Carbondale Reporter

African American Museum of Southern Illinois recently issued the following announcement.

Clutter and stress free.

By Leigh Williams

I don’t know about you, but my fridge has been looking like a disaster recently! Between the whole family being home 24/7 and heading to the fridge (and ultimately messing with my organization) when they’re hungry – to being a little overcrowded due to stocking up on our family’s staples, my fridge could use a little TLC.

I never WANT to clean around the house, but it’s so therapeutic and leaves me feeling accomplished when I’m done!

Here are 5 simple tips for freshening your fridge

1) Start by removing everything from the fridge and use warm, soapy water to scrub the shelves, bins and walls of the fridge. Sometimes I even will fill the sink with soapy water and soak the drawers while I clean the inside of the fridge!

2) Check the expiration dates on foods, sauces and condiments - and get rid of anything that might be expired or items you won’t use in the future.

3) As you start to refill your fridge, give your shelves a purpose! & categories. Organize each with a category so similar items are stored together. In the long run, this will also likely save you money because you won't purchase items not knowing you already have it in the back of your fridge!

4) Clean, wash and chop your fruits and veggies so you can get rid of all those plastic bags you likely have in your produce bins! Store your prepped produce in glass or plastic containers, which will also help to keep them fresher for longer and will save you a ton of time at mealtime since you will already have your produce ready to go! If I have fruits and veggies already cleaned and chopped, it’s way easier for me to make healthier snack choices as well!

5) Utilize your drawers (or plastic bins) so the kiddos can have their own area for their favorite snacks that's east for them to reach.

Freshening up your fridge might seem like a daunting task at first, but I promise you will feel so accomplished afterward!

Original source can be found here.