Tackling the Fridge…Always a Good Time!

In keeping with the Great Purge and my Word of the Year for 2021, we’re going to take a look at TACKLING the fridge.

My teenager loves to cook, my husband loves ‘meat and three’ style meals, my daughter is finicky, and I’m as happy with a sandwich as anything…so, to say our fridge is a bit of a mess would be an understatement. The worst part is, I can’t tackle it all in day like I used to. Maybe you can, if so, GO FOR IT! I either lose focus, run out of steam, or just bascially run out of time. It is what it is.

So, what’s the best way to clean the fridge? Sadly, I think I have this down to a science. We’re really good at thinking we have a good system down, until the kids get their hands on things. The biggest thing: you have to WANT IT…you have to be ready for it. THIS IS NOT a chore you want to tackle because you ‘have to.’ We’re going to do our best to avoid that scenario, ok?

Let’s walk through all the steps. Here’s where we started:

Let’s talk about some things you want to prepare yourself for before you try to clean out the fridge:

Don’t worry, I made you a quick printable if you’d prefer to skip the fluff!

1. Don’t make it harder than it has to be.
   • Get yourself some heavy duty trash bags and line a LARGE trash can (like the one you take to the curb), line it with a trash can. When you’re finished, you can just tie the bag, and roll the trash can to the curb on trash day without any heavy lifting.
   • Put on some comfy clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. The last thing we want here is to get upset over our favorite t-shirt or best shoes being ruined in the process.
   • Gather your cleaning supplies:
     • Your favorite kitchen or all purpose cleaner.
     • A good sponge and a few rags.
     • Paper towels.
     • Utensils: Kitchen Scissors, large spoon, spreader/scraper (something to clean out containers with), Bottle Scrubber, small scrub brush, like one you would use for pots and pans.
   • Kitchen gloves, or disposable gloves if it’s a really nasty situation. You’ll thank me later.
2. Make some decisions before you start.
   • Do you recycle? Are you going to clean out all the jars and containers that you’re cleaning out to place in the recycle? Or are you comfortable just throwing them out this time?
     • If you want to recycle everything, or as much as possible, you’ll want to clear out the sink and dishwasher before you start. Clean slate. You’ll also want to gather and keep your recycle bins/bags handy, or just put everything into one container for now. Maybe a box, or empty storage bin. You may also want to fill the sink with hot, soapy water to toss things in to save some scrubbing & scraping later.
     • If you’re going to just toss everything for this purge, let go of any guilt you have over this. Know your limits – how much time and energy you have, and how much of that you want to spend on this project.
   • Are you going to try knock this out in one lick, or just a little at a time? Once you’ve made this decision, you will better be able to prep. It’s ok if it takes you a week or month to get back to it. I’m not judging you. If anyone else is, they can go find something better to do with their time…like cleaning out your fridge for you!
     • I’ll be writing as if you’re going to do the entire fridge at once.
     • If you’re just doing a little at a time, skip the prep or steps that may be unnecessary to how far you want to get today.
   • If you have unopened/unused items that you don’t plan to keep, pull out a cooler and ice and consider taking those items (sooner rather than later) to a local food bank or a friend or neighbor. I have a dear friend that LOVES to pop in and grab my overripe bananas – and sometimes she brings me some bread.
3. Have a place to make lists or take notes.
   • Make of list of leftovers and other ingredients you can use to put together some easy meals. We have a huge chalkboard in our kitchen, so I made 3 columns: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can do this on a piece of paper, or use an app or smart device.
   • As you toss, add items to you grocery list that you need to replace. I just told Alexa to add them to my grocery list without missing a beat.
   • Make a list of things you want to put in specific containers. I wouldn’t recommend making any immediate purchases – maybe try using something you already have temporarily to see if it works for your family, and then make specific purchases as needed. The goal here is to PURGE, not ACCUMULATE.

Now that you’re mentally prepped, Let’s get busy. You can, obviously, change up the order of things. This isn’t really rocket science, but you do want some sort of method to your madness, otherwise you’re going paralyze yourself.

