A Clean Fridge!

Your refrigerator runs 24/7 and is one of the most used appliances in your kitchen. For over 100 years it has helped keep food fresh and cold. Sometimes if you look in to your refrigerator there might be some “not so fresh” things. Even with great diligence, we still end up with a science project brewing in a forgotten container. Now that the holidays are over, it can be a great time to use up or clean out all those leftovers and start fresh this new year.

Benefits of Regularly Cleaning Out Your Fridge

• Healthy Lifestyle – keeping our surroundings clean and sanitized is great for our immune system – also true of the fridge. By regularly cleaning your fridge, you can keep food-borne illnesses away. Studies have shown that the fridge can be a breeding ground for bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, and listeria. The vegetable and meat compartments hold the greatest potential for germs. Twenty-one percent of U.S. outbreaks of food-borne illness resulted from food consumed in a private home! Food poisoning is not an enjoyable experience and definitely is preventable.
• Less Food Waste – Approximately 40% of the American food supply is wasted and part of this waste happens right in our own kitchens. How often have you purchased fresh strawberries only to discover a few days later they are covered with mold? It can be so frustrating especially when we are trying to eat healthy.

Like every other household chore, there are steps that can make the job easier to tackle. A really good time to tackle this is when “there is nothing to eat” in the fridge. This means less food will have to be removed and sorted through. So set aside an hour or two to clean out the fridge.

Clean Out Your Fridge

Step 1: Empty everything out of the fridge into a cooler. If you noticed something is moldy, spoiled, or expired, dispose of it. If fruits and veggies are over ripe, maybe think about making some fruit leather or freezing for smoothies.

Step 2: Remove the drawers and shelves. The inside of the fridge can be washed with a DIY cleaning solution of ¼ cup baking soda and ½  gallon hot water. It is important to note that some foods can absorb odors so using a scent-free product is best. The drawers and shelves can be washed in warm soapy water, rinsed well, and dried. If your shelves are glass or ceramic, make sure they are to room temperature before placing in hot water to avoid cracking them.

Step 3: Return all shelves and drawers back into the fridge. Your fridge is now ready to be organized. Before you start filling up the refrigerator let’s take a look at the “rules” to organizing your fridge.

Let’s look at the most efficient way to organize your fridge. We will start from the top and work down.

• The upper shelves can be a warmer spot, so it is best to store leftovers, beverages, snacks, and ready-to-eat items like yogurt here.
• The middle shelf is the best place to store eggs and milk. For milk, near the back will be better.
• Moving down to the lower shelves, store raw ingredients that will be used in cooked dishes. This is where your meat should be stored. It is best to place all meats in a bin or tray. Meat packages are notorious for leaking and this is where food-borne diseases can develop. You don’t want the meat juices dripping down into those fruit and veggie drawers. If you do have meat juices drip, clean up immediately!
• The drawers are at the bottom. This is where most of us store our fruits and veggies. It is best to designate one drawer for veggies and one for fruit. Many fruits can emit ethylene gas as they ripen which will speed up the spoiling process of nearby produce. If you have a fridge that has humidity controls on the crisper drawers, you will want to take advantage of this. In the low-humidity drawer store your fruit, and in your high-humidity drawer store veggies such as asparagus, carrots, celery, cruciferous veggies, beets, radishes, and leafy greens.
• The warmest spot in the fridge are the doors. Every time you open the door, you are exposing those items to warmer air. It is best to store your sauces and condiments here. These items often have vinegar and salt in them which helps with extending their shelf life. Plus, it makes them super easy to grab and less likely to get pushed back and forgotten. Even though milk containers can fit well in the doors, it is not the best place to keep milk. On a middle shelf, near the back will keep your milk fresh longer.

By keeping your fridge clean you decrease your risk of food-borne illnesses, keeping you and your family healthy. An organized fridge should help eliminate food waste and spoilage too. Keeping it clean can be a challenge but a tip that can be helpful is giving it a quick clean up before you go grocery shopping. Look over what you have, what needs to be used up or thrown out, and a quick wipe down can be very helpful on keeping your fridge clean and organized.

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