There aren’t too many tasks that I truly loathe, but one of them is cleaning the refrigerator. I hate wasting food and I always end up throwing stuff away. I hate the idea of opening one of those plastic tubs and see a science experiment in there that would have really pleased my 8th grade science teacher. (Shhhh…I’ve been known to toss it, plastic container and all!) Ugh!
Mr. FixIt left early and headed to town for his errands du jour. I put off the inevitable with a hot beverage, then sighed. I wanted a second cup, but that meant I had to get up and go into the kitchen where the “Refrigerator of Doom” sat…glaring at me. I put the kettle on, that ran a sink full of soapy water. I set my hot drink to the side and started throwing stuff away. It’s unbelievable the sheer amount of waste. Granted…most of it was condiments.
There were three opened jars of pickled beets. Now, I love the occasional pickled beet. And when I’m at the store, I can never remember…did I finish that jar? Who am I kidding…I’ve never finished a jar of pickled beets in my life. But I’d get another one…you know, just to be sure. I took some on the relish tray to the family picnic last Sunday and no one touched them. That’s how popular they are around here. So, out they went. Whenever I think I might want some, I’ll remember tossing three nearly full jars that were WAY out of date…but really, do they EVER go out of date?
There were several half-eaten jars of my homemade jam that were dry as shoe leather. Same with salsa. Those made me sad because I remember how much work it took to make them. Note to self: Think twice before you make more jam and salsa. Save yourself the work…before and after. I carried three loads of clean jars downstairs and put them on the shelves where we store such things.
I’m ashamed to say, I cannot remember the last time I tore that fridge apart and cleaned every inch of it. I’m hoping it’s memory loss and not that I’ve been so negligent. I took three trash bags of stuff out of there. Granted, they weren’t full…the contents were heavy. And, I haven’t touched the freezer yet. Our trash is picked up on Wednesday, so anytime I need to toss freezer contents, it goes out on Tuesday night or else we’ll have a passel of possums and a riot of raccoons out there digging through it.
Of course, the rest of the kitchen looks like a bomb went off, but I was so proud of the fridge when it was finished. I put in a fresh box of baking soda and carefully inscribed the date when it needs to be replaced. 10/07/2023. False hope.
*sigh*
What I remind myself when I’m doing such chores is this. We are blessed to have this home with a kitchen in which to cook. And the means to pay the utility bills to make it convenient and to have running water and food to store away. There are so, so many who lack even the most basic necessities of life. I am grateful for God’s provision. I have nothing to complain about.
?
“The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.”
Psalms 145:15-16 NLT
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Autumn Leaves Mug…perfect for sipping while leaf peeping!
Great job knocking out that huge task!! You should get at least 90 days for a box of baking soda. Don’t make your life harder than it has to be 🙂 Except for a few Tupperware that get used for last night’s leftovers, which we eat the next night, I put everything in glass jars so I can see what’s in there. And while they never last long around here – we both love pickled beets 😉 yes, they will last a looooooooong time in the fridge. One thing to make them a little less “pickled” is to make Harvard Beets. That is very popular at family meals here.
Thank you for the suggestions! I always feel like the plastic containers absorb smells and germs. They probably don’t. It’s more likely the chemicals in the plastic stuff leaches into our food. Ugh!