Stumped on How to Clean Your Fridge? Jacinda to the RESCUE!

[Jessica]

Six hours?! SIX HOOOURS?! What was she doing, polishing every square inch with an ant's toothbrush?! You take the shelves out, you scrub 'em down, you put them back in, you're done in 10 minutes. My gosh, these women make things so complicated. I could get my whole house clean in 6 hours, and have time to bake some bread and cookies afterward. That is crazy.

[ThreeCatsAndCounting]

:shifty: So let me get this straight, letting the dogs inside the fridge and having them lick the inside clean isn't how to clean my fridge?* How about the toddler do the same thing? Is that still ok? I mean you're killing 2 birds with one stone by feeding the crowd and getting a clean fridge. Great, now my dogs are going to be pissed that mommy doesn't let them clean the fridge anymore.

* Even just pretending to do that made me gag. :lol:

We really need a "Like" button here. I kept looking for one, so I could hit it, ROTFLMAO all the while... :lol:

[SealFan1963]

I use cleaning the fridge as punishment for my teens. I should make them watch the video though, that would learn 'em. :lol:

[Kaylee]

I actually clean all the shelves in my bathtub so I can wash and rinse all the shelves at the same time. Apparently I'm doing it wrong....

I do this with my mini-blinds, but never thought about it with the fridge. I'm gonna try that next time I clean out the produce drawers and stuff.

And, nope, no PhD. in Homemaking - I quit that halfway through my undergrad and switched to a real college with evil classes like Sociology & Women's Studies.

[NurseNell]

Six hours?! SIX HOOOURS?! What was she doing, polishing every square inch with an ant's toothbrush?! You take the shelves out, you scrub 'em down, you put them back in, you're done in 10 minutes. My gosh, these women make things so complicated. I could get my whole house clean in 6 hours, and have time to bake some bread and cookies afterward. That is crazy.

You've never had kids who put pop in the freezer and forgot about it. Sticky, sticky pop throughout the whole damn refrigerator. Yes, 6 hours is about right. And it happens when you are away and they don't tell you. :o

[NurseNell]

Amazing, the ad at the top of the page is for Frigidaire appliances, inc a refrigerator. The ads must be based on the title of the thread.

[Jessica]

You've never had kids who put pop in the freezer and forgot about it. Sticky, sticky pop throughout the whole damn refrigerator. Yes, 6 hours is about right. And it happens when you are away and they don't tell you. :o

Not yet. My boy is just 2. *gulp!* Now I'm scared. ;)

[Wolfie]

You've never had kids who put pop in the freezer and forgot about it. Sticky, sticky pop throughout the whole damn refrigerator. Yes, 6 hours is about right. And it happens when you are away and they don't tell you. :o

My grandma used to do that with diet root beer. I mentioned it to my mom years later and she apparently didn't know about that issue. (My grandma had eating issues and would hide stuff from people) My mom's comment was "Oh THATS what I had to scrub off the kitchen ceiling when she moved."

[Wolfie]

And unless your house is kept at 90 degrees, your perishables should be fine on the counter for the hour or less it takes to clean a fridge that is nominally dirty.

My tip is paper towels in the bottom of the veggie and fruit drawers. Not sure I could do the cling wrap, I push stuff around on the shelves too much, and I really like the clear shelves. (but I don't have kids or anybody else in the house, so other than the things that occasionally get lost in the back, my fridge stays pretty clean.)

[Sola]

I use cleaning the fridge as punishment for my teens. I should make them watch the video though, that would learn 'em. :lol:

Lol i make my son clean the toilet as punishment!

[AudreyE]

Oh my stars, I've just been throwing my fridge out and buying a new one every few months. No wonder I haven't been able to pay cash for a giant home for my 19 kids yet. I thought it was just the crushing reality of living this lifestyle without the help of TLC, but the fridge thing really can't be helping.

[bubbabearzle]

I do it with my window blinds.

Social work and Molecular Biology here. :lol:

No way - there is another person with a Molecular Bio degree on FJ?! Small world, LOL! :dance:

[Confused_by_religion]

Six hours?! SIX HOOOURS?! What was she doing, polishing every square inch with an ant's toothbrush?! You take the shelves out, you scrub 'em down, you put them back in, you're done in 10 minutes. My gosh, these women make things so complicated. I could get my whole house clean in 6 hours, and have time to bake some bread and cookies afterward. That is crazy.

Yes, but then YOUR self-esteem is not based on shining fridge surfaces and doing related domestic chores. :)

[browngrl]

Oh my stars, I've just been throwing my fridge out and buying a new one every few months. No wonder I haven't been able to pay cash for a giant home for my 19 kids yet. I thought it was just the crushing reality of living this lifestyle without the help of TLC, but the fridge thing really can't be helping.

Wow! Me too. The only thing I have been doing different is I have been moving every three months. Do you think this whole cleaning thing might work with a house? It sounds really complicated so maybe I better not even try. I only have a degree in medicine and not a phd in housekeeping so maybe I am not even qualified to think about this.

BTW do you think this whole "cleaning" thing might work with clothes too?

I think I might have to lie down all this cleaning talk is scaring me.

[holierthanyou]

After reading that post I wish I had got my phd in homemaking too. See I knew it had to get cleaned, but I just kept taking my dish soap and squirting it over everything in the fridge and hoping for the best. It really wrecked the taste of the produce, and the fridge still looked dirty (but now slimy too). I LOVE her idea to take everything out of the fridge first- that is going to be a real time saver for sure!!

Honestly- I found it gross that she ever let her fridge get to what that 'before' picture looked like.... BUT I don't have little kids and so maybe that is why. I generally just do this weird thing where as soon as I see a ring on the fridge shelf I wipe it up right away and clean the bottom of the offending jar. I also use/compost all my produce BEFORE it rots in those produce bins at the bottom of the fridge... again saving me cleaning time (and money).

[Peas n carrots]

PNC Fridge Cleaning Tips:

1) Open a container and smell it. If the smell makes your stomach turn, throw it out. If not, advance to step 2

2) Examine the contents. Is there fuzz on the contents? Does the fuzz have a green tint? Is there an unnatural film over the contents. Throw it out. If not, shove to the back of the refridgerator until next cleaning

3) Examine items not in containers. Is it shriveled or bloated? Put in box and leave out in alley for garbage pickers to take away

[AuntCloud]

Oh my stars, I've just been throwing my fridge out and buying a new one every few months. No wonder I haven't been able to pay cash for a giant home for my 19 kids yet. I thought it was just the crushing reality of living this lifestyle without the help of TLC, but the fridge thing really can't be helping.

I've been doing this with my car, which has been quite a hassle since my kids usually leave a mess on the back seat.

I'm still stuck on my homemaking M.Sc, the thesis paper on folding fitted sheets is driving me nuts. Out of frustration I got myself a degree in molecular evolution (and can now properly classify mystery organisms in my fridge) and trudging through accounting.

O-T - kid asked me the other day what was the fishie with legs some cars had stuck on their rear bumper. I briefly explained about the difference between the Jesus fish and the Darwin fish, and asked her which one we should stick on our car. Kid did not disappoint her proud mama :dance: