I was reading our refrigerator instructions a while ago and saw that I should be cleaning out everything in the refrigerator ONCE A MONTH! Seriously? I don't think my mother ever took everything out of the fridge to clean; at least I never saw her do it while growing up.
This year, I figured I'd do it as part of the belated New Year clean-up. Actually, what really motivated me was Linda Reeder of Linda Letters. Darn if she doesn't have the most energy of anyone I know.
I did check online to see what the recommendation for cleaning out your fridge was. Ummm... it's true. I saw one website insisting on once a month. This Today show website said quarterly. You're supposed to take everything out of shelves and bins and wipe it with a solution of one tablespoon baking soda to one quart warm water.
OK. We did take out everything and wiped the shelving down. Ummmm... I didn't do the baking soda thing though, mainly because I looked all this up AFTER we cleaned the fridges.
I suppose it's a good idea to do this more than once a year or two years. I found mustard that expired in 2015. And good grief! Why do we have 3 boxes of elbow macaronis in the freezer?
For those of you on the mainland, most people in Hawaii do have two refrigerators. We refrigerate or freeze EVERYTHING that could harbor bugs.
And what? I'm supposed to clean out the washer once a month also with vinegar? Aack! I've never done that! Have you?
This year, I figured I'd do it as part of the belated New Year clean-up. Actually, what really motivated me was Linda Reeder of Linda Letters. Darn if she doesn't have the most energy of anyone I know.
I did check online to see what the recommendation for cleaning out your fridge was. Ummm... it's true. I saw one website insisting on once a month. This Today show website said quarterly. You're supposed to take everything out of shelves and bins and wipe it with a solution of one tablespoon baking soda to one quart warm water.
OK. We did take out everything and wiped the shelving down. Ummmm... I didn't do the baking soda thing though, mainly because I looked all this up AFTER we cleaned the fridges.
I suppose it's a good idea to do this more than once a year or two years. I found mustard that expired in 2015. And good grief! Why do we have 3 boxes of elbow macaronis in the freezer?
For those of you on the mainland, most people in Hawaii do have two refrigerators. We refrigerate or freeze EVERYTHING that could harbor bugs.
And what? I'm supposed to clean out the washer once a month also with vinegar? Aack! I've never done that! Have you?
I do it, as needed. Stuff collects. I use a spray cleaner, with disinfectant. Definitely not once a month!
ReplyDeleteMy husband goes through the fridge regularly, making sure that we aren't keeping anything cold that needs to be thrown out! I don't have to worry about it with such a vigilant partner. :-)
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I do wash the fridge out at least once a month,, I am a little obsessive about things like that, I didn't know the washer needed to be done that often,, good advice!!!
ReplyDeleteI clean the refrigerator sporadically, usually when we've down to just a couple of things on the shelves. The washer has NEVER been cleaned, and I can't see ever doing it.
ReplyDeleteI don't clean my fridge I should.
ReplyDeleteis this a feel guilty post? lol....
ReplyDeleteNope...I have an every two week housekeeper who does it. No, that's a really good idea for the washer. We do it for the dishwasher every couple of months....coffee maker too.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with once every five years
ReplyDeleteCute your apron!
ReplyDeleteMy fridge is cleaned out quarterly and the deep freeze twice a year. They are both big jobs.
ReplyDeleteI do clean out my refrigerator quite often. I don't know if it is every month, but I'll bet it's close. I clean my dishwasher when it seems to need it. I wipe out the clothes washer after using it, but I neglect the big run it through a cycle with cleaner so I'll have to get better about that. It's a sad fact of life that you always seem to dirty one thing inorder to clean another.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cleaning tip of the past year was to use magic erasers to clean the bath tub -- easiest and most effective method I have ever tried.
Once a month?!!???!!! Seriously? I clean out the refrigerator once in its lifetime - when the old one gives out and I have to buy a new one. Ho boy. Ho boy.
ReplyDeleteI used to do our refrigerator at the house frequently but never after a large shopping trip because then it'd be too full. Here at our retirement home I have wiped the shelves occasionally but just this passed Monday was our deep clean day and the housekeeping staff came. One of the tasks was to clean out the refrigerator. I knew that was coming so I went through everything and tossed expired items out.
ReplyDeleteUm, no, I have never "cleaned" my washing machine, and to tell you the truth, I don't think I will. I do know the the front loader we have at the cabin does get smelly if you leave it closed, but my old top loader here at home has no odor, including vinegar.
ReplyDeleteI have been checking things off of my decluttering list, and today I decided I really should clean my refrigerator, so I had to laugh when I saw your post. I hate cleaning the fridge, but I guess it will go on my list. It sounds easier that tackling the home office, which was next.
