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spring cleaning your fridge

Spring is here and that means two things; we can finally put away our winter coats, and it’s time to clean. When you think of spring cleaning, you think of possessions or clothing. While those are important, don’t forget about your fridge and pantry! It’s important to keep up the cleanliness of your fridge throughout the year, but when doing a spring clean you should go through everything and do an overhaul.

So how do you get started? You will want to set aside a chunk of time because once you start the process it’s not a good idea to stop. Doing the entire process all at once keeps things organized and time to a minimum.

 

Preparing to Clean

When you finally decide to get started it is important to prepare an area that you will organize everything. When I’m cleaning mine, I remove everything and spread it out on my kitchen table. I make sure there’s nothing but the contents on my table, in order to prevent confusion. Be sure to take food spoilage precautions by having a cooler near by for foods that can spoil outside the fridge. It’s also a good idea to have soapy water and dishcloths nearby for the deep cleaning.

Purge the Contents

Now’s the time to really get started. Remove everything from your fridge and set it out on your table. As you remove each item from the fridge organize it into categories on your table. This will make it so that when you go to put things back, similar ingredients are grouped together. Finally make sure that you are throwing out anything that is passed its expiration date.

Cleaning Your Fridge

Once everything is removed, you want to give the inside of your fridge a good clean. Remove all shelves and drawers and give them a good clean. Use warm soapy water in order to kill any bacteria, then give it a rinse with warm water. Wipe down your shelves and drawers with soapy water and a quick rinse and dry afterwards.

 

Plan & Organize

Now that your fridge is clean it’s time to plan. This means setting out a game plan for what is going to go where and where your shelves need to go. Most shelves are removable, which is great for customizing your fridge. Consider where things are best to be stored when doing this. Check out our previous post about green vegetables and how to store them.

Now it’s time to put everything back. Don’t worry if you have to change up your plan as you go in order to make it work for you. When putting the contents away, be sure to leave items that are close to expiration towards the front as they should be used first in order to avoid food waste.

Keep it Clean

In order to keep your fridge clean and organized keep one rule in mind – first in, first out. This comes in handy when making meals. If you noticed something that you’ve had in your fridge for a while, try using that before you use newer items. We also recommend you do small cleans throughout the year in which you just clean one area at a time.

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