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Home » For the Home » How to Clean the Refrigerator for the Holidays

How to Clean the Refrigerator for the Holidays

Cleaning

This post may contain affiliate links view our disclosure

When it comes to the holidays, a lot of new things come into the house. Everything from cookies and candy to new toys and clothes. If you’re having friends and family over, then cleaning is probably on your to-do list. Even if you’re not entertaining, you’re going to be enjoying a lot of delicious food and your refrigerator needs to be ready! Figuring out how to clean the refrigerator doesn’t have to be daunting!

Follow these five simple steps and you’ll have a refrigerator that is ready for all of those delicious holiday goodies.

This post has been sponsored by Art of Green®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Clean and empty refrigerator

HOW TO CLEAN THE REFRIGERATOR FOR THE HOLIDAYS

This year I’ve been tackling little projects and working to get our house feeling a bit cleaner and more organized. I’ve discovered that tackling the little areas that get disorganized and messy really helps. Plus it’s easier to stay on top of once you take care of it the first time.

The refrigerator is one of those things in my house that I feel like I organize and before you know it, it needs to be done again. November is the perfect time to tackle that project. The holidays are so much easier to handle when you have a clean fridge to put all of those holiday leftovers in!

Refrigerator full of food

CLEAR OUT THE OLD

Before you get to actually cleaning the refrigerator, taking an inventory of what you have inside is the smartest thing to do. No matter how often I think I’ve checked expiration dates, it always seems like I find plenty of items that we’ve missed the dates on.

Yogurt is one that gets me fairly often. A stray yogurt cup will get hidden behind something else and won’t get used. 

So the first step is to look in your refrigerator and get rid of any old leftovers, foods that have expired, or anything that might have gone bad. Set everything else off to the side to put back in the refrigerator when you’re done.

Cleaning refrigerator shelf with Art of Green cleaning wipes

CLEAN THE DRAWERS

Once you’ve cleared out the refrigerator, you’re ready to start cleaning. I always start with the drawers to get them out of the way and give them a chance to dry before I put them back in. Plus, it’s easier to clean the rest of the refrigerator when the drawers are out of the way.

If you take them out, you can also clean underneath them. I was surprised to discover that the inside of the refrigerator underneath our drawers was one of the dirtiest areas of our fridge!

Art of Green cleaning spray and cleaning wipes sitting in a refrigerator

Recently I started using Art of Green cleaning products and I’ve really enjoyed using them in our refrigerator. The products are 98% naturally derived with no harsh chemicals. The non-toxic formula is free of parabens, phthalates, glycol solvents, artificial
color or phosphates. The products are also dermatologically tested and safe for sensitive skin but still tough on dirt, grease, and grime.

Art of Green is available in:

  • Sprays
  • Wipes
  • Pourables

You can choose from Lavender Eucalyptus or Citrus & White Flowers scent for all three products.

Bottle of Art of Green cleaning spray

I’m a fan of the Art of Green Spray and Wipes in Citrus & White Flowers. I opt for the sprays and wipes because those are the types of cleaners I find myself reaching for most often. They also work great in the kitchen, especially the fridge.

So with my Art of Green Spray and Wipes in hand, cleaning the refrigerator is easy. 

For the drawers, I spray them with the Art of Green Spray and let it sit for about five minutes (perfect time to start working on the rest of the fridge), then wipe them down with water.

Hand using a cleaning wipe to wipe off a shelf in a refrigerator

WIPE DOWN SHELVES

Our refrigerator has large shelves and smaller bin shaped ones in the door. The Art of Green Wipes work well for the job. I’m able to easily wipe down the large shelves as well as the smaller bins. 

The wipes are easier than using bigger cleaning cloths which means I can get the cleaning down quicker!

I’ll be honest and admit that I hadn’t cleaned our fridge lately. I try to do it once every few months but it’s been awhile. It looked like it needed to be cleaned too.

Dirty refrigerator shelf

Although we’re not doing any holiday hosting this year, we will have a few friends over during the holidays. We’ll also have leftovers from meals with our family and goodies like candy and cookies!

So taking time to clean out the refrigerator really does make a difference.

Check out the shelf from the photo above after I cleaned it using Art of Green cleaning wipes.

Clean refrigerator shelf with a container of cleaning wipes sitting on the shelf below

ORGANIZE TO PREPARE

Once the inside of the refrigerator is clean, you’re ready to put everything back inside. If you’re trying to make more room for holiday food, keep that in mind. Before Thanksgiving, I usually do my best to organize the refrigerator to make room for the food I know I need to store before the big meal and the leftovers we’ll have for the few days after Thanksgiving too.

Two plastic Tupperware dishes of leftover food sitting in the refrigerator

This year I’ve been researching some different ways to organize and I think in the new year I’m going to try some organization hacks for the fridge too. I saw one where someone put small baskets with suction cups on the inside walls of the refrigerator to hold smaller items that seem to get lost. 

But that’s a project for the new year! 

Container of Art of Green cleaning wipes in front of an open refrigerator

MAKE THE OUTSIDE SHINE

Don’t forget to wipe down the outside of your appliances to make them all look clean and ready for the holidays.

The fresh scents of the Art of Green products are perfect for leaving your kitchen clean and smelling great!

Check out how nice our refrigerator is looking these days. I have to admit that I’m really thankful I followed my own advice on how to clean the refrigerator and got it done!

Clean and empty refrigerator

Art of Green cleaning products are available at H-E-B. Visit your local store to stock up and help get your home ready for the holidays.

I’m loving our refrigerator and cannot wait to have it filled with all of our favorite holiday foods!

Clean and organized refrigerator

ART OF GREEN GIVEAWAY

Thanks to our sponsor, Art of Green, one lucky reader will win a great Art of Green prize package!

The prize pack includes:

  • Art of Green products
  • $100 H-E-B gift card

It’s the perfect prize to help you get ready for the holidays! The giveaway is open to US residents, 18+, and ends on December 12, 2019.

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment on this post and tell me about your favorite holiday food or tradition!

For an extra entry, RT the tweet below and leave a comment with the link to your tweet!

Get your kitchen holiday-ready with help from @artofgreenhome & @thesimpleparent! Enter for your chance to win an #ArtofGreen prize pack that includes products & a $100 H-E-B gift card! Click to Tweet

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Steps for how to clean the refrigerator

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Filed Under: Cleaning

About Mariah

Mariah is the mom of 2 and a former educator (preschool - 4th grade & special education) with a degree in human development. As a busy mom living in with a multi-generational family under one roof (with 4 dogs!), life is sometimes chaotic! She aims to share easy ideas that we can all use in our lives! Read more about Mariah!

Comments

  1. Ramsey says

    November 21, 2019 at 12:09 pm

    I love this! Cleaning out my fridge is always on my to-do list. You always make things seem more manageable!

    Reply
  2. Anne Marie says

    November 21, 2019 at 4:47 pm

    Wow, your fridge looks great! My favorite Christmas treat would definitely be decorated gingerbread men!

    Reply
  3. Anne Marie says

    November 21, 2019 at 4:48 pm

    Link to my tweet https://twitter.com/familysweden/status/1197647884763697159

    Reply
  4. Stephanie Liske says

    November 21, 2019 at 8:55 pm

    I love Mashed Potatoes!

    Reply
  5. Heather Coil says

    November 22, 2019 at 8:13 am

    Omg Mariah! Love this post and I am obsessed with how clean your fridge turned out. Definitely need to try these products! My favorite holiday tradition is leftovers day after. We make a crescent roll ring stuffed with all the fixings that we dip in gravy. If you’ve never tried this I highly suggest it.

    Reply
  6. kathy Persons says

    November 22, 2019 at 10:47 am

    Grandmas Pecan pie is to die for

    Reply
  7. kathy Persons says

    November 22, 2019 at 10:49 am

    https://twitter.com/mkjmc/status/1197919439632646145

    Reply
  8. Lisa Davis says

    November 22, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    link to tweet https://twitter.com/abner232/status/1198000029006364673

    Reply
  9. Lisa Davis says

    November 22, 2019 at 4:08 pm

    My favorite holiday food is egg nog

    Reply
  10. Ashley c says

    November 23, 2019 at 6:28 am

    My favorite food is sweet potato casserole. My favorite tradition is looking at Christmas lights

    Reply
  11. Ali Celestino says

    November 23, 2019 at 6:18 pm

    My favorite Holiday food is stuffing, And the fridge looks super clean.

    Reply
  12. beth shepherd says

    November 25, 2019 at 7:10 pm

    Stuffing is my favorite. Thank you

    Reply
  13. Lisa says

    November 27, 2019 at 6:25 pm

    I love stuffed mushrooms and snowball cookies.

    Reply
  14. Lisa says

    November 27, 2019 at 6:25 pm

    I tweeted

    https://twitter.com/motioncitycutie/status/1199846558755373056

    Reply
  15. Tracie Cooper says

    November 29, 2019 at 6:31 pm

    Our favorite holiday tradition is driving around in our pajamas looking at Christmas lights and decorations! My favorite holiday dish is squash casserole!

    Reply
  16. Tracie Cooper says

    November 29, 2019 at 6:33 pm

    Tweeted about the giveaway as @tmcooper1972 on 11/29/2019

    Reply
  17. Leslie Davis says

    December 11, 2019 at 6:10 pm

    Favorite food is pecan pie

    Reply
  18. harold says

    December 18, 2019 at 7:23 pm

    Awesome article and tips, we just cleaned both of ours out.

    Reply

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Welcome!

My name is Mariah & I'm the mom of two. I'm a former educator (preschool - 4th grade & special education) with a degree in human development. I'm also a baseball mom & dance mom. We're a multi-generational family living under one roof (with two dogs!) With our busy lives, I aim to share easy ideas that we can all use in our lives!

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