How to Properly Clean out the Refrigerator

The refrigerator is often the center of the entire household, or at least in mine it is. It’s the first place we go toward when we get home from work or school, the last place we are at night before bed, and in between for every meal. But with all of the food, drinks, condiments, leftovers, spills, and smells, the refrigerator can often be the dirtiest place in your home.Maybe it’s the beautiful spring-like weather here in Dallas, or maybe it’s just the extra day (Happy Leap Day by the way) but I think today is a great day to deep-clean something in your home.

Here’s a few tips on cleaning your refrigerator:

•Clean all spills inside your refrigerator IMMEDIATELY. I say this with urgency because as we all know too well, the longer a mystery substance stays in the refrigerator, the harder it is to get mystery substance out with just a simple scrub. You’ll thank yourself later. Trust me.

•Make sure everything in your refrigerator is extremely clean. Wipe off all the ketchup bottles, mayonnaise jars, jelly jars, etc. You don’t want anything sticky or icky that you have to clean.

•About once a week, check for food that’s spoiled and throw it away. A good rule to live by is to keep fresh fruits, vegetables, and anything else with a shelf life of less than a week towards the front of the refrigerator. That way, when you’re searching for something and end up in the back, you don’t reach and find a surprise.

•Also wipe down your refrigerator about once a week. Soak a dishcloth with warm, soapy water and wipe down the top, sides, front door, and door surfaces to get rid of dust, dirt, and anything else. If you have a stainless steel refrigerator, obviously use the manufacturer’s cleaning solution and scrub with the grain.

•Keep all your leftovers in airtight compartments. Foul odors will always find a way to your refrigerator, but if you do the best you can, you can prevent most of them. For the odors that you can’t prevent, try sticking a rimmed plate with a liberal amount of baking soda on top of it. Leave the plate in for a few hours and you should have a noticeable difference in the smell.

•And when you want to deep clean your refrigerator, find your breaker box and temporarily turn your fridge off. Empty out its contents and put everything you want to keep in a cooler. Take out all of the shelving and wash them with hot water and baking soda. *Note* If your refrigerator has ceramic or glass shelves, then you’ll need to wait for them to get to room temperature to wash in hot water. After you’ve cleaned off the shelves, clean the inside with baking soda, water and an old toothbrush to get any stains and sticky spots sparkling clean.

Refrigerators are a lot to keep up with, but I know you can handle it. 🙂