1. Pull everything out, or at least what you have room for. There are two ways to tackle this step:
   • Inspect items as you go.
     • This keeps your refrigerator door open longer, but individual items out of the fridge for less time.
     • This allows you to toss LOTS of things as you go, so that what you now have on your counter or table is more manageable.
     • This is my preferred strategy, when possible.
   • Sort and inspect items once everything is out.
     • This might help you to visualize how to rearrange things, and what you have too much or too little of.
     • This will get everything OUT of your fridge QUICKLY so you can do the actual scrubbing inside the fridge.
     • This is a great strategy if you anticipate possible interruptions, aka life…toddlers….etc.: You can quickly shove things back into a fridge that you’ve at least managed to actually CLEAN, if you haven’t managed to purge much.
2. I can’t say it enough, y’all. LET. IT. GO.
   • If it’s expired, or set to expire in the next week, toss it.
   • If it doesn’t have an expiration or ‘use by’ date, and you don’t remember buying it, toss it.
   • If it’s leftovers from a meal more than 3 days ago, toss it.
   • If you just know it’s not going to get eaten or used, toss it.
   • I’m not sure this is necessary to even type: if you’re not sure what it is….. TOSS IT, unless you think you can use it for a science lesson…no…nevermind. Toss it.
3. Clean. Now. If you haven’t already, now is the time to clean the fridge, the crevices, the shelves, the drawers.
   • Generally, a sink of soapy water or sponge/dishrag will do the trick for shelves and drawers. I recommend your favorite dish soap – this is what it was built for, and you don’t have to worry about overwhelming scents from other types of cleaners. My favorite is good old fashioned blue Dawn. I’ve tried other brands. They just don’t compare. I’ve tried the ‘fancy’ Dawn products, I don’t see enough of a difference to pay the extra cost.
   • Use that soapy water or your favorite kitchen/all purpose cleaner to clean the walls and crevices, you know, basically the entire interior of the fridge. I prefer Thieves from Young Living. Safe, and incredibly effective.
   • This is a great time to check and see if you need to replace any filters (our fridge has an air filter, and a water filter.
   • Let everything dry, or let it air dry, before putting items back in the fridge. If you’re airdrying, move on to step four while you wait!
4. Consolidate like items. It’s so easy to end up with 2-3 of the same item in your fridge or pantry. Maybe someone didn’t realize there was one opened, or they weren’t sure it was fresh enough, but left it there for someone else make the decision about tossing it. One thing I hate about modern groceries is the hodge-podge of labels and container sizes. I just find it visually overwhelming. If I had my way, I’d have everything in Ball Jars or some other clear, class container. But, that’s not realistic, as quickly as things come into our kitchen and leave again, I’d just be creating more work – and more dishes – for myself.
   • Two of the same dressings? Marry them.
   • Two egg cartons? Combine them if you can.
   • Two bags of spinach? Can you put them in the same bag? Or a ziploc or reusable container?

Now it’s time to put it all back!

• Bulky, frequently used items together at arm/eye level.
• other like items together – I can’t really do this part for you, because I can’t see in your fridge. We put our condiments (jams, pickles, syrup, salsa, etc) all together on the one shelf that actually slides out, so we can easily find items in the back. Mustard, mayo and frequently used condiments and marinades are in the door.
  • Condiments
  • leftovers
  • dressings and marinades
  • drinks
  • fruits and veggies in proper drawers
  • meats
  • dairy items
  • etc….

You’re done now. Wasn’t that amazing? Don’t you feel better?

If you made it this far, I’m impressed…this post may not be very interesting to the casual reader, but I KNOW there are MANY people out there who FREEZE at daunting tasks like this. I get it. It can be overwhelming. If that’s you, I hope this post helps you! This has been a rough couple of weeks at my house, and it has been very therapeutic for me to complete this task, and write this post. So, I thank you for being my counselors!

Here is our finished fridge (I do have still one shelf soaking and need to wipe out the drawers, but close enough for today!):

I’ve made you a little printable, below, so you can stay on track as you work! So, put on some great dance music, and get to it! Have fun!

Of course, I must recommend the SWERVE UPIN to hold up your hair through all of your FAVORITE household chores!

What do you need to tackle today?

You just might give me some ideas for projects I need to tackle!

My goal is to bring you a new “TACKLE TUESDAY” post each week as we move through out this year. Some will be personal and household related, others will be business related.