Advent {Day 6}: The Fridge

I know this is not your typical Advent day but it's something that needs to be done in "a time of expectant waiting" of  and "preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas.

Cleaning out and Organizing your refrigerator in precautionary measure that needs to happen in anticipation of the celebratory gifts that need to be stored and/or it's leftovers. As you are cleaning don't forget to Thanks God for all that He has provided!

If your fridge is a disaster right now that's fine! The majority of homes in America are. Here is how I suggest starting the cleaning process:

  1. Take EVERYTHING out placing then on an empty counter
  2. Organize as you pull things out: meats, veggies, fruits, cheeses, entries, trash/expired, condiments, drinks, etc.
  3. Wipe them all down as you pull them out so they won't have that fridge gunk on the bottom when you go to put them back in your clean fridge

Now that you have a nothing but the sticky piles, puddles and dried on yukies Start with your drawers:

  1. Pull all your drawers out
  2. Wash them inside and out with hot water and multi-purpose cleaner over at your sink 
    {or in a bathtub for less splatter clean up or if you have limited counter space}
  3. Let the drawers air dry on a giant bath towel {or over the edge of you tub} while you work on the shelves, trays, and walls
    {you can always hand dry the rest of the way before re-inserting}

Now that those are drying work on the nasty inside:

  1. grab a bow of HOT water, multi-purpose cleaner, dishcloth/spung, and maybe even an old used toothbrush {for the OCD}
  2. spray everything: each shelf, trays in the door, and wall {extra coat for the piles, puddles, and yukies}
  3. start scrubbing from back to front and from the top down {this will help you end up with one giant pile of ... yeah at the end.
  4. Make sure to rinse your dishcloth or spung often keeping the dishcloth warm/hot so it will steam off that cold blah that been growing for a while

WA-LA! Just like new...well, hopefully ;o)

Now here's the fun part...putting things back in an organized manner. WHY?

  1. To help yourself keep it organized {especially with the rapid amount of things that will be coming in this season}
  2. You, your kids and your spouse will know the general area to find things
  3. You'll know when things need to be thrown out!

Hopefully you've got items sorted and wiped down already, if not, do it now. Now that you think you are about to place everything back in, there's one more thing that needs to become a habit when putting ANYTHING into your fridge:

  1. Have a "Throw It Out" rule about how long things can stay in your fridge {mine is ~1  month depending on the item, and the printed expiration date for those that have it}
  2. Label containers with what it contains and the date it was made/stored on the side of the container {easily visible}
    {I like to keep a roll of masking tape and a fun colored pin in the drawer next to the fridge for colorful, handy labeling}
  3. OR Label using the the "TRASH IT" date--> look at the calendar and label the date it needs to be thrown away
    {we usually eat our's before then}
    {*side note: I like to label veggies on top of their lid so can quickly see them when looking down into the drawer}

After everything is sorted, clean and labeled your going to have to decide where the most convenient place is for your most used items OR the best fit:

  1. Some fridge, like mine, already have labeled drawers: "meat", "fruit/vegetable", and "cheese". Use them for that.
  2. This might not work for everybody because you may have way more cheese and meat than the labeled drawers allow. If that's the case and it bothers you to have the wrong labels...relabel if you want.
    {see how having them labeled lets you quickly see what you have and by putting even the veggies in containers into the drawer, you've saved yourself the shelf space}
  3. Place condiments that fit into the door {tallest to shortest}{side note *I like to keep my stick butter in the door so it's closer to room temp when I decide to back since that's the only thing I use if for}
  4. Store other items in the logical space they will fit in. Most fridges have adjustable shelves and trays so move them around and see what works for you.
  5. Large items like milk, juice, or 2 leader bottles fit the best on the top shelf or bottom door tray for us.
  6. Smaller items like eggs can fit under drawers or on shorter shelves.
  7. Make sure to put milk product IN the fridge on a shelf, not in the door for safer temperatures!

How to get rid of left overs:

  1. Leftover lunches! {we do this most days: makes for fast prep!}
  2. Let you Kids choose their meal {let them be creative by making odd combinations-->rice, hotdog, and yogurt}
  3. Use them to help you decide what's for dinner {add a side or entre is easier than making an entire meal}
  4. Snacks
  5. Host more guests for meal times!

I hope these tricks we try to use help you keep that refrigerator rotating in and out yummy food this season!
Have any suggestions to add? Please share in the comment section!

To read more Rothacher's Advent Days click--->
Advent {Day 1}: Cookie Swap

Advent {Day 2}: Dizzie Izzie's
Advent {Day 3}: Giving Christmas Away
Advent {Day 4}: Homemade Gifts
Advent {Day 5}: HIPPY Christmas Party

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31 Days to Clean: Day #9

31 Days to Clean Having a Martha House the Mary way

Day 9 – Confronting Laziness

Mary Challenge: Every time you find yourself saying, “I will do that later,” I want you to stop and pray, asking God to give you a spirit of diligence. then, with an obedient heart, go to work. If (and when) you fail, allow His grace to lift you up and begin again. I know you can do it!

I so popped a squat to read over this chapter again to "take a break" from the chores I was supposed to be accomplishing while my girlies were playing well together and read over these challenges and had to shut the computer immediately, ask God for that spirit of diligence, and get to work with an obedient heart! Crack'n me up. Just when I thought I didn't deal with laziness.

Martha Challenge: Kitchen - Sweep, vacuum, and mop floors. Add some fresh flowers to brighten your day.

Mopping, I HATE mopping!!! I decided that if I was gonna go to all the trouble to get out those evil tools to do the kitchen I might as well do all the "hardwoods" down stairs. Ugg! I did and it ended up not being too bad. I was even able to evolve my girls with minimal stress and injury...pics to come:

BIG helper, and very ingenuous as well ;o)

You already know where this is going don't you?

 YEP! There it is! and...it's nap time! Poor girl wiped out 3 times. But that was some good scrubbing she was doing!

 This one was dancing and singing. Great little helpers!

 More dancing! (FYI: I'd already mopped the floors well and just let her push around the wet mop this time)

Oooo, almost forgot our "fresh flowers". We opted for a little "science" project that would last a little longer and cost $1.o0!

(ignore the rough-looking mamma in the background...Mopping-remember!)

We already have GROWTH! (~3 days later it showed up)

Totally recommend this cheap lesson for preschoolers! (~1 week's growth pictured):

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31 Days to Clean: Day #5

Day 5 - Priorities

Mary Challenge: Come up with list of our priorities, in order of importance (I suggest rating them, 1-5, to evaluate how you’re doing).

Martha Challenge: Kitchen – Wash your window treatments and/or clean your blinds. Wash the inside of your windows.

 I am soooo glad we still don't have "window treatment" anywhere in our house a year after moving in- Thank You Dave Ramsey, FPU. My beautiful, (almost) 3-year-old, big helper was Super Excited about being able to help with one of the tasks! These windows were just the right height, with a step, rather than the ones up high, behind the kitchen sink. She actually was a good helper!!!

Praying you have an adorable little helper during your 31 Days to Clean challenge! PLEASE, share your journey through this book or cleaning challenges in general!

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