Refrigerator Refresh

I don't know about you, but I have to do a quick clean out and wipe down every month to my kitchen refrigerator.

It seems to get messy and disorganized so quickly during the month, and I feel like it's harboring germs and other gross things when it's not clean.

So, I take literally no more than 30 minutes to sweep through it and give it a refresh.

Here's how I do it.

The first thing I do after I open it and gag a bit... is to take a quick visual inventory of what's hanging out inside.

We've had an eventful month which usually includes eating out more than normal (take-home containers) plus the food from my mother-in-law's memorial reception was lurking around, PLUS, there were a few "long-term" residents that needed to be evicted - if you get my drift.

Even the door was looking unkempt and disorganized.  Multiples were hanging out together and somethings needed to be re-homed in the frig in general.

The first thing you should ALWAYS DO?

Take everything, and I mean EVERYTHING out of the refrigerator.  Do not just rearrange.  You cannot possibly inventory and clean effectively if things are just being moved from side to side.

Those deep spaces in the very back of the frig are great harbingers of missing Tupperware and forgotten food.  GET THEM OUT!!!

Do a quick check on expiration dates, throw away old food and left-overs that you do not intend to use in a timely manner, and organize your food by type.  This will help when you go to return it to your frig.

Now you want to do a quick wipe with a clean cloth and food-safe cleaner.

Of course, I use my Thieves cleaner from Young Living.  However, if you don't have that, I suggest a mixture of 1:1 white vinegar and water.  If you have some caked-on areas, spray with your solution and add a bit of baking soda.  Let the combination work its magic and then you can wipe it up.

I don't recommend using a chemical cleaner in your frig simply because it's where you keep your food.  If you think that there might be germs or bacteria (remember it's a cold space, so most general bacteria is not living on the surfaces of your frig, but more than likely on the surfaces of your food) you can use regular isopropyl alcohol as a wipe down.

Speaking of food bacteria that cause illness - ALWAYS keep your thawed raw meat in a bag or container ON TOP OF a plate.  This way you do not cross-contaminate your food.

We leave our meat in its package ON a plate, on the bottom shelf away from other foods.

Wipe down the walls, shelves, and edges.  You will probably find lots of crumbs (how???) and little bits of unidentifiable stuff lurking near the edges and backs of your shelves.

Remove any drawers, rinsing them out and wiping them down.  Wipe the areas where the drawers reside.  This is usually the bottom of the frig where all those crumbs have gathered for a crumb convention!

Now start organizing your food to return to the refrigerator.

I LOVE the clear acrylic organizers that you can find for reasonable prices at places like Marshals, Home Goods, and TJMaxx.  You can also order them on Amazon or purchase them from the Container Store (expensive!).

I suggest you look at the regular inhabitants of your frig and THEN decide what organizers will work best for you.  I've collected mine over time.  They are not all in the frig at once, but make a rotation as needed.

I like to keep this little bin in my crisper drawer so that my fresh cilantro, parsley, and garlic don't get crushed and hidden below my larger veggies like cucumbers and lettuce.  The organizer stays in the front which allows me to see it and remember that that stuff is there.

I organize the cheese drawer with the unopened bags in the back and the opened stuff near the front.  Again, this helps us to use the cheese in a manner that doesn't end up with food waste.

I have a 14 compartment egg organizer (perfect to see if we need eggs) and two flat hinged lidded containers that hold our lunch meat.  

The clear acrylic lets us see what's in there, which means that we use it.

A narrow organizer is where we keep our supplements that need to be refrigerated.  Did you know that most probiotics should be kept cold in order to keep them potent?  Ours stay front and center so we take them with regularity.

Of course, my chocolate fix hangs out in the back.  A girl's gotta have some chocolate stashed somewhere!  (Whole Foods)

And just like that, your refresh is done.  

You can see the left-overs on the bottom shelf, all together, so that we don't forget what needs to be eaten.

I use three shallow bins on top to hold my pastry and bread doughs, freshly washed fruit, and jars of jams, jellies, and sauces.

The door gets that same treatment, and I make sure that all the rims and lids of items like ketchup and mayo are wiped and cleaned as well.

Once the inside is tidy, I do a quick wipe and swipe to the outside and it's done for another month.

I realize that this might seem like something that will take lots of time to accomplish.  The first time, it may take a bit more time than the 30 minutes it took me to do it here.

However, once you do it initially, getting it really clean and organized, a quick monthly refresh will really be all you need after that.

It's an investment in your health and sanity...think of it that way!

Have a great day!