The Quick and Easy Method to Clean Your Refrigerator
First off, you need to gather up your tools. You really don’t need much for this job, but gather it up now, so that you don’t have an excuse to walk away in the middle of the job and fail to come back to it. A half-cleaned refrigerator looks even worse!
The main thing you need is a trash can. Pull the big kitchen can over and use it to prop open the door of your refrigerator. It’ll keep the door from swinging closed on you, and it’ll be right there handy for you to toss, toss, toss.
Now grab a roll of paper towels and a squirt bottle of your favorite ‘blue stuff’ glass cleaner. It cleans a lot more than glass; you’ll see.
Start with the top shelf. Be honest (and brutal if necessary) about what’s been in there too long already. Toss it in the can if it’s moldy, drippy, crusty, or if you can’t remember how long it’s been in there. Also, dump anything you can’t recognize into the trash can.
Take everything off of that shelf before you move on. Start a pile on the counter or the floor of things you’re planing to keep, but keep then out of the fridge. When the entire shelf is empty, give it a good spray-down with the blue spray, and wipe it clean with the paper towels. Trash the paper used towels (no sponge to clean!) and move on to the next shelf.
Go through the whole refrigerator, shelf by shelf, this way. Don’t get overwhelmed by thinking about the whole refrigerator, just concentrate on one shelf at a time. You can even do one shelf each day, if you’re short on time, and can’t tackle it all at once.
When you finish all the shelves, pull out the drawers at the bottom. Yes, pull them out. Don’t just open them; I want you to pull them out and set them on the floor. Look under there. See that space under the drawers? Is it gross? The crumbs, condensation, and spills all end up down there, and then they start to fester. Mop out any standing fluid with the paper towels, then spray it with the blue spray and wipe it down again.
Now take everything out of the drawers. Either it goes on the counter with the stuff to save, or into the trash. Then spray them with blue spray, and wipe them down. When they’re clean, slide them back into place.
Finally, tackle the door. Dump any jars that have been there more than a year into the garbage can. Set anything that you can save with your ‘to save’ pile, and once the door is empty, spray it and wipe it down.
Your refrigerator should now be empty and clean! Take one last look at the things you saved as you load them neatly back inside. You may find a few more things that really should have gone to the trash.
Take a moment to admire your lovely, clean and orderly refrigerator, before you close the door. Next week, you can think about the freezer.
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