How often do you 100% clean out your fridge?

[Arctic Bunny 4,323]

1 hour ago, Terabith said:

I cleaned out my pantry before the pandemic hit.  We found so much stuff that had expired ten years ago.  Fun fact:  saltines that are 12 years past sell by date develop a "pantry flavor."  I did not know there was a pantry flavor, but there definitely is.  

There is.... I tasted it two days ago. And then I was much more purposeful about whether an item needed to be tasted. And if I had any doubts about tasting it, well, the garbage seemed like the next stop.

[Tap 12,889]

A few times per year, I do a 100% cleaning. A minimum of once in the spring and once in fall. I usually do it around the same time as when I run the auto-clean on the stove and completely empty the pantry. 

I wipe it out as needed at lease monthly. But I don't remove shelves and door bins every time.  I remove all the shelves, bins, racks....everything removable a few times a year. I wipe down all the bottle before I return them and toss expired or unused items. 

Edited October 22, 2020 by Tap

[SKL 58,059]

Whenever I put away the groceries, I rotate items and get rid of things that are beyond hope.  Also, the night before garbage day, someone will go through the food in there and try to remove anything that isn't realistically edible.

I wipe the shelves when I notice that they look dirty.  It varies, but I guess maybe an average of once every 2 months per shelf?

[Btervet 1,170]

Never?

We empty old food weekly at trash night. But really more often because I only own so many leftover containers and tbh food doesn't last long in my house. 

I wash each shelf and drawer probably monthly, but never all at the same time. I don't have enough room in the kitchen to let them all dry at the same time, and where would all the cold food go during that time?

I do clean the sides of the fridge, on the inside, once a year really well. I have a french door fridge so I just move everything to one side and clean the other. 

It never occurred to me that people would clean the be whole fridge at once. 

[cjzimmer1 3,842]

4 hours ago, Quill said:

Oh, goodness, this makes my heart go pitter-pat. 

I did this with my spice rack  because it bugged me that The Other People just put them back all willy-nilly. 

I bought square jars and lid labels and store them in alphabetical order in the same drawer as the silverware.  It's a perfect fit around the silverware dividers so the jars can't move around and it's pretty hard not to put them away correctly because there just isn't many spots to choose from.  Plus I love have everything laid out right in front of me.  Spinning a rack on the counter always drove me nuts cause it was always facing the wrong direction for whatever I wanted next.

[cjzimmer1 3,842]

I never empty the whole thing at one time because I don't have anywhere to keep it all cold while I'm cleaning.  So I will typically do the top shelf in the morning by moving everything to a lower shelf.  Wait a few hours do another shelf.  I finish the fridge in 2-3 days but I don't leave it open that long at any one time for the food to get warm or the temp in the fridge to drop too much.  Now I don't do this process too often, maybe once a quarter.  SHould do it more but it's just not a high priority unless something gets spilled.

[BakersDozen 1,835]

Fridge and freezer get cleaned out 100% every Saturday. I used to do this on my own, now each kid has 3 drawers/shelves assigned. I used to open the fridge at friends' homes as a kid and just about gag. I figure it takes just minutes to keep the fridge clean and not stinky each week.

I can't say that I've found anything of particular "interest" or growing in the fridge. But I keep it very organized so it's easy to spot if something has been in there too long. And easy to keep up with expired/rotting foods on the Saturday clean out.

Edited October 22, 2020 by BakersDozen

[Quill 59,903]

3 hours ago, BakersDozen said:

Fridge and freezer get cleaned out 100% every Saturday. I used to do this on my own, now each kid has 3 drawers/shelves assigned. I used to open the fridge at friends' homes as a kid and just about gag. I figure it takes just minutes to keep the fridge clean and not stinky each week.

I can't say that I've found anything of particular "interest" or growing in the fridge. But I keep it very organized so it's easy to spot if something has been in there too long. And easy to keep up with expired/rotting foods on the Saturday clean out.

Wow, good job! 

[Soror 23,731]

Every few months or so.

[skimomma 2,821]

Once a year.  Usually when we are going to have company.  I do spot-clean as needed and the outside gets a good wash down every month or so.  The fridge is right next to the stove so it gets greasy.

I don't think I have ever found anything surprising.  We are very good about eating food before it has a chance to spoil and I rotate everything weekly on menu planning day so that I can identify things that need to be consumed right away.

I have never ever cleaned out my chest freezer.  It has a LOT of ice build up at the moment.  With freezers in short supply and this one being 25 years old, I have decided I am not going to poke the beast.  I am afraid that emptying and fully thawing it could push it over the edge!

[BakersDozen 1,835]

Quote

Wow, good job! 

Lol, I'm just not able to find hours to clean a built-up-gross fridge/freezer. Minutes I have, though. And memories of friends' fridges...stuff of nightmares, I tell you.

[Pam in CT 59,920]

re "what does 100% clean out" mean

16 hours ago, Btervet said:

Never?

We empty old food weekly at trash night. But really more often because I only own so many leftover containers and tbh food doesn't last long in my house. 

I wash each shelf and drawer probably monthly, but never all at the same time. I don't have enough room in the kitchen to let them all dry at the same time, and where would all the cold food go during that time?

I do clean the sides of the fridge, on the inside, once a year really well. I have a french door fridge so I just move everything to one side and clean the other. 

It never occurred to me that people would clean the be whole fridge at once. 

Yeah, OK, the later responses are making me feel a little better about my slacker hygeine.

To me, "100% clean" means, "taking out every single item AND every single shelf in the main section and on the door, and scrubbing every shelf in the sink and then with Chlorox spray."

And, I only ever do that, furiously, after an extended power outage.

Going through the *contents* and tossing stuff... I do every time I have new produce coming in; wiping down a particular shelf when it gets sticky I do... often; taking out a single shelf or crisper drawer and washing *that one shelf or drawer*... I do whenever there's a spill or other grossness.

But completely taking 100% of the stuff and shelves out -- only after an extended power outage. (I would do it if we were gone for a month and wanted to unplug, also... but that's never happened.)