Day 5 of the 30-Day Challenge: Procrastination Station
Task: To clean out the inside of my refrigerator and freezer units from top to bottom, as prescribed by Betsy Rossen Elliot in her book, Salt: Clean Coffee Cup Stains and Other Best-Kept Secrets. In the book, it was suggested to sprinkle equal amounts of salt and baking soda on a damp sponge, wipe down the inside of the refrigerator with the mixture, and then wipe the surface again with a fresh sponge dampened with water.
Reason for Task: My refrigerator and freezer are both due for a major deep cleaning. It pains me to look at them in all their unsanitary glory. Unlike myself, the other individuals in my household seem to be oblivious to the unsightly spills, caked-on food residue, expired food items, and spoiled foods residing in my cooling units; but I notice them and I don’t like what I’m seeing. I guess that Hubby and company think that, if they don’t acknowledge the neglect in the kitchen, then it will somehow go away (meaning…Wife/Mom will take care of it) and they won’t be called to serve on clean-up duty. Well, leave a thankless task long enough and this woman of the house will eventually rise to the challenge.
Duration of Task: 1 day
Frequency of Task: Uggghh! Okay, I’ll come clean and admit that I don’t do this task nearly enough (because I absolutely dread doing it) but things have gotten to the point of required immediate attention. So, to keep from getting to this point again, my goal going forward is to deep clean the frig/freezer at least once a month. Actually, the ideal scenario is to delegate this task to the kiddos in January.
Outcome: Wooo Hooo! My cooling compartments have almost been restored to their brand-spanking newbie status. Some take-aways from this task are as follows:
- When you don’t have a soft sponge on hand, use a damp dish rag for wiping.
- It’s much more efficient to remove detachable shelving and drawers to clean them.
- You can always keep an open small box of baking soda in the refrigerator to act as a deodorizer. I think it needs to be replaced every 30 days with a fresh one.
- The results were the same as if I used a mild detergent and water to clean with.
- You have to make sure and wipe out the salt/baking soda thoroughly or else it will leave a grainy residue on your appliances.
- There were some places in the frig where liquids seeped through crevices that I couldn’t get to. I’ll have to research how to draw out the liquid from those pesky-to- reach areas. I may have even seen a method for doing this in the salt book that I referenced above. I’ll have to go back and look.
Here are some pictures of my rehabilitated frig/freezer:
Isn’t she lovely? This look lasted for all of five minutes while I took the pictures to show all of you. Then, I placed all the food and drink items back in the frig/freezer and immediately the pristine glow vanished. Everything still looks clean though. You may be wondering how the frig/freezer looked before I got started on the cleaning process. Well, some things are better left to the imagination. Let’s just say that I exercise the right to withhold any incriminating evidence that can be used against me.
Quote of the Day: (mine) Why can’t I have a self-cleaning robotic frig/freezer unit, equipped with mechanisms to wipe up spills and sticky food residue, throw out expired and spoiled foods, and leave an overall appearance of constant cleanliness and organization? I’m just saying.
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