Cleaning your Refrigerator

CLEANSERS

TOOTHPASTE

Non-abrasive toothpaste helps to cleanse and brighten refrigerators without the scratching properties of most household cleansers. Apply liberally with a sponge or rag and scrub until stains disappear. Rinse with a clean rag and warm water.

VINEGAR

Heat a small bowl of vinegar on the stove top or in the microwave and place inside refrigerator for five minutes. The steam and acid will loosen stuck-on foods and allow you to more easily remove them. (You can cut a lemon in half, add to 1 cup water, and heat, as well.)

ODOR REMOVERS

BAKING SODA

Baking soda has been an odor cure-all for centuries. To rid your fridge of offensive odors, add a cup of baking soda to a bowl or plate and place inside refrigerator for 24-hours. Remove and properly dispose of baking soda when done. You can also add an entire box of baking soda to the back of refrigerator to help cut down on odor contamination and keep your refrigerator smelling fresh year round.

**CHARCOAL

Activated charcoal is another great odor absorber--and one of the most effective! Place a dish or bowl of charcoal inside the refrigerator , and allow it to soak up odors for several hours to a few days. Charcoal works well on sour odors. Remove dish when finished and dispose of charcoal.

COFFEE

Fill a plate with freshly ground coffee and place on an empty shelf inside the refrigerator to remove offensive odors. Leave plate in place for several days. This works well on strong odors.

ODOR PREVENTION

TAKE INVENTORY

Once a week or immediately before going grocery shopping, take inventory of the contents of your refrigerator. Remove outdated foods promptly.

PROPER STORAGE

Always store leftovers, opened packages of meats and cheeses, perishable items, and strong foods in separate airtight containers. Foods which remain uncovered absorb odors from other foods and also contaminate other items, like fruits and vegetables.

WASH THE MEAT DRAWER

The meat drawer is the coldest part of your refrigerator and the most ideal place to store and thaw meats. Always use the drawer to avoid cross contamination of bacteria and foodborne illness. Also, clean the drawer when necessary. When meat juices have spilled over into the drawer, remove drawer and wash thoroughly with hot water and dish soap.

CLEAN UP IMMEDIATELY

Clean spills up immediately! Use hot water and dish soap to wipe spilled food items from drawers, racks, and refrigerator walls and shelves. Uncleaned surfaces lead to bacteria, mold, mildew, odor, and possible food borne illness.

Tip of the Day #215: Easy Deviled Eggs

When making deviled eggs, place the egg yolks in a plastic Ziploc bag with the rest of the ingredients you wish to use. Close the bag and mash everything together. Once everything is well mixed, cut off a small tip from one of the bottom corners of the bag and squeeze the contents into your egg white. Just toss the bag once you are done for easy cleanup!

Tip of the Day #214: Pizza Cutter Uses

When cutting or dicing veggies or meat (ex: scrambled eggs or stirfry), using a pizza cutter will make the job a lot quicker than chopping with a knife.

Tip of the Day #213: Toothpaste on Yellow Nails

Whiten nails all up by rubbing toothpaste to remove the stains. You can also add a few drops of lemon for extra whitening, it’s a natural bleaching agent!

Tip of the Day #212: Uses for Q-Tips

Candle-Lighter- If the wick on your candle is burned out, dip the end of a Q-tip in rubbing alcohol, light the end and you can now reach that burnt down wick.

Dust Buster- Use a Q-tip to dust the creases and cracks of a picture frame or statue.

Zipper Un-sticker- Is your zipper stuck?  Dip that cotton end in olive oil to act as a lubricant and rub on the zipper for an easy zip.

Electronics Cleaner- Q-tips can be used to clean CDs, DVD players, radios,  cameras and computers.

Kid Paintbrush- It is obvious; kids make a mess when painting, so they might as well use a brush that you can throw away and is easy to hold in their little hands!  Use a Q-tip to eliminate a mess.

Tip of the Day #211: *REPOST* Eggs in the Oven

For anyone that may not know, the BEST way to make hard-boiled eggs is in the oven! Place your eggs in a muffin tray so they do not roll around, then pop in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 325 F degrees. Not only are they tastier, but they become much easier to peel! Do not worry, they will never explode...well unless you have a very powerful oven! :)

Limit Your Clean-up Time When Cooking!

The last thing any of us feels like doing after slaving over a meal is cleaning up afterwards. Even if you have little helpers whose nightly chore is to do the dishes, there are sneaky ways you can minimize 'tidy-up time' to get most of the work done before dessert. Here's how:

Empty the dishwasher

This should be the golden rule of tidy cooking - before you even think about pulling out a chopping board, empty the dishwasher, or better yet, get a little helper to do this job before you step into the kitchen--then re-stack the dishwasher as you cook.

Soak it

If you don't have a dishwasher, clean any dirty dishes before starting. Follow by filling the kitchen sink with hot, soapy water. As you work, drop in the utensils and dishes you've used into the water and let them soak. Washing up will be a cinch when the gunk easily slips off from pots and pans and all that's needed is a quick rinse and dry. BONUS: You use less water by filling up your sink and soaking dishes as opposed to running your tap while you scrub each dish!

Cover the counter

To catch mess quickly, line your working space with butcher's paper (or place a sheet of baking paper under a chopping board), then fold it up with the scraps and toss it when you're done. Easy-peasy.

Keep it simple--UTILIZE YOUR CROCKPOT!

It goes without saying that the simpler the meal, the less mess there is to clean up. Make your life easy by cooking slow-cooker family favourites--the Internet is packed with so many wonderful crockpot meal ideas! And the best part? You'll only have the one pot to wash up afterwards!

Clean up in stages

Clear away any dishes and ingredients you've used for preparation before you start cooking. Likewise, after you've finished one task, have a quick tidy up before you start the next one. Cleaning up in stages like this will lighten the load at the end.

Have a garbage bag on the go

Keep a bag or bowl beside your cutting board to toss scraps into as you work, instead of spreading it over the counter top.

Cook cleanly

Avoid unnecessary elbow grease by lining baking and roasting pans with aluminum foil to save scrubbing them later. Likewise, spray measuring cups and spoons with non-stick spray not only prevents stains, but sticky ingredients, like honey, slide right out and the cups and spoons clean up easily.

Wear your tea towel

Tuck a tea towel or cloth into the waistband of your apron or pocket to wipe up small spills to stop them from becoming sticky blobs that need scrubbing later.

Be a multi-tasker

If you are a Mother, you should have mastered multi-tasking a long time ago. So while the water is boiling, load the dishwasher, while the oven is firing up, do a quick wipe down and while the rice is cooking, sweep the kitchen floor. You'll be amazed how much you can get done while cooking.

Turn on the dishwasher before bed

And lastly, flick the switch on your dishwasher before you go to bed.