It is now officially warm enough outside to do some serious spring cleaning, and there is one area we visit several times a day that deserves some love too. If you have already tackled your stove, good for you, but spring is the perfect time of year for a good cleaning and overhaul of your pantry and fridge too.
Why not strike while the iron is hot and the weather is lovely. You will feel better about it, you won’t shudder in horror every time you avoid that certain area that has the unofficial science experiment lurking, and your life will be transformed into one of health, happiness and efficiency.

And because an organized pantry and fridge keeps you on top of your inventory, you will better be able to keep tabs on what you need, and don’t need, meaning less waste and more money in your pocket and less strain on the environment. Do you really need three half empty jars of mayonnaise?

This weekend’s Family Challenge: clean out your pantry, fridge and freezer and dispose of anything old, freezer burnt, or stuff that you are hanging onto for sentimental reasons or because it is not quite rotten enough yet.
The stuff that is good, make a menu plan that uses it all up as soon as possible. Resolve to refrain from purchasing anything new until this is used up, and all the leftovers are eaten. When it comes to washing and rinsing refrigerator crispers and so forth, remember kids love to mess around with warm soapy water, so delegate kid-friendly tasks to the little ones.

Here is an excellent step by step guide to cleaning and organizing your fridge posted on apartmenttherapy.com. If you want to go deeper into the world of refrigerator organization then you’ve got a friend in apartmenttherapy because here’s another post that teaches you how to do just that.

When it comes time to tackle the cupboards the job gets a bit tougher as items stored in cupboards aren’t nearly as perishable as those in the fridge, and as such aren’t as obvious when they are ready to be tossed. Empty one cupboard at a time, doing the top shelf first and taking everything out. Scrub the interior with hot soapy water and then sort through the items you’ve removed and figure out what can be stored and what should be thrown out. If that box of crackers has a coating of dust, don’t hesitate and get rid of it.

And don’t forget to clean your indoor house plants, which in turn clean your air, they will thank you for it !