{Spring Cleaning} Make Your Fridge Look Like New Again!!

I have to start this post by saying that I am honestly a little bit embarassed - my fridge was absolutely DISGUSTING!! But the fact that I knew that it was counts for something though right?? Thankfully, even though it was so gross it really wasn't that difficult to clean, it just took a while. I even enlisted the help of my 7 year old, who was crazy-proud of himself when we finished (not gonna lie, I was too!!)  He said, "Daddy is gonna ask us why we spent all his money to buy a new fridge!" Plus, the nice thing about using an all-natural cleaning solutions is that I wasn't worried about him helping.

So here is what I did, step by step, so you can make your own fridge can look like new!! :)

STEP 1: Take everything out of the fridge --- EVERYTHING! (We will sort through it all later before we put it back in.)

STEP 2: Take all the shelves and drawers out, so that your fridge is completely bare and you are able to get to the back side and walls of the fridge easily.

STEP 3: Remove any dry mess like crumbs (or my spilled coffee grounds) with a dry rag or vacuum attachments.

Using Lemon Infused Vinegar, make a cleaning solution of 1 part vinegar and 1 part HOT water with just a few drops of dish soap per 2 cups of solution. Swirl to mix and add to a spray bottle.

STEP 4: Wipe down all the surfaces of the fridge with the HOT cleaning solution. The hotter the better, use rubber gloves if you need to. Also, wipe down the outside of you fridge paying close attention to the handles. Use a Magic Eraser for any stains. (I don't have a homemade recipe for the Magic Erasers -- those puppies just work!!)

STEP 5: Time to get serious --- Wipe down all the shelves and drawers, soaking as needed to loosen the gunk in HOT water. You can use your bathtub for the large pieces that won't fit in the sink. Most of the stuff on mine came off after soaking for 10 minutes and wiping down with the cleaning solution without having to scrub too much. Use a butter knife wrapped in a rag or paper towel to get into the egdes and cracks. Towel dry.

STEP 6: Shine all the glass pieces (on both sides of the glass) using a small amount of the cleaning solution and dry newspapers or paper towels.

STEP 7: Reassamble your fridge.

STEP 8: Before putting everything back into the fridge, go through and toss anything that is expired or that you haven't used in more than 1-2 months. Also, wipe down any containers that are sticky so you don't recontaminate the clean fridge with old gunk.

STEP 9: Move the fridge away from the wall. Vacuum the dust from the vent at the back of the fridge and wipe down the walls.

STEP 10: Sweep and mop the floor where the fridge was sitting, then put it back. Did you find any long-lost treasures?? I found a picture of my son that was at least 2 years old and a dozen fun CARS magnets for my youngest to play with!

That's it! Enjoy your SPARKLY CLEAN fridge and maintain the shine by cleaning up messes as you find them, not waiting until next spring when they really start to get gross.