A CLEAN REFRIGERATOR WITH A COOL TIP

I had my family visiting for a week, and well we emptied my refrigerator.  Seriously, the shelves were bare.  While Billy wasn’t thrilled with this (because he’s a snacker); I was because it made it so much easier to clean my refrigerator out… I’m not gonna lie, it was time.

Here my fridge has been emptied out and wiped down.  Were you hoping to see the dirty refrigerator?  I can tell you, that will never happen!

Ya know what I hate about cleaning the refrigerator?  It’s that when I take the shelves out and wash them, I end up with water all over the dang floor! 

So a while back I had seen this really cool trick on a fellow bloggers Facebook page.

 

You may know Amber and her terrific blog, Sprinkled with Flour.  This girl cooks and bakes and has the prettiest photos of her creations, if you haven’t already you should check her out!  

Any hoo, about the trick…  It’s plastic place mats as refrigerator shelf liners!  

I got these thin, plastic place mats at Ikea, I think they were two bucks for a set of four.  They make perfect shelf liners.  I needed two sets to line all my shelves.

I lined each shelf with two place mats.

I love this, because rather than taking out the entire shelf to wash I can just remove the place mats and wash them.  Who ever thought of this is really, really clever! (That's two reallys!)

Here all the shelves are lined.

I lined my drawers with paper towels.  This absorbs any liquid that may come from the produce.

Before I store my herbs in the produce drawers I wash them and spin them dry in the salad spinner.   I lay them in a single layer on some paper towels.  I loosely roll them into a log.  Then I place that log into a plastic bag, but I don't close the bag up, it's good for some air to reach the herbs.

 

I also lined the shelves on the door with paper towel.

My cheese drawer is NEVER empty.

I like to keep nuts in the refrigerator.  I buy these big bags of pine nuts at Costco, they end up being way less expensive than the grocery store...just in case you weren't aware.

Now that the fridge is clean, I've restocked it!  Billy will be pleased to see a full fridge.

Did this post remind you that it’s time to clean your fridge?  Do you hate me for reminding you?  Just think, once it’s done and you’ve lined the shelves, you really won’t have to do a major refrigerator cleaning for a long time.  Then you may just love me for making your life so much simpler!

I'M SORRY I'VE NEGLECTED YOU

I ‘m so sorry to have been neglecting you, I’ve had a lot going on lately, but you’ve been on my mind.  I will have a recipe for you really soon.

This is what’s been going on. 

 

Our beloved Lucy was sick and passed away last Wednesday, so I haven't been much into cooking.  Lucy was our first ever cat, she made us into cat people.  She opened us up to a love that we never knew existed.  We miss her dearly and remember her fondly.

Speaking of cats… One of our two remaining kitties has been marking, so I have been like a mad woman looking for and cleaning up after whoever it is.  

Is it the innocent looking Sweet Pea  a.k.a.Devil Pea?

Or is it the new baby Matidla?  Look at that face..."It wasn't me?"

 

 Either way, no body's talking.  Oh, the joys of integrating a new furry member into the family.

I also decided it was time to tackle the guest room. 

The color was too dark for the amount of sunlight that penetrates this room.  The windows face west and north, so most of the day there's not much light.

So I decided to lighten and brighten it with a Robin's Egg blue.  Even at night it looks brighter.

I am a bit of a perfectionist, so it’s not a matter of slapping some paint on the walls and calling it a day.  The prep and priming alone took most of a day (lots of wall repair, arrgh).  I have one more coat of paint to apply to the trim and I will be done!

I also have lots more spring cleaning and projects lined up, but I will be able to get some cooking and blogging done in between those.  I have some really great posts coming up for Easter!

Thanks for being so patient with me.  I really, truly appreciate you all!