Cathy Isom has some hints about how to get your refrigerator ready for all that holiday food. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
National Clean Out Refrigerator Day
What’s in your refrigerator? Has it been days, weeks, even months since you’ve opened some of those containers? Today is the day you’ll want to reach for the soap and a bucket filled with hot water and get to work. Because today is National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. And, you’ll need all the extra space for 
your Thanksgiving meal and also the leftovers. To get started, turn off your refrigerator and unplug it. Begin with your freezer. If you have an ice maker, toss all your ice and wash the ice bin by hand. If you have ice trays, toss the ice and put your trays in the dishwasher. Toss everything in your freezer except unopened boxes of frozen food. If you haven’t eaten your frozen leftovers by now, you never will. If you have curbside composting with your garbage service, you can compost your food and even paper towels, instead of throwing it all in the trash. If you have a backyard compost pile, only place fruits and veggie-based foods in it.
Now on to the fridge. Work your way down starting from the top shelf and toss all of leftovers. One shelf at a time, pull every food product out of your fridge, tossing or composting it if it’s expired or the sell by date isn’t within the last two weeks. Soak each refrigerator shelf in your sink and scrub it well with a sponge. Spray the interior walls of your refrigerator and freezer and their doors with a good antibacterial cleanser. Now all that’s left is to make a list of what to buy … now that you’ve tossed everything. And lastly, clear the front and sides of your fridge by throwing away or storing all of the paperwork and wipe down the doors and sides – leaving only magnets up.