the grandma/auntie box and mailed away. Yucky magnets can be tossed. Then be really selective about what you put on the fridge. I aim for nothing. It makes the kitchen look much larger and cleaner when the fridge is clear.
- Wipe the counter off. Empty the sink, rinse it out, and hang up the rags and tea towels to dry. Then, take the trash out to the trash can.
- Voila, you are done! Your fridge is ready to receive good food to feed your family.
Bonus (if you have time): Pull out your fridge from the wall. Get someone to help you if your fridge feels tippy or is too heavy. Then quickly vacuum the coils behind the fridge (if you have coils), wipe down the walls, the sides of the fridge, and the floor (oh look, I found two marbles, three dog food crunchies, the missing puzzle piece, and a family of kitchen dust bunnies!). Now you are really done! Congratulations.
Aiming for good food in our homes!
Take care of you,
Cindy
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