Day 11. Clean Your Refrigerator

Day 11 of “A 30 Day Guide to Spring Cleaning“.

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If you’re like me, you probably clean your fridge about once a week. You take out the leftovers that need to be thrown away, and you wipe down the outside when fingerprints and marks start building up. If something spills, you wipe it up.

But what about really cleaning your fridge? Getting off all the rings that our condiments and such leave on the shelves. Wiping out the fridge entirely so those spilled things that got into places you didn’t realize get cleaned up. You can tell when this needs to be done, but we don’t always have the time to do it! That’s why I am adding it to the list, because when was the last time you got to it?

I know it’s been a while for us…

Today we are focusing on the inside of the fridge. We will be tackling shining and polishing appliances soon, but I will save that information for another day! Plus, this is enough of a project on it’s own.

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What to clean:

• Items in fridge
• Fridge shelves
• Fridge drawers
• Fridge door shelves
• Insides of fridge
• Seal on doors

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Supplies needed:

• Recommended:
  • Dawn Dish Soap ‘paid links’, Dish Cloth, Envirocloth, Cleaning Paste, Polishing Cloth
• Alternative
  • Any dish soap and dish cloth, and a bucket (you can use bleach to remove stains if you feel comfortable), any towel to dry

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Cleaning Your Refrigerator

There are many different steps you can take to cleaning your fridge, and you will get the same results. I have provided the method that I use to eliminate the time of having items out of the fridge. Of course, you could always use a cooler to keep things cold while you clean too! I just prefer to play a game of rush to clean as quick as possible to avoid items getting too warm.

Note: make sure to keep your fridge closed as much as possible through this process.

Step 1: Go through the items in your fridge. Remove any expired items or items you haven’t or know you won’t use. Get rid of all of these things, there is no reason to keep them!

Step 2: Start cleaning off the shelves one by one to remove the shelf and wash it. You will want to hand wash these with dish soap and a dish cloth. Luckily, during my kitchen renovation, I now have a large and beautiful sink to wash these in! You want to start at the top and work your way down. Nothing feels more defeating that gravity causing your nice clean shelves to get covered in something that falls off the shelf above it! Most shelves remove easily from your fridge now a day! You can usually just slide it out slightly, and then lift up slightly to move it past the “stopper” that holds it in.

Step 3: While washing your shelf in the sink, be sure to scrub away any stuck on grime or debris. You want to get everything off during this step. I love the norwex dish cloths for this type of stuff because it hold so much water and soap that I don’t have to deal with a sink full of water while I try to maneuver these large objects in the sink.

Step 4: Dry off your shelf to avoid leaving water spots or water streaks. A lot of fridge shelves are now glass or tempered glass. Drying these off will allow for the cleanest finish of the shelf. Due to my fridge shelves being a variety of both regular glass and tempered glass, I chose to use the nowex polishing/window cloth to dry these off. These leave a streak free shine, and were perfect for getting the cleanest look from my shelves!

Step 5: Repeat these steps on all other shelves and drawers inside the fridge. Make sure to separate the drawers from the shelves to wash these separately for the best clean.

Step 6: Once all of the shelves have been removed from the inside of your fridge, you are going to need to wipe down the inside walls of the fridge itself. For this part, I used an envirocloth, because it picks up all the bacteria that may be lingering by only using water. This way, I don’t have to worry about chemicals harming the coating on my fridge walls, but I still get a wonderful clean. Also, by using only water, I can keep the cloth warm with water while cleaning to help break up any stuck on debris. For any stains that have accumulated, using the cleaning paste will take these right out without damaging the fridge!! Again, make sure to clean from top to bottom.

Step 7: Once all shelves and drawers are washed and dried, and the fridge walls are clean, it’s time to start returning the shelves and drawers into the fridge. Make sure to return any items taken out as soon as possible once the shelves and drawers are back in.

Step 8: Now that the main part of the refrigerator is clean, it’s time to focus on the door. Take out all the condiments you have left (after you have thrown out the expired and unused ones).

Step 9: Remove the shelves from the door. Every fridge is different, but typically you can just push up on the bottoms of these shelves and they will pop out for cleaning and relocation. Make sure to also take off the cover to your butter/egg shelf on the top, and the plastic at the bottom if it’s not a normal shelf like the others (a lot of times this is held on by clips). Be careful when removing these items, if any of the clips or brackets break, it won’t be easy to fix or replace. Wash and dry all of these shelves the same way as the previous shelves.

Step 10: Clean the fridge door itself using the same process as the fridge walls. Start at the top and work your way down. Be sure to use the cleaning paste for any stains or very tough stuck on debris. Additionally, be sure to wipe down the sides of the door wall, and the seal to the fridge as buildup can get in these areas too.

Step 11: Replace all the shelves in the door in your desired spots. Replace all the items you had removed from the fridge door, and enjoy your nicely cleaned and refreshed refrigerator!!

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If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments and I would be happy to get back with you.

Check out Day 10. Reseal Grout or Condition Treat Floors here.

Check out Day 12. Cleaning Your Stove and Hood/Vents here.

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