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Cleaning Up:  Cleaning out the refrigerator  |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 22 2007 : 8:48:34 PM
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I am about ready to just empty it out of EVERYTHING and start over. There is so much stuff in there I can't find anything, and half of it is spoiled because I haven't been home much lately.
Do you girls have a routine for cleaning out the refrigerator?
How often do you throw out things like soy sauce, olives, relish, mustard, worcestershire sauce, tabasco, etc. when they've been in the door of the fridge for seemingly years?
For example, I've been married 5 years, and I KNOW I brought the soy sauce with me from my previous house. How long can you keep it? Is it good forever?
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Jana
True Blue Farmgirl
482 Posts
Jana
Eau Claire
Wisconsin
USA
482 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2007 : 12:57:10 AM
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I wish I did have a schedule for cleaning the fridge but I can't say I get really excited about cleaing a 27 year old one. I generally wipe little spills as they happen.
As for throwing things out, I follow the expiration date. Except for cheese and buttermilk, which are fine until moldy. I also keep pickled things a long time. I'm not so sure about soy sauce or worcestershire, but since they are so salty, I'm thinking they would last a long time, also.
Jana |
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doglady
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Tina
Howard
Ohio
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2007 : 05:23:22 AM
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Brenda, I think your soy sauce might qualify as an experiment. LOL I might have some tarter sauce packets that old just as well. It seems like my fridge always needs cleaned out. Like Jana, it's hard to get excited about cleaning out an old fridge. Mine is only 26 years old.
Tina
The dogs own the house but the people pay the mortgage!
www.kennelcreations.com |
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PlumCreekMama
True Blue Farmgirl
730 Posts
Heather
Iowa
USA
730 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2007 : 09:38:25 AM
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| A couple years ago when my grandpa had a stroke and went to the hospital, my mom and I were cleaning his house and when we cleaned out the fridge, we found a jar of tartar sauce that expired in 1987. Mom said grandpa doesn't eat tartar sauce, so that was grandma's, who passed away in January of 1988. That was the oldest thing I have ever found in a fridge. He also had towels in the way back of the linen closet that were still folded by my grandma. Grandpa didn't fold any of the towels, he just threw them in there. There were so many towels, he never used them all, hence the ones that haven't been touched in 20 years. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2007 : 11:30:54 AM
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Wow, Heather! That makes me think I need to go clean out my fridge just for good measure!
I would toss all the condiments and everything on their expiration date as well or if they start smelling funky. But if you are nervous about it now, you won't ever use it so you might as well toss it and start over again.
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for typing, one hand to hold Nora!
http://home.test-afl.tulix.com/aleeandnora/ |
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levisgrammy
True Blue Farmgirl
9329 Posts
Denise
Beavercreek
Ohio
USA
9329 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2007 : 2:13:59 PM
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I can't believe you all have had your refrigerators that long. Must not make em like they used to. My schedule is to clean it when I can no longer fit any thing else on the shelves. ;)
"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof and all that dwell therein."
www.torismimi.blogspot.com |
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joyfulmama
True Blue Farmgirl
1175 Posts
Debra
Silver Springs
NV
USA
1175 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2007 : 4:33:11 PM
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We just moved a couple of months ago. We had to leave a fridge behind..  I have 6 children- I was easily able to fill 2 fridges every 2 weeks. Now it is just the one fridge.. I don't buy near as much produce as I did before because I just don't have the room to store it.. I miss my other fridge!!!this one is packed!
blessings,debra |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4738 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4738 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2007 : 12:13:09 PM
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My husbands parents just finished a jar of Persian pickle relish that was 32 years old! They claim it lasts forever! I wouldn't want any, but none of them got sick! Then again, there's the Chinese 100 year old pickled eggs that people back big bucks for!
I for one hate cleaning out my fridge. I only do it when the spills get out of hand!
Dawn in IL |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2007 : 7:33:06 PM
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EEUUWWW - you have me beat. I don't think any of my relish is more than 2 years old!
I have been working on the fridge tonight, and there were a lot more mushy cucumbers in there than I want to admit... Yuck...
I wonder if I can get some of those clear bins to replace my opaque ones? Do you think the sizes would be close enough? Don't know if I would actually use stuff up more if it wasn't hiding behind closed doors....
