Two weeks of drudgery have led up to this, the Holy Grail of cleaning: the refrigerator. Once it’s finished, you will know that you have well and truly conquered your house.
Start with the freezer, if you have one. If it’s frost-free (and it probably is), just clean out old, expired food and wipe down the inside of the space. If it’s not frost-free, you will need to turn it off and defrost it. You can scrape the frost out, or let it melt on its own (although your frozen food will be not-so-frozen by then). If you’re in a hurry, you can take a blow dryer to it.
With the freezer nicely coiffed, you can work on the fridge. Remove everything that can possibly be removed, including shelves and drawers.
Wipe down the inside of the fridge, paying special attention to the bottom, where leaking maple syrup and spilled orange juice like to congregate. Don’t forget the inside of the door.
Wash racks, shelves, and drawers in hot, soapy water in the sink. Rinse, dry, and replace in fridge.
Now start putting the food back in. But don’t just toss it in all willy-nilly; there will be plenty of time for that later, when the kids start rummaging through all the food while complaining that there’s nothing to eat.
Check each item before you put it back in. If it’s expired, or smells funny, or you’re not even quite sure what it used to be, throw it out. If it’s still good, wipe it with a clean, wet cloth and put it back in the fridge. If it’s chocolate, hide it in your sock drawer for emergencies.
Wipe down the outside of the fridge, including the top. If you are abnormally strong, or possess strong family members, move the fridge out and clean behind it as well. Make sure to clean the handle well, and don’t ignore the seal on the door. It needs some love.
If you can’t clean the outside of the fridge because there are far too many school projects, appointment cards, wedding announcements and “it’s so cute, I have to buy it” magnets cluttering up the place, welcome to the club.
And you’re done. Finished. The end. Your house is spotless. Now go enjoy what’s left of the spring weather, and think about how you get to do it all over again next year.
K… finally catcing up on my google reader here… and just a tip… I have a frost free freezer as well as a non frost free freezer, which I loathe, but also like cuz it gives me a chance to clean out the freezer once a year and see what’s in there. But, my sil told me the fastest way to defrost a freezer is to put a FAN in front of it. Even a cold air fan… and I defrosted my huge one with a good 2″ of ice in less than an hour. It was perfect!
Ooh, good tip! Thank you! I don’t have a freezer that requires defrosting, but I remember as a child, I used to scrape cupfuls of ice out of my friend’s freezer and eat it. That probably wasn’t the smartest thing I ever did.
And for heaven’s sake make sure there is plenty of room in the door of that fancy fridge for the beer and wine! ROFL – love you!