Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Cleaning the fridge...

Oh yes, that's a mighty attention grabbing title to a blog post don't you agree?! Ha ha!!
Thing is, it's actually the truth. 
My morning after the ordinary chores and attending to the business stuff was spent pulling everything off, and out of, my 11 year old refrigerator. 
It's a task I never enjoy until it's over - because when it's all shiny and gleaming back at me after a thorough scrubbing out, that wonderfully warm and fuzzy love for housework fills my heart and overflows into at least 48 hours of smiles. 
I'm going to be rather brutal with personal honesty and show you the before photos, OK? If you're squeamish, look away and scroll down...


Do you suffer from magnet and note clutter too?


Gritty leftovers from veggies in the shelving and under the egg trays?

Juice splashes in the door? 
(can you tell we make a lot of beetroot juice?)...


One hour later it was a whole different story....


Clutter removed from the front, doors polished, and only what I need (or love) is there...


Freezer cleaned and organised...

Shelving sparkling, fruit and veg supplies restocked...

Love the afterglow of domestic satisfaction.


Whilst still surveying the fruit of my labour (yes, you can laugh!) I decided to cook chutney and do some baking for Mr E....

...before brewing a fresh coffee and gathering my stitching so I could settle on the couch for an hour to watch another episode of -


I am seriously hooked on this show! 
What about you?
One of my goals for A Year of Gentle Domesticity is to begin designing and making my own clothes, so this show has become invaluable for learning the skills I'll need.
Thankfully the episodes are on YouTube and I can watch that through our telly (no squinting at my ipad! yay!).

Do you reward yourself with something fun after you've completed an un-loveable chore?

I may have to hunt down a gold star...Mr E can pin it on me when he gets home from work.
Yes, keep laughing...

hugs

20 comments:

selina said...

you're funny xxx
that's one chore i dread doing too & mine is very overdue for a clean out
thanx for sharing

Tammy said...

I too adore having a clean sparkling refrigerator. But goodness it is hard work to take it all out and scrub it all down and then put it back together again...

Anonymous said...

Hi Jenny,
I love a clean fridge too and I go over the top by putting lace doilies on the clear shelves haha!!!
The inside of my fridge looks gorgeous.
Peace Nada

Jacqueline said...

I need to invite you over for a day and turn you loose on my house. Maybe when our snow melts I will get into my normal Spring cleaning mode. Sure hope so.

Lesley Gilbert said...

We have it here on TV Thursday nights, in the UK. I didn't realise you could watch it on You Tube, so I guess you must be very up to date with all the recent episodes :)

Carolyn Sullivan said...

Mine is very gross! I'm thinking I should offer some one $$$ to come clean it. I wonder if the GRAND Teen needs some cash?

Anonymous said...

You ARE brave, Jenny. I'll never admit to the condition of my fridge before it's cleaned. LOL But here's something I'll admit to. I don't even NOTICE the condition for months at a time! LOL I do have magnets and notes on the fridge, but I'm so type A, they are all lined up in neat rows. =)

Anonymous said...

P. S. If I clean my fridge, do you think I'll be motivated to cook something? =)

Blue Jeans And Teacups said...

I JUST DID MINE YESTERDAY! :) Here is a tip and I have been doing it, so yes, it works. Cover the shelves with Glad Press N Seal. When they get gross, peal off and toss! Congratulations on your hard work!!
-Heather
BlueJeansAndTeacups.blogspot.com

Christine M said...

Your post reminds me that our fridge really needs a good clean out too!

Maria said...

The day before I went off to Let's Get Stitched, I cleaned out the 2 'crisper' drawers of my fridge, because I didn't want DH getting any nasty surprises when he was 'batching'! Lol. Those drawers plus the shelves on the door seem to attract grunge don't they? I loved the first series of the Great Sewing Bee but didn't realise a second series was showing...what channel?

Anonymous said...

Hi Jen,well done. Now I want to clean mine out,lol.xx

Annie said...

I'm glad that other people don't always have sparkling clean refrigerators all the time!
And I heartily believe in rewards. Things like dentist, mammogram, etc. mean I get a Starbucks peppermint hot chocolate or peppermint chocolate frappuccino; and I allow myself to listen to a book on tape while cleaning, especially bathrooms!

Tiny Toadstool Cottage said...

Cleaning the fridge always makes me feel better. I guess because everyone uses it all the time and if it is looking a bit grubby, everyone sees! That said, mine at the moment looks like your before photos! Must get off the internet, but there are too many pretties to look at!

Christina said...

I know exactly how you feel. I hate to clean the fridge too. I haven't scrubbed mine in awhile either. I usually just clean up what I see dirty.

Baa. xxx said...

I love that phrase 'the afterglow of domestic satisfaction' so right! But I still can't come to love cleaning!

Kaylee said...

The fridge looks lovely and clean and organised,. Well done. That UK show sounds amazing, enjoy..

Kathleen said...

Yes I absolutely do try to set up a reward for myself after doing an un-enjoyable task. And yes, I absolutely do have that grit on my refrigerator shelves! Thanks for being so honest and showing me I'm not the only one ;)

MissesStitches said...

Thank you for telling me about The Great British Sewing Bee! Here in the US I watch Project Runway, which I think is similar. I look forward to watching some of these shows (TGBSB) on Youtube.

Jan said...

My fridge looked like that last weekend. I spent the day cleaning it and getting it all sparkly. Now I need to do the oven! It self cleans but I have to take out the racks and do some pre-treating before. Why are these chores something we put off till the very end when they get grimy? Good to know I'm not alone.