Cleaning the Refrigerator

Cleaning the refrigerator is one of those chores that I find hard to fit in to my regular schedule during the week. But today was a rainy Saturday, the Composer was gone for the day, and I had big kids to help entertain Daisy and also take my musical requests and DJ for me as my hands were sudsy--so I plunged in.

Actually, the fridge stays pretty clean these days. I attribute that to planning meals a week at a time. Having a written plan to remind me what I was going to cook goes a long way toward avoiding the nasty mess of produce getting old in the crisper drawer. In the old, more spontaneous days, I would forget what I had down in the bottom or the back of the fridge and fail to use it up in time. Which reminds me, in a tangential sort of way, of the time my friend Carol "lost" a pot roast in her van, in the summer. She went to cook it and couldn't find it, then checked her car. It announced its presence. Anyway, having a list in front of my nose of what I'm cooking is very helpful to me and to my fridge. I've also started fixing a big stir-fry, pot of soup, or crudite platter the day before grocery day, to clean out all the tidbits from the week before.

I got everything clean and shining and ready for a week's worth of groceries, which is a nice feeling.