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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Mar 17, 2010 11:00:50 GMT -5
- Article in Wall Street Journal, dated February 24, 2010 Title of article: Why Won't Anyone Clean Me?
Most Americans Tidy Their Refrigerators Only Once or Twice a Year; Manufacturers Try New Ways To Combat the Mess Full URL: online.wsj.com/article/
SB10001424052748703503804575083453336699386.htmlClickable link: tinyurl.com/yhjbsdkThe article says that the average American cleans their refrigerator only once or twice per year. Most people have spills, ickiness, and rotten food. The article is referring to "normal" people. Really, I'm not making this up. The Wall Street Journal is a business newspaper, so the article is written from the point of view of the refrigerator manufacturers' plans for new business. But the article also has human interest and practical advice for the homemaker. The article says that icky fridges are such a widespread problem that the manufacturers are creating newer models with designs to make it easier for their customers to clean out their fridges more frequently. Some newer models of fridges are being designed with different types of shelving design, in order to make spillage easier to clean, and to prevent spillage from spreading/falling. The article quotes professors and food safety expert who said that most people feel that cleaning out a fridge is a daunting hassle. Interesting again ... this article was written for "normal" people. The manufacturers did some surveys of "average Americans". A manufacturer named "Sub-Zero" did a test 4 years ago, to see where/how people put their groceries away. It turns out that most people shove food into wherever they can -- putting items into the areas where coldness/humidity are not optimal ... and thus the food would spoil much faster. The discovery was also made that most fridges are stuffed too full, so therefore there is little airflow ... meaning that the cold air cannot circulate to cool the food. Yes. Your fridge will protect your food BETTER if it's LESS FULL. Some manufacturers had put proper food storage instructions in the owners manual, but nobody thinks to look there for that information. One of the manufacturers gave classes to people on how to effectively store foods in the fridge. Because MOST people DON'T KNOW HOW.  What's my point? We are not alone!
Yes it's unhealthy to have a messy fridge. Yes we should clean them out more regularly.
But ... we don't have to beat ourselves up saying we're "bad" because of the icky fridge. Apparently, icky fridges are a universal problem.
The guilt/shame will paralyze us. So I'm posting this article as a way to discard guilt/shame. Once the guilt/shame is gone, we can get about the business of LEARNING how to clean and care for a refrigerator.They recommend the following procedure: - Go through your fridge once a week ... and look in back, too ... and pull out anything that needs to be discarded.
- Clean one shelf at at time, so as not to become overwhelmed.
- Check UNDER the bottom drawers -- as this is where spilled leaky stuff often pools to.
This is great, and totally doable. Just clean one shelf. Not the whole fridge. On another day, clean another shelf. Don't make it into a "HugeProject".
There's lots more useful info in the article, but I cannot quote more, due to copyright restrictions. Click on the link to read the whole thing. Check out the part where it explains ... in what sections of the refrigerator you should store specific items ... some of the info I didn't know ... such as what to store in the door, and what not to. - |
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Post by puppybox on Mar 17, 2010 11:14:55 GMT -5
I think cleaning a fridge more than 2ce a year is a waste of one's life. What I need to do is wipe spills as they occur, preventing more fequent cleaning from being necessary.
my mom is uber clean and she doesn't clean the fridge more than about 1ce of 2ce a year, but she does take care to store food inthe right places, and remove spoiling leftovers (my father's) often and wiping spills immediately.
thanks for the info, lion. glad to know I'm average!
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Mar 17, 2010 11:38:52 GMT -5
What I need to do is wipe spills as they occur, preventing more frequent cleaning from being necessary.
my mom is uber clean and she doesn't clean the fridge more than about 1ce of 2ce a year, but she does take care to store food in the right places, and remove spoiling leftovers (my father's) often and wiping spills immediately. Exactly! - |
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marika
New Member
Joined: February 2010
Posts: 75
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Post by marika on Mar 17, 2010 11:44:25 GMT -5
Wow, does this mean I can free up two hours every month to do something FUN?!? Eehhh...probably not. My fridge gets so trashed I should probably clean it once a week,  ! |
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Mar 17, 2010 11:52:11 GMT -5
-
Ooops ... My original thread title was misleading.
It was originally titled:
"regular people clean fridge once or twice per year?"
But ... that was supposed to indicate that regular people have messy/icky fridges because they clean them so rarely.
I've retitled this thread:
"Regular people have icky messy fridges, too."
They're NOT suggesting that cleaning only once or twice a year is "good".
