Kitchen 101 - The Fridge

I enjoy the cleaning up - something about the getting of things in order for winter - making the garden secure - a battening down of hatches perhaps... It just feels right. David Hobson 

I am certain we have all come across those wonderful ideas you see in magazines that some how spiral into major projects and undertakings. Today was no exception to this rule, at least thats how it would seem in my kitchen. Today is the start of a Cleaning Segment called: 

Kitchen 101

It is commonly known that opposites attract, and I am by nature a relatively tidy person. So I suppose it's only natural that I married a bit of a mess maker. ( Which I say with the utmost love and affection- I am by no means perfect myself! ) As a rule of thumb, each week I will do a top to bottom cleaning of one or two of the rooms in our home, a quick clean in the rest and then rotate each week. We have approximatively twelve rooms in the house and it took me a full month of living here before I realized that doing a thorough cleaning of each and every room every weekend left zero room for anything else in my life. 

This weeks rotation brought about the kitchen and all of its secret shames which I am going to air and my remedies for making your kitchen clean and efficient- but first you will need an all purpose cleaner with which to do your cleaning. So to all of my Eco-friendly folk, heres a simple recipe for a lovely All-Purpose Cleaner. 

Citrus Cleaner

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. borax (laundry detergent) 

1/2 tsp. liquid soap

2 c. hot water

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 c. witch hazel

optional* Few drops of orange fragrance oil

Mix all ingredients together in a squirt bottle and your ready to go!

Priority Number 1: 

Refrigerator

I am certain we have all at one time or another come across some dirty fridge's- you know the ones where you just know its been a year since it had a good wipe down? Its never very appealing to see yesterdays spill still where it landed and certainly not to a guest. Refrigerators are just as important as cleaning your toilet, sink, or shower- in fact they even hold more precedence considering their contents go into your body. 

Don't think for one minute that mold and bacteria can't grow in the frigid temps of your fridge- one look at your sour cream after a week or two and its a sealed deal. Health wise, wiping down the shelves in between grocery stock ups will help in minimizing your risk for mold and bacteria. However it is recommended to completely remove shelves and drawers once a month for a through scrubbing.

In just one months time a shelf can look like this. 

Completley remove and wash your shelves, drawers and tubs. 

Completely wipe dry all water residue. As an extra touch I like to place folded paper towels in each shelf to insure spills wont leak down and contaminate other shelves.

Be sure to wipe down the bases, lids and any spills on the bottles you are putting back in the fridge. Throw out any expired condiments and other items past their prime. Often times consolidating several of the same items helps conserve space. 

Once your shelves are clean and in place, sort through and organize your condiments, veggies, fruits, meats and cheeses. Keeping things grouped together will ensure a quick find and less waste in the long run. I have found that the more convenient healthy cooking is for me, the more likely I am to do it. So with that in mind, each week I prepare my fruits and veggies for quick and easy cooking access. 

By pre-slicing and dicing I cut out 15-20 minutes from each meals prep-time. Keeping track of when items were purchased or frozen on has  never been easier with these cute adhesive labels from Martha Stewart. These labels help to cut down on bulky items such as milk and orange juice cartons. 

Placing snack items in convenient open mouthed containers helps to keep them in one place and readily available. 

To ensure items are tossed as they expire, keeping expiration dates facing out helps in maintaining a quick and easy read. 

Don't get discouraged by the waste- by purchasing a locking trash can you can give new life to all bio-degradable waste- to be later turned into prefect potting soil for your gardens and flower beds. Waste-not want- not. 

And for all of those coffee lovers out there- by taking your old coffee grinds and mixing them into your flower beds and veggie gardens you help to naturally keep away hungry pests and bugs.