My Refrigerator, Cleaned with Love

For Christmas, my kids gave me the best gift. No, a shopping spree! Not a 7 day cruise around the Hawaiian Islands! No, not that sparkly blue Mini Cooper with checker top and racer stripe! Oh, it was something even better than that. They gave me the gift of service and washed the refrigerator and of course they used LOVE and Simple Green to make it sparkle.

I also like to use Simple Green all purpose cleaner, for cleaning the refrigerator. It should be diluted 1:30 with hot water in your kitchen sink or bucket.

1. Turn the refrigerator and freezer temperature off

2. Take everything out the refrigerator, including the stuff on the shelves on the door and throw away expired, moldy, spoiled foods.

3. Take out the glass shelves and drawers.

4. With a clean sponge or cloth, wash the shelves and drawers in the sink with the Simple Green. Making sure to get them as see-through as the first day you saw them.

5. Rinse with hot water and dry with a dry clean cloth or paper towel. Set aside.

Now we’re ready for the inside of the refrigerator.

6. Make sure to remove all food, crumbs and all other “leftovers” from the bottom.

7. Take your sponge and the Simple Green and start at the top and scrub until you reach the bottom and don’t forget the doors.

*While doing this, be sure to frequently rewet your sponge and ring it out to keep it clean.

8. Repeat step 7, except use clean hot water to rinse.

9. Repeat step 6-8 when cleaning the freezer and the outside of the refrigerator.

10. Replace the shelves, drawers and food and don’t forget to turn the temperature back on!

Keeping your fridge clean should be done quarterly and the outside should be wiped down monthly. (This should be done more often, depending on the holiday.) And it would a good idea to get rid of the no-longer-edible-leftovers, regularly.