Tonight was "clean the fridge out" day. I usually do this probably once a month. I don't think people realize how many times they pull that milk gallon out, put it on a dirty counter top, transfer it BACK to the fridge, and then store raw meat on the same shelf. The possibilities of food poisoning are endless! I have been the lucky recipient for food poisoning twice last month and not from my own doing. However, it just confirms that my monthly cleaning does us well. Also, as terrible as it may sound- I may judge people that have a nasty fridge.. sorryimnotsorry.

First I start with good ole' bleach (my BEST friend.. unless of course we are flashing back to the many apartment complexes we lived across the US and abroad where some ended up on the carpet- whoops) in hot water- like scolding hot water and a clean old rag.

The drawers that hold fruits and veggies are where I like to start because it never fails, I always buy too much produce and it goes bad. So I pull the drawers out, empty them and fill them individually with bleach water and let them sit while I clean the rest of the fridge.

Then I like to move onto the top shelf where the eggs are normally kept. Did you know that you aren't supposed to keep eggs in the door? Why might you ask?? Because with each movement of the door a small crack is being made in the egg, allowing for salmonella to seep through the cracks. Also, made sure to keep them in their original cartons. A packaging engineer designed those cartons, and trust me they put a lot of work and time to making sure those breakable babies are secure in their cartons.

Take all products off of the top shelves so that you can wipe it completely down. What will you find on my top shelves?? Eggs, baking soda, butter, and goat cheese right now. When placing the items back on the shelf I make sure to wipe the bottoms down as well. I repeat with the second and third shelves.

Here are a few other little pieces of knowledge about food storage:

-Don't wash fresh produce until you're ready to eat it
-Keep potatoes and onions out of the fridge in a cool but dry location
-Keep raw meat stored in a container or in a plastic bag on the bottom shelf so that the juices don't drip on other items
-Bananas should not be refrigerated


So do yourself a favor and clean it out at least once a month. Your families stomach's will thank you!


I will leave you with a helpful chart from www.usda.gov.