There are two types of people. One has their fridge organized alphabetically. The other has leftovers shoved in the back that the CDC may have some valid interest in. When was the last time you cleaned out your fridge?
Cleaning the fridge shouldn’t be a big job every single time you do it, but id it has been a while we are going to start from scratch. Take EVERYTHING out of your fridge. Put it in coolers if you think this could be a while. Dump out the science projects – throw away the containers if it is too scary. Check expiration dates as you remove things, as well. Sometimes it’s shocking just how long some of those bottles have been in there!
Once everything is out, removed any shelves or drawers that you can. If they are pretty dirty you may want to soak them in some hot, soapy water in the bathtub to help loosen sticky residue. Clean the inside of the fridge either with hot, soapy water, or Thieves cleaner. Make sure you get the sides, and don’t forget the freezer!
If there is anything *ahem* really stuck on, try putting a rag, soaked with HOT soapy water on it for a while. Repeat if necessary. Don’t forget to pull out the drawers and clean the tracks. If you have glass shelves or drawers, make sure you allow them to come to room temperature before cleaning them with hot water! Hot water on cold glass = broken glass.
Once it is time to put everything back IN the fridge, keep in mind the back is the coolest and the door is the warmest. Don’t store meat above something it could drip on. Since I am a vegetarian, we rarely have any raw meat in our fridge, and I keep all lunch meat in a plastic basket to avoid it touching the shelf directly. If you have a fruits and vegetables drawer, use it for fruits and vegetables!
For the exterior, the cleaning method will depend on the surface. For a regular fridge, hot, soapy water or Thieves Cleaner works great. For stainless steel, first clean with vinegar and wipe in the direction of the grain. Then, dip a soft cloth in some olive oil and wipe in the direction of the grain to shine it up.
Once or twice a year you will want to clean the coils on your fridge. These are found on the back or bottom of your fridge. Refer to your owners manual, or do some poking around to see which yours is. Unplug your fridge before you start monkeying with the coils! Use an attachment on your vacuum cleaner to gently vacuum them and remove as much accumulated dust as you can.
You should only need to deep clean your fridge a few times per year, but every time you grocery shop you should go through your fridge BEFORE you go to the store, discard expired and yuckky stuff, and wipe any spills.
This is day 25 in my series 31 Days To A Clean House
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