9 Tricks to Cleaning Your Fridge (and Keeping It Clean)
Does looking into your messy fridge make you cringe? Mighty Mommy shares 9 ways to embrace National Clean Out Your Fridge Day—just in time for Thanksgiving!
November may be best known for Thanksgiving, but there’s another holiday this month you might not be as familiar and it can actually help you get ready to enjoy Turkey Day: National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, celebrated on November 15th each year.
The good folks at Whirlpool can be thanked for initiating this fun (yes, fun!) cause back in 1999. Timing is everything, and the home economists at Whirlpool felt mid-November would be the perfect time to promote this holiday because it gives people the chance to clean and organize this most important appliance before the holidays arrive.
Before you head out to purchase a turkey and all the fixings, grab your favorite cleaning products and a dose of inspiration and embrace National Clean Out Your Fridge Day with these nine easy steps.
9 Tricks to Cleaning Your Fridge (and Keeping It Clean)
- Create a Working Space in Kitchen
- Ready, Set, Empty!
- Remove Trays and Bins
- Attack all Surfaces
- Vacuum Condenser Coils
- Reorganize Your Clean Space
- Stock Up With Fresh Food
- Plan a Special Dinner to Celebrate
- Maintain Your Efforts
Here’s a closer look at each.
1. Create a Working Space in Kitchen
Cleaning out your refrigerator doesn’t have to be as daunting as you might think if you approach it with an open mind. Play some upbeat music before you get started—you’ll add some positive, funky energy to your project!
Before you start unloading, create a workspace on your kitchen island or clear some counter space so you’ll have a place to sort food, etc. Don’t forget your sink! Make sure your sink is empty so you can place bins and racks in it for proper cleansing. Last but not least, have your garbage bin close by—you’ll need it when it comes time to ditch spoiled food.
2. Ready, Set, Empty!
Now comes the fun part—emptying the entire contents of your fridge and freezer. (Be sure not to neglect the freezer.) Take advantage of your empty counter space and group things together such as salad dressings and condiments, cheese and cold cuts, butter and dairy products, etc. If you have a slimy bottle of ketchup, rinse it in warm, soapy water before you place it on your workspace.
Check for expired items, moldy and furry produce, near-empty containers that no one will likely touch again, and anything else you know your family is not going to eat. Chuck them in that empty trash bin and get ready for step three.
3. Remove Trays and Bins
Take a look at all your empty space—now you can start to get excited! Remove any produce crispers and removable shelves/trays and place them in the warm, soapy sink. Scrub away! If you have a fridge that dispenses water and ice, when was the last time you changed your water filter? Any light bulbs burned out that need replacing? Hey, you might as well go the whole nine yards while you’re in there.
4. Attack All Surfaces
This tip doesn’t really need much explanation. With the bins and shelves out, you can get to work cleaning all the nooks, crannies, and surfaces of your fridge and freezer. This includes the outside of your unit as well. Fingerprints, hardened sauces, and smatterings of other things collect on the outside doors just as easily as the inside of your appliance. If you’re starting to lose your momentum, visualize how spectacular your food is going to look once you complete this task—it’s going to be well worth it!
5. Vacuum Condenser Coils
You’re almost done—but not until you get out your vacuum. Dust builds up underneath and behind your fridge on a part known as the condenser coils. When that happens, the unit can’t work efficiently and release the built up heat.
According to tips shared by familyhandyman.com you can “eliminate more than 70 percent of service calls with this simple cleaning step.” For some, this is removing the grille at the bottom of the fridge and accessing the coils there. With newer appliances, however, these coils are usually located in the back, so the fridge would have to be rolled out to be cleaned properly. Here’s a helpful video for more information on keeping your coils clean.
6. Reorganize Your Clean Space
Once your refrigerator is clean and sparkling, place the crispers and shelves back and assess your space. Think about what works for your family—can they easily access popular items like milk and condiments? Can the crispers be arranged differently so your fresh veggies don’t grow fur? This is the perfect opportunity to arrange the food and jars in a way that functions best for your family.
7. Stock Up With Fresh Food
Once the job of cleaning your fridge and freezer is over, now comes the fun part—restocking with fresh food. You may have had to ditch 50% of the items once stored in there, so make a list of what needs replacing and promise yourself you won’t purchase groceries that would just take up space and not be eaten.
This is really a wonderful opportunity to think about the recipes you’d like to serve going forward. Now you have a fresh start, so you can get creative all while keeping everything tidy and organized.
8. Plan a Special Dinner to Celebrate
National Clean out Your Fridge Day is a holiday, so why not celebrate the fruits of your labor? Cook up a special dinner for your family and let them see how fantastic your crystal-clean refrigerator looks. More importantly, ask them to be mindful of the time you just invested in getting it to look this way and enlist their help to maintain it. (The empty carton of milk can be thrown out rather than shoved back in.)
9. Maintain Your Efforts
Though November 15th is the focal point of this holiday, now that your fridge is clean and tidy, make it a point to keep it that way. Get into the habit of maintaining your efforts every couple of months so when November does roll around next year, your work will be cut in half, and you can spend more time celebrating.
For more ideas visit the Mighty Mommy Page at Quick and Dirty Tips.