Or maybe I should just buy a new refrigerator!!!!!!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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tiffany01
True Blue Farmgirl
134 Posts
Tiffany
Indiana
USA
134 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2007 : 10:03:05 AM
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| Last month I went to class about mustards at our Botanical Gardens (they give monthly free classes during lunch hour) and my favorite factoid to tell people is that MUSTARD NEVER GOES BAD. It may dry up (simply reconstitute with a little water) or lose it's flavor but it will never become unsafe. The woman sitting next to me lived in Germany during WWII and she said she still never refrigerates her mustard because they ate so many mustard sandwiches during the war and didn't have a 'fridge so she figures it must be ok. Anyway, I thought I'd share that so you could at least save the mustard when you're going through your refrigerator. |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
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babysmama
True Blue Farmgirl
931 Posts
Elizabeth
Iowa
931 Posts |
Posted - Aug 28 2007 : 11:02:47 AM
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I'm glad to hear that mustard never goes bad! I left soe out on the counter for two whole days and was about to throw it away but will save it now!
-Elizabeth |
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levisgrammy
True Blue Farmgirl
9329 Posts
Denise
Beavercreek
Ohio
USA
9329 Posts |
Posted - Aug 28 2007 : 4:34:44 PM
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I keep my mustard in the fridge just because I like it cold.
my mom stores her mustard in the cupboard never the fridge. Has for years. She says there is nothing in it that can go bad
"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof and all that dwell therein."
www.torismimi.blogspot.com |
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abbasgurl
True Blue Farmgirl
1262 Posts
Rhonda
USA
1262 Posts |
Posted - Aug 28 2007 : 9:24:25 PM
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Off to clean the fridge...
I'm a one girl revolution. |
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sweetthunder214
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
theresa
smithville
tx
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - Aug 29 2007 : 04:53:26 AM
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| I clean mine out when I get like you.. if I cant find a place to put stuff its time to clean it out. If its left-overs I tell the family eat them tonight or you will be eating them again tomorrow! If its just too many condiments I try to combine them. Somehow there is always two of something opened in there. Good luck. |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Aug 29 2007 : 07:42:32 AM
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Tiffany is right about the mustard factoid. In fact, I don't refrigerate mine, either. Hate cold mustard.
I clean out the fridge everytime I go to the grocery--mostly because I am adept in buying multiple dairy items--half and half, sour cream and whipping cream, some that have been opened, some that haven't, some that have been opened and turned into a science experiment. I toss out everything that is past it's date except for eggs, unless they are REALLY passed their date (a few days is alright with me). I clean up spills as they happen. I also clean out all of the containers of leftovers. If I haven't touched them in a week, I'm not gonna. Then I suddenly have more dishes!!!!
The only thing I don't clean out of the fridge is a coke can that dh left there when he first moved into the house after we married. We got it from the machine at the Uhaul place, and it was the only thing that wasn't sold out. We shared the coke while we were moving in his things, and the can remains in the fridge as a reminder of that first day of our life together--when I bought a new fridge and changed everything over, the coke can came too.
"She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian. |
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Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
Posted - Aug 29 2007 : 08:20:37 AM
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Awwwww, what a neat remembrance, Jonni!
BTW, I usually clean out the fridge the night before trash day, or right before I do a big shop, or when I am clearing it out before we are going out of town for more than a day or two.
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Aug 29 2007 : 10:53:21 AM
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What a good idea Jo!
Here is a cleaning tip- Use an old tooth brush and some non-gel toothpaste to scrub the rubber seal around the fridge door. It usually catches dust, food particles, and grease from the air. It can become a prime bacteria and fungus breeding ground. Luckily they are easy to clean when you have an old toothbrush laying around. :)
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for typing, one hand to hold Nora!
http://home.test-afl.tulix.com/aleeandnora/ |
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Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
Posted - Aug 29 2007 : 3:57:18 PM
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Good tip, Alee! I always keep the old toothbrushes around for cleaning...so I really have no excuses to try this one out!
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
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doglady
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Tina
Howard
Ohio
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Sep 11 2007 : 2:21:43 PM
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Thanks everyone! After reading the posts, I decided to tackle my refrigerator today and now I have a really clean one. Of course, there's not much food in there now but it's ready for some new experiments ; )
Tina
The dogs own the house but the people pay the mortgage!
www.kennelcreations.com |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Sep 13 2007 : 08:39:07 AM
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After finding out what kind of bacteria, fungus and viruses can live in a common kitchen I think I am going to become a clean-freak. Oh my word! Did you know that salmonella can cause meningitis in children?!
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for typing, one hand to hold Nora!
http://home.test-afl.tulix.com/aleeandnora/ |
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Cleaning Up: Cleaning out the refrigerator |
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Cleaning out the refrigerator
