Refrigerator Cleaning 101
I wiped out the shelves in the refrigerator yesterday, and it looks so nice and sparkly that I need sunglasses when I open the door. All that shiny glass reflects the light. It's like I turned my fridge into a prism in the sun.
I don't even remember the last time I wiped out the fridge, and that's probably pretty gross to some of you, but then I can be a pretty gross person. Really though, how often do most people do chores like that? Is it common practice to wipe out the fridge once a week? Once a month? Seasonally? Whenever there's a spill? My mama never taught me proper refrigerator care. I only remember her pulling everything out of the fridge and cleaning every little nook and cranny a couple times in my life, though I'm sure she did it much more than that. She was the model of clean, after all. We had one of those refrigerators with the metal shelves though, so I wouldn't have known if my mom never wiped those shelves between massive cleanings. I have a stupid glass shelved refrigerator. It gets dirty and lets you know it. So even if my mom did tell me her fridge cleaning ways, it might not have helped me with my dumb, modern fridge.
I decided to consult my bible of cleaning: Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelsen. Cheryl says that "Washing out the refrigerator is part of your weekly cleaning routine." According to Cheryl, I've failed miserably in the fridge upkeep department, inviting germs and stink into my refrigerator. No wonder I needed that box of baking soda. Actually, I'm kidding about the baking soda. I don't keep a box in my fridge, so I can't be doing that poorly, can I? Still, I am certainly not keeping it as clean as I should. Even knowing Ms. Mendelsen's recommendations though, I still wonder what the norm for most people would be. Surely not everyone in America is washing out the fridge every single week, or am I truly just a disgusting pig?
This time, the shelves did get pretty yucky. It's not hard for them to look less than sparkly, even soon after washing. They're glass after all. Anyone who's seen what happens to a glass coffee table could understand that a shelf of glass where you put food is going to get pretty messy pretty quickly. And the glass in my fridge isn't that nice, frosted or textured glass either. It's just flat, shiny glass that practically erects a neon sign every time there's a drip. I would have to wipe out the fridge every day to keep it looking pretty in there, and I'm simply not willing to do that. Obviously I haven't been willing to do much at all though, considering the state of those shelves yesterday. They might not be frosted glass, but they sorta looked like it.
Now let me just say that I do wipe up spills in there, and I'm a freak about cleaning up anything involving meat. I keep all raw meats in the very bottom drawer where it will stay coldest and not drip on anything. The meat is well contained, so my poor fridge cleaning skills will not result in an e. coli or salmonella outbreak. No one's had so much as a sore belly in this house for months, so all those smudgies on the shelves can't be too awful.
Maybe I can manage the weekly thing. Tell me what you do, and I'll figure it out. You might not me all of America, but you're the ones that matter, right? I'll post results in a few days. I'm not sure how to run a little CGI script through Diaryland, because I'm not web-savvy enough, and I don't need Andrew mad at me for trying.
I'm not done yet! I did title this entry Refrigerator Cleaning 101 after all, and I haven't given any tips or hints on how to clean your very own fridge. So here are a couple rules to live by...
- If it grows, throw it away. Cheryl Mendelsen says to check your fridge every other day to get rid of any leftovers more than two days old and to check for spoiled food. She also says to rotate the older stuff to the front of the fridge. Obviously, I do not do that. If I don't recognize it, or it's getting bigger, I throw it away. If I don't remember buying it, I throw it away. Nothing in your fridge should grow, unless you're storing lab experiments in it. And if you are, don't invite me to dinner, or don't expect me to come if you do.
- Wash the shelves before things start sticking. Not only can you break glass shelves when trying to pry things off them, but it's also kind of nasty. If there are no more see-through spots on your glass shelves, it's time to clean. If there are little, petrified drips hanging from your metal shelves, it's time to clean. If the door makes a sound like Velcro when you open it, it's time to clean. I just use soapy water and a dishcloth. I like simple.
- Clean behind and underneath every once in a while. If you have pets, you will find that these areas collect much fur. That can be especially bad when combined with a sticky drip pan. Even if you don't have pets, these areas get pretty dusty. Failure to clean them results in what looks like a large, hairy animal. If you leave it too long, it might become a large, hairy animal. I've never waited to find out.
If I get any sort of response to my survey, I will be sure to let you know the frequency with which you should clean too. I am so very helpful, aren't I? Where would you be without me?
One year ago
The Early Call - I hate Wells Fargo. Hate them!
---------------------------------------------
One Year Ago Today:
