Cold Case: The Refrigerator Job

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Usually cleaning is cathartic for me.  It helps me clear my head of all the frivolous things that I make bother me.  Outside of exercising, I would have to say that cleaning is my favorite way to decompress and reduce my anxiety.  I don’t know, there’s just something about being able to start a task and have instant results.  You pick up toys and voila, living room de-cluttered!  Unless of course it’s refrigerator cleaning day.  I dread this day.  I swear it’s akin to getting a root canal with no drugs.

I literally have to prep myself to dive in and deal with whatever surprises have built up since the last time I cleaned it.  Now my refrigerator isn’t terribly big and it’s not like hoarder dirty.  My annoyance with this chore comes from the ridiculous things I find when completing this task.  Like five empty glasses behind the water pitcher.  Really?  The sink is two steps away.  My son usually tells me he is saving it.  He hasn’t quite been able to tell me exactly why he is saving it.

Then there are the cups that get knocked over and spill every where.  No one ever wipes it up.  As far as I know, there is no mechanism that kicks in to automatically guzzle up spills in the fridge.  I wish there was.  Then maybe it would get the drops of chocolate syrup and ketchup that mysteriously gets stuck on the shelf.

The leftovers situation drives me batty all the time.  I can’t stand clutter so I have no problem throwing things away.  However, I might be raising some hoarders (who are slightly influenced by dad).  They save everything!  When we go out to dinner, my youngest will have two bites left of his meal and will have a fit if we don’t get a to- go box.  You know what happens once that box goes in the fridge? It gets lost behind the multitude of cups only to be found on cleaning day.  That’s when I hear “so that’s where that went.”  Where else would it have gone I wonder?

The other thing I find puzzling is the collection of condiments that litter the door of our refrigerator.  I typically find ketchup packets, little containers with butter, salsa, pancake syrup, and a variety of sauces.  The funny thing is we have large bottles of ketchup, syrup, salsa, and at least two tubs of margarine.  Why do we save the little containers? I’m almost positive there will never be a ketchup shortage.

I get that it’s hard to let go sometimes, but you can’t make room for new wonderful things if you are holding on to things you don’t need.  Now that the fridge is free of all the useless condiments, I can make room for a truly divine slice of carrot cake from my favorite bakery.  What are you holding on to that’s preventing you from receiving the blessings waiting for you?  Whatever it is, it’s time to let it go.