Livin' in the fridge

Today I'm celebrating Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day!

I understand that this observance was likely targeted to help people get the refrigerator cleaned out in preparation for the holiday cooking next week. I don't plan to cook next week. However, I already knew that I had a problem before I saw this observance on the calendar. There were several clues that stared me in the face as I stood in front of the refrigerator door. I could be a charter member of the "refrigerator clutter anonymous" group, for those with multiple UFOs (unidentified fridge objects). OK, I've done the deed and have cleaned out my refrigerator tonight to prepare for this blog entry -- it was horrifying! I've appended a list of what I found, but you'll have to read ahead to see it. :)

I think that you can tell a lot about a person by opening their refrigerator door. I usually tell my friends when they visit --- if a door's not open, then don't go there! Well, that's how I feel about my refrigerator most of the time. Once my little brother thought he would eat some delicious cupcakes he found in my fridge -- only to look down and to his horror see some green stuff growing on them. In my defense, I was both working full-time and attending graduate school full-time too. Then, I did not know whether it was night or day and was always on the run. He now cautions his kids to "never get anything out of Aunt Tonya's refrigerator without asking first!" That's really sad, I know. I live a busy life. There are far more important, and fun, things to do than work on that refrigerator. I eat out a lot too and I just know that I will microwave those leftovers and enjoy that meal later. When I cook, not wanting to waste anything, I'll put the smallest amount remaining in some plasticware and store it in the fridge for later. Also, I have a bad habit of saving ketchup bottles, even if there's just a drop left in it. You never know when you will need it!

I realize that I need to be more organized and focused on that fridge. After all, I could be more productive in the end --- saving the time that I typically must spend hunting for items lost in the fridge. Or, I'd save time by not shopping and purchasing things I already have, but could no longer see in the fridge. I would also save a lot of money too. I wish I had a dollar for every piece of Rubbermaid or Tupperware that I just chunked into the trash, very afraid to open it! Plus, I have found numerous expired items in the fridge that had never been opened.

Here's my quick list of when you know it's time to clean out your refrigerator:

• when the door will not close easily
  


• when you must triple stack things on the shelves because there's no more room
  
  
• when you open the door and things fall out
  
  
• when you rush to shut the door before things fall out
  
  
• when you're looking for ketchup, you find 3 bottles and 2 are practically empty
  
  
• when the lettuce you stored in the crisper is now mush
  
  
• when the cheddar cheese is green
  
  
• when the milk in the cartoon looks like cottage cheese
  
  
• when you see a hairy green thing lurking on the back of the top shelf
  
  
• when you find UFOs (unidentified fridge objects) on the shelves
  
  
• when you're totally out of Tupperware or Rubbermaid containers
  
  
• when your Mom's coming for a visit!
  

Here's a video created for the funny song "Livin' in the Fridge" by Weird Al Yankovic:


As posted on YouTube by roscoetoon


Seriously, here are some sites that may have information helpful to you:

• How to Clean a Refrigerator
  
• How much is disorganization costing you each year?
  
• When to throw away those things we store in our refrigerator
  
• Clean your fridge

Obviously based on the following items that I had to toss tonight, it appears that I have plenty of reading and organizing to do, along with some shopping to replace my expired goods! My confession follows....

First the good news: Recovered - 1 pot and 2 glass containers

Now the bad news:

What I tossed:
5 rubbermaid containers
1 old jar of pizza sauce (date unknown)
4 bottles of ketchup, 3 with only traces remaining
1 old jar of bacon bits, barely a taste left
2 partial 12 oz. Coke Zeros
2 containers of take-out hot sauce
1 slice of pizza
2 homemade brownies (previously frozen)
2 tortillas, take-out variety
1 box of Cheerios cereal with only crumbs remaining
1 Yoohoo, partial
1 unidentifiable left-over casserole serving

Expired in 2007:
2 packages of carb balance tortillas
9 eggs expiring in April-May
6 eggs expiring in October
1 container of sour cream
2 jars of bread and butter pickles (1 unopened)
2 bottles of barbeque sauce
1 bottle of worcestershire sauce
1 bottle of teriyaki sauce
1 box of Stovetop stuffing (unopened)
1 jar of mayo
1 box and 3 bags of fat free croutons
4 bags of cheese (1 unopened; 1 very "green")
1 jar of picante sauce
4 sticks of margarine (unopened)
1 carton of EggBeaters (unopened)
2 partial bags of dry lima beans
1 partial container of pepperoni
6 snack-size containers of applesauce
2 partial bags of corn meal mix
1 juice box

Expired in 2006 (yes, very scary!)
1 bottle of syrup
1 bottle of soy sauce
1 jar of coffeemate (bought for an overnight guest in '06)
1 jar of picante sauce
1 bag of low sodium Goldfish
1 jello cook-and-serve pudding box

Expired in 2005 (yes, terrifying!)
1 jar of grated parmesan cheese
2 boxes of taco shells (1 unopened)
2 jello cook-and-serve pudding boxes
1 bag of dry lima beans

I now have a clean refrigerator and am starting with a clean slate and intentions to be better! If you've made it this far, post a comment on this page describing the worst item that you found buried in your refrigerator.