Today's Project - The Fridge

So yesterday I spent the day doing dishes (we have to do them by hand, and haven't been smart enough to wash them as we use them, so the dishes is now a project), and cleaning the kitchen.  

A few weeks ago, my wonderful husband who has much better making-everything-fit skills than I do organized the cabinets.  My favorite thing about having clean cabinets now is that the tupperware no longer falls in a dramatic avalanche every time you open the door.  Victory!

Today (because I just didn't have enough yesterday...bring it on, kitchen...bring it on) I decided to tackle a long overdue, very terrifying project - cleaning and organizing the fridge.  Now, I'm the type of person that if I'm going to do something, I want to do it right.  So last night I spent the evening researching the best way to deep clean a fridge, and the best way to store you food in said fridge.  Turns out, there's actually a way to store your food in the fridge to make it last as long as possible, and prevent health hazards for you and your loved ones (at this point I had a dork moment and got very excited at the prospect of having an organized, properly categorized fridge).  This morning I woke up, put on clothes that I don't care about, and got to work.

Before - an unorganized and really gross mess

I started by doing more dishes so the sink would be empty (it really never ends).  Next, I turned the thermostat off in the fridge (not the freezer though) and started removing everything.  As I was taking things out, I would check the expiration date.  Once I realized that this was taking too long with the door open, I decided to first empty the fridge entirely, then check dates and toss expired items.

Next, I took the fridge apart.  I took out the shelves, drawers, and door cubbies so there was nothing but an empty shell left.  I then sprayed the entire inside shell of the fridge with cleaner (I went out yesterday and bought green cleaner so I wouldn't be in toxic fumes all day) and let it soak while I washed each shelf, drawer and cubby in the sink.

After that was finished, I turned my attention back to the inside of the fridge, and wiped it down until it was clean (which took a couple of times). Now, I was finally ready to start putting the fridge back together.

Super clean!

I put all the of the shelves, drawers, and cubbies back in and started categorizing the food on the counter.  As I was organizing the food, I turned the thermostat back on to let the fridge get cold again.

Once the food was categorized, I looked at my trusty guide (I found it yesterday thanks to Google here) and started to put the food away.  I must say, I have never been more proud of a cleaning project.  Now that everything is organized and the expire food is gone, there is an extra shelf (it's actually empty!) for leftover food.  

It was a ton of work, but it was totally worth it.  Now, time for my happy dance :)

See the empty shelf?? I feel so accomplished!

Yay organization!