It’s time to get out of the funk. No, literally. A refrigerator is one of the most used and abused appliances in your kitchen. There is no grantee that you wont experience spills, drips, bad odors from rotting food, and sticky side pockets. But there is a way to keep things more under control and reduce the risk significantly. Thankfully, I have 7 tips to help keep your refrigerator clean and clutter free.
Set A Regular Fridge Audit Day
- This could be once a month or every two weeks. However often you can predict your fridge needs attention, make sure that you are doing this consistently so that you can prevent disasters from happening before they happen. When you keep up a hygienic maintenance routine, chances are you won’t always have a big mess to come back and sort through.
Throw away food that is approaching the end...
- The easiest and simplest way to avoid bad smells in your fridge, is to get rid of the source before it even happens! Trust me, I’ve run into the frustration and agony of terrible odors in my home before! I can recall a time that I had a terrible odor coming from on top of my fridge for days! It was only when I decided to investigate the source that I came upon rotting potatoes! The smell was so horrid, that the juice dripped in the back of my refrigerator vents and caused a pungent odor that spread significantly throughout my home for weeks. This is a perfect example of how a little problem could turn into a bigger one down the road. I highly suggest taking inventory of all that is getting close to Its expiration date and getting rid of them as soon as possible.
Keep your refrigerator at the right temperature
- According to the food and drug administration, it’s important to “…keep your appliances at the proper temperatures. Keep the refrigerator temperature at or below 40° F (4° C). The freezer temperature should be 0° F (-18° C). Check temperatures periodically. Appliance thermometers are the best way of knowing these temperatures and are generally inexpensive”.
Organize with Detail
- One of the best ways to organize your fridge is to keep like foods within the same area (shelf/pocket) and to always use containers for leftovers or miscellaneous food items. Please do not wrap your leftover dinner from last night in an aluminum foil ball and throw It in the fridge! That’s a leak disaster waiting to happen. Instead, use containers to avoid the mess and to simply make your fridge look visually pleasing. I highly suggest Stor’eat Smart Boxes by Mastrad. Their containers are designed to be both beautiful, minimal, and durable. They’re also pretty compact! The removable, durable handles allow containers to stack easily, saving cupboard, freezer, and fridge space and each container size has a specific handle color so you can easily tell them apart. The silicone seal can also be removed for thorough cleaning and is dishwasher safe. Click on the link below to purchase your set as soon as possible!
https://mastrad-paris.us/collections/storage-containers/products/smart-food-storage-container-x-4
Wipe it down
- Don’t forget to wipe down sticky jars or containers before putting them back in the fridge! If the exterior is sticky, just do yourself a favor and quickly clean it so that it doesn’t put a gross ring on your refrigerators shelf.
Use Binders
- Binders are the best tool to use for those awkward plastic-like bags that some food may come in. I like to use sturdy strong clips to keep my food fresh and to avoid any leakage that may happen if the bag is flipped on its side at any time. Not only is it creative, but its much easier. This will save you the headache of having to transfer foods to another container or bag and just simply skip that step all together!
Deep Clean
- An occasional deep cleaning is much needed if you want to keep your refrigerator speck and span. Remove and put back food in your fridge as you go to preserve freshness. Make sure that you wipe down all shelves and get into all the little corners in the rear of your fridge with a little disinfectant, (or soap in water) with a bundle of towel papers or a wet cloth.
Just a little attention goes a long way!