I hate this chore, I really do. And though I will sit here and tell you how important it is, I can safely do so since none of you can see inside of mine!
When food spoils, especially meats, bacteria reproduces quickly and can taint other foods. In addition to being disgusting and inedible, it makes your refrigerator stink. A smell refrigerator is a guaranteed appetite killer….great for those on a diet though.
Ideally, it’s not wise to let leftovers sit for more than a week. Weekends are a great time to purge unused leftovers. If you have a garbage disposal you’re in luck, if you don’t, take out the trash when you’re done or your kitchen will reek. This may be all you need to do. If your refrigerator is mottled with stains and spills, it needs to be cleaned.
Once all the food is out wash down the inside with soapy water. Don’t forget the seal around the door; crumbs somehow always manage to find their way in there. Combined with moisture, it quickly turns into sludge…gross. Wipe down the inside again to rinse it out and leave it open for a few to dry out.
It’s really that simple. If you have mold or extensive staining, it can be a bigger process, but if not, don’t waste more time on it than you have to.
I keep a box of baking soda in my refrigerator to help combat potential smells. It really does help. Replace it every few weeks and it will at least smell cleaner than it really is, so if you happen to be one of those people who puts cleaning the refrigerator on the back burner, you at least won’t have to be greeted with bad odors next time you want a snack.

When my step daughter moved in with us, we had one bathroom in the house at the time. Eager to demonstrate her cleaning prowess she pulls out this plastic wand with some gel stuck inside. At a glance, I wasn’t impressed, though I wouldn’t say it to her face without sarcasm and a grin. “That’s, um…great!”
She looked at me and motioned towards the bathroom. Apparently this piece of plastic stamps a small and quite decorative piece of gel onto your toilet bowl. Each time you flush, it wears some of this gel off and cleans as well as deodorizes the toilet.
OK, she wins..I was a bit impressed. The bathroom smelled clean and fresh without me having to do much (a win in my book) and the toilet always looked clean. For those who don’t care for cleaning the toilet…which I imagine not many of us do, this is a great way to help out.

If you burn more than you actually “cook” (that’s why I can’t ever have a cooking blog…it’s be filled with pictures of Ramen and bologna sandwiches), you have probably dealt with the grease that gets stuck on the bottom of the pan like it’s on a personal mission to never leave. I found the coolest trick that I can’t wait to try.

Fill the pan with water and place a fabric softener sheet in it. You can also dump in some of the liquid fabric softener instead. Leave it until tomorrow and voila! The fabric softener demagnetizes the grease and frees it from the pan.

I’m making greasy food tonight just so I can try this out, I’ll let you know how it goes!

I remember walking into a gas station bathroom once…..I know, any story that starts this way is never good……and the inside of the toilet was bright red. To make matters worse, the sink had a sizable red stain from the faucet all the way down to the drain. I’m not the squeamish type nor am I a germaphobe, but come on!


After some research to ease my mind I discovered that these are nothing more than rust stains. Still, no less gross looking, but at least now I can tell myself it’s really not blood! If your toilet is sporting similar stains it’s actually not that difficult to get rid of.

Try pouring a can of Coca-Cola into the bowl and leave it there all night without flushing. I kind of thought this idea sounded like fun until I put some thought into it. Perhaps not being able to flush use the bathroom all night isn’t fun….

The acidity of the Coke will make the stains a lot easier to scrub out in the morning. I have read this countless times, but have never dealt with this type of stain myself. If anyone tries it, let me know how it works!

I have a friend who could cook an entire five course meal and walk out of her kitchen in twenty minutes or less leaving it looking like she was never there to begin with. I, am nothing like my dear friend. I can walk into my kitchen it contemplate cooking and it seems to magically become dirty at the very thought. Tonight for example, I really thought I had done a pretty good job at cleaning the kitchen after dinner only to come in later and notice that my walls are now sporting some pretty unsightly grease splatters. Go figure.

So, I guess it’s time to take all that knowledge of cleaning and actually put it to some good use. For those of you who share my grease stained wall dilemma, allow me to take a moment to share.

Grease is easily removed with a number of things that might already be in your kitchen. Lemons and white vinegar are both just acidic enough to cut through grease buildup.

Baking soda makes a great paste and deodorizes as well.

Dish soap is a given, I suppose, but I must say that the grease cutting variety works a whole lot better.

There are also a ridiculous number of products you can buy at the store that boast “all purpose” and “multi surface”. Be careful with these. Some of them may be a little harsher than your walls or paint can handle. Always test it out in an indiscrete place first….Indiscrete does not mean the middle of your wall….this is a bad idea and you may hate yourself later for it.

Ok…so now that we’re all versed on getting rid of the nasty greasy buildup from the walls, I’m going to march into that kitchen as soon as I’m done writing, grab a bottle of water, stare in disgust at that grease…..and clean it up tomorrow.