Can I make a confession? I'm generally not the most observant person, especially when it comes to certain areas of the house (namely the kitchen and bathrooms!). Maybe it's denial or just avoidance because those are my least favorite areas to clean, but I'm very skilled at not seeing when they need to be cleaned! There for a while my fridge would get pretty darn gunky before I'd finally notice (or have my husband oh so gently point out to me) that it needed a cleaning, so I had to come up with a system for keeping it clean...that's my way-I have to have a routine for doing things or they don't get done! For instance, I wash all the linens in the house on Mondays, clean bathrooms on Tuesdays, etc. (See my weekly cleaning list here.) So are you wondering after all that how to clean your fridge in 15 minutes? Let me share my routine with you and you'll see it can be done!
I don't consider cleaning the fridge to be a weekly task-but if you wait too long it because a huge ordeal. To keep it fast I clean our fridge twice a month before my "big" grocery shopping trip (we're military so those are the payday shopping trips at the end and middle of the month!)
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Because I'm cleaning before going grocery shopping there is usually minimal food in the refrigerator which makes it considerably faster to clean. I start with the drawers, emptying the contents and filling them with hot soapy water to soak.
As the drawers are filling I use a spray bottle of my Thieves cleaner (from Young Living) and spray and wipe out the shelves and walls. Start at the top and remove the contents, wipe down the shelf, and replace the contents. Work your way down so any crumbs you wipe off fall to the level below. Then get all those crumbs and drips that end up at the bottom of the fridge and behind the drawers.
After that (the drawers are now all full and soaking in hot soapy water) I clean any of the shelves in the door that need it and give the freezer a once over to see if anything needs to be cleaned in there (it stays cleaner much longer than the refrigerator from my experience!)
Once everything in the fridge is clean I scrub out the drawers-these are usually the messiest part of my refrigerator and the soaking cuts down the cleaning time immensely-they can be easily wiped clean after soaking for 5-10 minutes! See how clean?
If they are super gross I've even left them soaking while I go to the grocery store and given them a quick rinse and dry when I got home before putting the groceries away-works like a charm!
Cleaning the fridge this way keeps it super clean with minimal overall time...it may take a little longer the first time but once you get in the habit it usually takes less-mine usually takes a quick 10 minutes every other week!
(And since you're cleaning the inside, might as well clean the outside-here's my tutorial for cleaning and preventing fingerprints on stainless steel!)
How often do you clean your refrigerator? Are there any other cleaning tutorial or tips you'd like for me to share here on the blog?
L. Leslie says
good points thank you. noticed it looks like you have meat in your crisper drawer is that right?
Melissa says
I keep all the meat in the bottom drawer. It keeps my kids from touching it and it helps me see quickly what I have thawed, etc. The bottom drawer is actually labeled for meat though, not as a veggie crsiper
Phylls Davis says
I would love to have a print out of this. I cannot print it. Please tell me how I can get one.
Patty says
I bought cling free saran wrap and put that down on my fridge shelves. When something spills, I just pick it up and throw it away but I always put down another piece of saran wrap. My fridge always looks clean. I also bought special towels to put in my vegetable bins. I wish I could remember what they are called but I bought them in the grocery store produce department. They are washable and I love them.
Melissa says
Great idea Patty!