I'm with Honolulu Aunty! BB
ReplyDeleteI going to have to ask my Zumba buddies if they clean out their fridges so often too. You think it's a Hawaii thing that we don't worry about it so much? I'll have to make more of an effort to do it now that I know you're supposed to. At least that will be one of my resolutions.
DeleteHmmmmmm. Hmmmmmm. HMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
ReplyDeleteWe have a special situation, I decided a few years ago that most fridges are too inefficient because they use vertical storage. Everytime you open the door, all the cold air spills out and the fridge has to work to make the air inside cold again. After figuring out my power bill for my rather large single fridge (we have a separate freezer chest outside), I decided to try using a chest freezer... INSIDE the house converted to use as my fridge. The chest freezer comes from the factory with a much higher and better degree of insulation, so its much more efficient at keeping things cold, and the air does not spill out each time you open the door as it has a top lid which keeps the cold air inside even with the door open.
Adjusting the temp so its a fridge instead of a freezer is very simple, you buy an external controller (amazon has lots for around $100). All fridges and freezers are the same, they cannot make things xxx degrees cold; they cannot be adjusted. They can only be ON or they can be OFF. making things cold is the only thing they can do but they cannot adjust themselves. The way you get 'somewhat cold' instead of 'frozen solid' is by cycling them on/off relatively quickly... say, 10 minutes out of every hour. So turning a chest freezer into a fridge really is as simple as plugging in the freezer into the external controller, routing the controller temp sensor wire into the freezer chest, and that's it. So my new 'fridge' cost about $450 at Lowes (with delivery!) and the controller was about $90. The chest freezer is about 15 cu ft, which sounds tiny, but it holds at least as much as my old Kitchenaide at 27 cu ft... the only real problem is going from vertical storage to horizontal storage... everything is stacked inside in milk crates and baskets, which can be a problem. (Grace is short, so she has a hard time reaching things on the bottom) However, we have seen a MARKED reduction in our power bill... along with other things we are doing, its now about HALF what it used to be and I'm not done fiddling with our electrical stuff yet. (little stove use anymore... we now use an induction hotplate almost exclusively) the 'fridge' now uses approximately 0.5 kw/h per day as opposed to my old Kitchenaide, which by my calculations used over 4 kw/h per day. Huge savings.
The problem is, cleaning becomes mandatory as the temp zones inside the 'fridge' is stratified... I have it set rather on the cold side, something like 36F I think (so my veggies will last longer)... so there is some buildup of ice near the bottom, as the stuff closer to the top lid is not as cold... which leads to some water collecting on the bottom, which has to be sopped up with a towel monthly, and leads to some interesting chores like chipping out ice manually from the bottom/sides, a chore our grandparents might be more familiar with before the advent of frost-free devices which cycle a higher temp to melt off frost periodically. I think my next chest 'fridge' might be a frost free design, but I'm not sure how the defrost cycle will interact with the external controller, although I think it will be fine as it doesn't monitor power usage, only the temp probe.
aloha,
walt
Oh my gosh! Are you kidding? You are making my brain hurt. Thank goodness for my solar panels. Phew!
DeleteI'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. No utility company can survive servicing only some of the population... it never happens. Heco has a monopoly on Oahu and can do as it pleases and charge whatever it wants to. what are you going to do if you are unhappy? You can do precisely nothing, we are powerless to stop them. (pun intended) Sure, you can moan to your legislator, but they will always show the figures which justify the huge amount they charge and I'm sure they will sympathize that a $1100 power bill monthly (I actually knew someone with that bill) is a sad thing... meanwhile, EVERYONE on the inside of that conglomerate is living high on the hog and whooping it up at the largess they accumulate.
ReplyDeleteSo saying, the writing's on the wall. As cheap solar proliferates (look at your roof cousin!), it is only a matter of time before Heco goes before the PUC and says "Ummmm, we can't make a high on the hog living anymore because too many people have cheap solar. Can we start CHARGING HUGE EXHORBITANT RATES so these people with cheap solar have to pay us to bank their power during the day??" Its happening on the mainland, and it will happen here. Trust me.
Fortunately, there are lots of concomitant developments that are coming together at the same time... like ultra efficient cold food storage (chest freezer turned into a fridge!), ultra efficient LCD TVs (30 watts running with a huge screen!!), solar water heating... its now possible to get your power needs down to a reasonable level where a self contained battery system actually begins to make sense for a home.... that's why Elon Musk came out with his Power Wall concept. I don't like his type of batteries, they are too limited in lifespan; but with tax breaks you might make a go of it. What an interesting time to be alive in history! So much to see... have to pick and choose the things I want to do, there are just too many.
walt
Art was talking about that battery system. Once they really make it work well, I imagine he'll consider installing that too. Maybe.
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