They're simply saying that most Americans have squalorous refrigerators because everyone ignores them.
I think the experts are suggesting that you go through your fridge on a regular basis.
They do say that leaving the ickiness can create various bacterial problems and contamination.
They imply that if you do a brief regular sprucing up ... you'll never need to do a Big Project cleaning.
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Post by mellowyellow on Mar 17, 2010 12:37:45 GMT -5
I have to admit that I find it relaxing to do the fridge. It's an area that looks instantly awesome after a good clean. I don't tend to do the whole fridge at once. Usually I will break it into sections (the door, the top shelf, the next shelf and one drawer, the two bottom drawers, the freezer). This way, I see an instant difference in one area of the fridge, and I am motivated to attack the rest.
About three or four times a year, I take everything apart, and give the glass shelves a good soak in the bathtub. That is significantly more work, and I'm afraid of breaking the glass, so I don't do it often.
But I am guilty of stuffing things in when I shop, and dealing with them later. It tends to be all or nothing. Either it's a designer fridge with vintage little glass refrigerator containers, or it's a jumble of transparent produce bags, with uneaten fruits that were accidently sent to the back of the shelves.
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Post by downandout on Mar 17, 2010 12:47:28 GMT -5
i snorted a good portion of my soda reading this! yes yes i am a shover. when we moved that was when i cleaned - for lack of better word - the fridge. thats when i threw out all the old crap that had taken on a life of its own. they want to send a probe to the moon of jupiter to look for alien life? well look in that bowl that was shoved way back in my fridge for the last 6 years. yeah the one that growls when you bump it! i will go and read that link now. good thread.  |
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Post by DJ on Mar 17, 2010 13:14:44 GMT -5
i clean out the fridge before every grocery shopping trip... i empty and clean the fridge once or twice a year or in case of disaster.. <we shoved things aside.. soemthing that got shoved was the goatmilk.. onto its side.. where it dripped... through the whole fridge>
i don't see the point in emptying and disinfecting the entire fridge regularly.. i do store things in where they should be stored for cold/humidity though. and put labeled baskets to make it obvious to mancreature where things should go... he thought it was ocd obnoxious til we started having less spoilage and since we knew where things were they got used promptly as well cutting down on waste and search and rescue time for food before dinner...
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Post by mafixit on Mar 17, 2010 14:08:58 GMT -5
goodness, I can't even remember the last time I cleaned out the fridge, probably never have. I however have taken out the veggie drawer to wash after some vegetable/fruit turned to mush in it, but a whole clean out is really far on my to do list. Thanks for the article it was an interesting read.
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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Mar 17, 2010 15:16:21 GMT -5
I don't empty the whole fridge and clean it more often, but I do clean 1-2 shelves at a time.
I start with the top shelf and work my way down, so falling debris doesn't contaminate the cleaner shelves. I also store things that come in glass containers or are likely to drip in plastic shoeboxes. Helps prevent spills, and and also allows item that might otherwise migrate to the nether regions stay accessible.
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Post by gifted on Mar 17, 2010 16:30:36 GMT -5
Who'ld a thunk it? Thanks Lion!
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Post by def6 on Mar 17, 2010 19:47:21 GMT -5
I get all of the "science projects " out of there on trash night. It emptys it out and makes room for more. This has made a big difference. I try to keep spills wiped by placing a handtowel that has been saturated in warm soapy water ,I just lay this towel down where the mess is and let it soften everything up. It usually comes pretty clean.
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Post by messymimi on Mar 17, 2010 19:50:48 GMT -5
Ah, the bacon grazing on the lettuce syndrome.
I keep it at bay by wiping down one shelf or drawer every day while the coffee brews.
It also helps to have such a small food budget that nothing gets left over for more than a day or two before it is used for a lunch or turned into another meal.
messymimi
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Post by serenitynow on Mar 17, 2010 21:27:56 GMT -5
Perfect timing. I just cleaned mine out yesterday! It was rather unpleasant..who could have guessed I last did it right before Christmas?
It looks so clean now..and empty..
serenitynow
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Post by luckyducky on Mar 18, 2010 13:51:19 GMT -5
I am glad to know I am not the only one with an untidy fridge! I also like to soak the shelves in the bath tub. It might sound a little gross, but they dont fit in the sink. I try to toss out the nasty stuff each time we go grocery shopping. We have a problem with empty packages in the fridge. The kids take all the stuff out of them and leave the box. If I dont go through it before I go shopping I will not buy enough stuff because the fridge still looks full.
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