Day 5: Simplicity Challenge

CLEANING THE FRIDGE!!

We use it every single day and yet, we rarely think to clean it or clear it out. Our fridges are really a modern marvel! They keep food fresh for so much longer and allow us to have a little grocery store right in our own kitchens! We must show such amazing technology love but cleaning it out regularly! 

Before I start, I would really lol to share a few stories! I remember once wanting to make crepes on a Sunday and enjoying them with lots of berries! As I started mixing ingredients together I reached into the fridge to grab the pint of milk only to realize that someone used the milk and put the bottle back on the fridge! You can imagine how upset I was! Another time I wanted to make a fig jam sandwich (you'll all soon realize how deeply my love for sandwiches runs) and when I pulled out the jam jar from the fridge I realized it was spoiled!!!! So disappointing! This could have ALL been avoided if we cleared out our fridge regularly! 

This is what I suggest you do today. Take out ALL the contents of your fridge. From those figure out what is expired and what you don't eat so that you can toss those. Be realistic-do you need 7 bottles of hot sauce?! Anything  that stays whip it down and place it on a kitchen counter. 

Next, clean your fridge. This is going to be heavy duty work. Take out all shelves and bins and wash them with warm soapy water. Clean the interior of your fridge with warm soapy water and use baking soda and vinegar on tough stains. Once to rinse the inside of your fridge and pay it dry, reassemble the shelves and bins. 

Finally, fill your fridge with the contents that you decided to keep. Make sure you put all dairy and meat products towards the back of the fridge because that's the coldest spot. Vegetables and fruits should be kept towards the front of the fridge so that they don't get too cold and can better circulate. (I might do a post on how to best store veggies and fruits). Place your condiments in the door shelves and complete organizing your fridge.

There you go, you've de cluttered your fridge. I suggest whipping down your fridge every week and deep cleaning, like today, every month. Don't forget to toss expired foods!!! 

Enjoy your clean fridge!! 

Day 3: Simplicity Challenge

Purge Your Pantry

Welcome to day three, where we tackle the pantry. Most people over stuff their pantry so much that they don't even realize how much of what they buy has already expired. Let's clear our the pantry today.

1. Take all of your food items out and give the pantry a good wipe down.

2. Sort through your items and classify them into 3 categories: Expired, Give Away, Keep. Food that has expired automatically toss out. Certain foods that you don't eat, see if your local pantry/food drive/friend/family will take them. If you have a gluten intolerance and have 4 bags of white flour, you can give those away.

3. Re-shelf your pantry, making sure to group like items and displaying items that expire first at the front. (We'll address pantry organization another time- for now work with what you have).

I bet after completing this task you'd be shocked at the free space in your pantry. Don't go restocking. Just because the space is there, doesn't mean it has to be filled. Think about NEEDS not wants.

Enjoy the clean pantry!