Comments on: Basic Kitchen Organizing Part 3 – Inside of the Refrigerator

By: Myrna

Myrna — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:11:37 +0000

Prepared meals are great for people on the go. Even I prefer fast food chains the is quite near me whenever I travel or on work or on any activity I have. It seems convenient. But on special occasions, my family get to have a decent home cooked meal.
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Myrna´s last [type] ..onion juice for hair regrowth

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:35:43 +0000

When I get my lettuce home, I cut it up, dry in a salad spinner and store in ziplock bags on the shelf in the fridge. I know when I am running low and it makes it so easy to throw a salad together. Especially good if on a weight loss program.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:36:06 +0000

I agree with the pre-portioned leftover lunches. My parents have been doing this for years, and it gives them delicious meals for work without having to get up any earlier to fix them. Making double batches of easy-to-fix and reheat meals and then freezing one batch makes cooking easier, because it’s simple to double the recipe, and then you only have to do the prepping dishes once. We do this for soups, stews, casseroles, anything Italian, and pies or piecrusts. It’s always nice around Christmas to get ready to make pies and remember that the piecrusts are already in the freezer from when we made extras around Thanksgiving.

By: Laurel Plum

Laurel Plum — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:58:51 +0000

@Jess – Hey! PYL!

The plastic gives a place for moisture to sit without escape. It is a situation of dark and wet which mold loves. It takes a little longer because it is cold and mold prefers warmth, but because of the food source, it will take hold. Getting rid of the plastic keeps the moisture from sitting in one place. The foods (or towel) absorb most of it. That is why plastic against a skinned item like a tomato will be the quickest to mold. The tomato will not absorb well and the water sits trapped in one place between the plastic and the skin. With lettuce and other greens, they are so much water there is little room to absorb more. So they do not ruin from getting mold. They rot. Removing the plastic allows them to breath.

I guess I need to clarify to only pull the plastic off of the fruit and veggies in the drawer. If you keep any on the shelf leave the plastic on but try to move them to the drawer or use them pretty soon.

Since you have already washed down the refrigerator, I would just try a good old box of baking soda opened and left on the shelf. If that doesn’t get it, try washing it again but add baking soda to the soapy rag and see if you can’t take the drawers and shelves somewhat apart to get into all of the creases to wash them. If that doesn’t help, try adding a tad of bleach to some wash water.

Pickle juice can be stubborn if it isn’t caught right away, so I will add a few other things to try just in case. There is something about newspaper or the print that is good about absorbing odors in closed spaces, so maybe take a few sheets, wad them up in a ball and let them sit in an open container on the shelf. Maybe a diluted lemon juice rinse would help. I do not think I would recommend white vinegar because that is a big part of the pickling agents, but maybe some hair of the dog is worth a try as a last resort?

Good luck! And if you get a chance, let me know what worked best or how many things you had to try!

Oh, and @Jess – Thanks for adding the tip of clearing out the fridge before you load it back up!

By: Jess Sanders

Jess Sanders — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:43:17 +0000

Thanks Laurel, nice tips! I have never heard that plastic around your fruits & veggies will make them spoil faster. I am going to be trying that one immediately!

I pitch old food every time we come back from the grocery store. It makes room for the new food and there’s no worry of contamination.

Question for you ~ I just had a jar of pickles tip over on the back of a shelf and leak all down the inside of my fridge. I completely cleaned the fridge, much like you described above, but the briny smell is still lingering (alth0ugh not nearly as bad as pre-washing, thank goodness). Any tips for extreme yuck?