Your refrigerator is the most used appliance in your home. It is opened frequently throughout the day. Food and drinks are constantly being moved in and out of it. Spills, crumbs and sticky drips all create a messy refrigerator situation.
Cleaning your refrigerator does not need to take a lot of time. Once you have deep cleaned the fridge and added organized storage, it can take as little as five to 15 mintues per week to keep the fridge tidy.
1. Remove everythingThe best way to deep clean a fridge is to remove everything from inside. Toss any expired or questionable items as you are working your way through the shelves and drawrs. Once you've removed everything, you can easily clean shelves and drawers without working around things.
"Cents"able Momma understands that a large fridge may take a while to unload. But it is essential you can see all parts of your fridge before you begin cleaning.
2. Use a convenient cleaning solutionThere is no need to buy a specialty cleaner for the refrigerator. You already have everything you need in your kitchen to thoroughly deep clean it. A Bowl Full of Lemons recommends using the simple combination of water, baking soda and dish soap. For those cleaning method and more tips, see this
tutorial.
3. Keep shelves linedRefrigerator shelf liners create a barrier between food and the shelves. They allow for the quick and easy cleanup of spills and drips. This inexpensive
tutorial uses dollar store placemats to create customized and unique decorative shelf liners. You can choose any pattern to match your kitchen.
4. Organize like items togetherMake it easy to find things in your refrigerator by organizing like items together. Cheese in the cheese drawer, veggies in the crisper, dairy on its own shelf – categorizing items together makes for quick and easy organiztion. Two Twenty One showcases how she organizes her space
here.
5. Label thingsMake sure everyone knows where to put things with these crafty labels. Perfect for clear organizing drawers, these labels allow you to quickly see where the cheese goes. Clean and Scentsible offers the free printable
here. 6. Create extra shelvingTurn file folder holders on their sides to create new shelves for smaller items. Bottles of water, yogurts and cheese can all fit in these creative shelves. Try using them to store tall vegetables, such as celery and carrots.
7. Use baskets to hold thingsBaskets are an efficient way to contain items that roll around in refrigerator drawers and on shelves. Apples, oranges and soda cans can all be organized with a simple plastic basket. Use a small basket to keep apples from rolling around the produce drawer.
8. Clean the icemakerThe most overlooked part of your refridgerator may be the dirtiest part. The
Shabby Creek Cottage was surprised at how much gunk accumulated in her ice maker. She suggests using a steam cleaner to thoroughly clean and disinfect the icemaker for a healthier kitchen.
Once your refrigerator is nicely organized, cleaning is an easy task. If you take a few minutes once a week to wipe out the fridge before putting in new groceries, it will stay clean all the time. Share with your friends and family on Facebook.
