34 Weeks of Clean: Week 4

I hate my fridge.. (Heck, if you remember my post from last week, you'll know I basically hate my kitchen in general.. haha).  When we moved into this house, it had a really nice fridge, granted it was a bit older but it worked well.. A little over a year ago, the housing office here on base decided we needed updated appliances and so they came in and replaced the stove, dishwasher, fridge and added an overhead microwave. The stove and the microwave are very nice, I can deal with those. However, the dishwasher and the fridge lack alot to be desired.  The dishwashers are well known on base for breaking down  (mine broke down about a month ago and still is not fixed). The fridges have proven to be the worst as they can't regulate a temperature and usually freeze better than the freezer portion does.  When we received it, it was obviously used and refurbished as it has scratches and stains all over it and looked as if it had been covered with white out, had ripped seals and a water filter that leaked everywhere.. The shelves are very oddly positioned so things are placed inside it like Tetris rather than with any organization.

We make do with it..

So you can imagine my groan when I saw that this weeks 34 Weeks of Clean was to clean the Freezer, the Fridge and the Floor.. It was probably the groan heard around the world. However, it was a chore that I knew needed to be done and so I set off with a bowl of sudsy warm water, a sponge and the mindset that I would get that fridge looking better than it had the day housing gave it to us.

Freezer stuffed full

Old veggies and Yup, thats Doggie Ice Cream.

Tetris Fridge.. with lots of leftovers..

I quickly realized something. There were things in my fridge and freezer that I did not buy. There were things in my fridge and freezer that I honestly had no clue were even IN my fridge and freezer. There were things in there that other people who had moved away from base had given to us rather than throw it away and it had been sitting in my fridge ever since. I quickly determined that all of that stuff needed to go - so I tossed a jug of marinade that I knew I would never use, a bottle of alcoholic Eggnog that I knew we would never drink, and tossed out frozen meats that I had no clue what the heck they were.  I did decide to keep a bottle of wine that was given to us, who knows, I could probably give it to someone else..


In the process, I found an Arby's cup in the back of the fridge. It had been at least a month since we ate at Arby's so I know that had been there for a while. My youngest informed me she put it in the fridge after filling it up with water because she wanted cold water without ice. Sure enough, the cup had cold water in it.. That got poured out and the cup was tossed.

In the freezer, I found a few unidentified meats and a package of shark meat that was at least 3 years old.  If I didn't know how old it was or even what it was, it got tossed..

Each shelf, drawer and barrier was removed and washed and wiped down.

When everything was said and done, I had to admit, it looked MUCH better.. All the ancient, frostbitten and decrepit veggies were gone. No more shark meat hidden in the back corner.  I even emptied out all the ice so that it would be replaced with fresh ice.

The fridge isn't quite such a Tetris level. I tossed out three jars of pickle relish that had maybe a tablespoon or two left in it and kept one jar of relish, 1 jar of pickles and 1 jar of jalapenos. 

Most of the random alcohol that we won't drink is gone and everything is much more organized (although, now I'm looking at this picture and realizing that rather than putting the cheese where it goes, my husband shoved it in the door tonight after tacos. ) 

Notice my cat in the background supervising?

I will admit, I did not clean under the fridge just yet.. When I saw exactly what was under it, it was obvious to me that the last few times he'd stripped the floor and mopped that my husband didn't bother with under the fridge so I'm leaving that job for him this weekend ;) But I did sweep and mop everything else

Its still not too late to join Michele over at Family, Faith and Fridays and the 34 Weeks of Clean Challenge. Just click on the link below and sign up :)