I hate cleaning out the refrigerator. Like, really hate it. Not for any particular reason other than “it’s gross.” I don’t mind going through and cleaning out the expired food or anything like that. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find expired food in my fridge because I stay on top of it fairly well. When I say I hate cleaning it out, I mean the whole process of removing everything including the shelfs and drawers to reveal every spill that has ever occurred in that space. Not only is it gross, but it’s also kind of embarrassing, even if you are the only one that ever sees it like that. I mean, yes, it’s gross, but I let it get like that! Ewwww….
Well, not any more. Another part of the reason I hated cleaning it out is because I never felt like there was a good way to do it. I don’t really want to put any kind of harsh chemicals in the place I keep my fridge and obviously just warm water won’t do the trick, so what does that leave? It leaves vinegar. That’s right, my new favorite cleaning solution is a simple mixture of vinegar and water. Since I hadn’t cleaned the fridge in a while, I also had to soak all the shelfs/bins/racks in warm, soapy water just to start to loosen things up, but moving forward, as long as I can keep on a regular schedule, only the water/vinegar should do the trick.
Without further ado, here’s my secret to a clean fridge…
What you need for a clean fridge/freezer:
-Dawn Dish Soap
-Vinegar
-Warm Water
-Sponge
-Paper Towels
How you do it:
1. Fill sink with warm water and add Dawn dish soap.
2. Fill a large bowl with 3 parts warm water to 1 part vinegar.
3. Empty contents of fridge/freezer.
4. Remove all bins, shelfs, racks, etc… from fridge/freezer.
5. Wet sponge with water/vinegar mixture and wring out.
6. Wipe down fridge/freezer with damp sponge. Dampen sponge in water/vinegar mixture periodically as needed.
7. Soak one shelf/bin/rack/etc… at a time in sink filled with soapy water.
8. Remove from soapy water and thoroughly wash with wet sponge from water/vinegar mixture.
9. Dry each bin/shelf/rack/etc.. with paper towel before placing back in fridge/freezer.
10. Stand back and enjoy the clean space before replacing food back in fridge/freezer.
And for further proof that I tried this and it actually worked for me, here’s what my fridge looked like before and after I used the water/vinegar mixture. And please don’t judge – I promise it’ll never look that bad again. 😛
Now that the fridge is nice and clean, let’s hope that’s all the motivation I need to keep it that way. Or at least keep it from getting so bad that I cringe at the thought of cleaning all the gunk out again. :/
What fridge cleaning tactics do you have that you swear by?
See this post linked up at:
The Quintessential Mommy