Top of the Fridge

My kitchen is small. To me it can sometimes feel excrutiatingly small. I suppose in actual floor size, it's pretty average, but there are so very few cupboards that some items are permanently on surfaces. And I LOVE clear surfaces, so this is a constant source of visual clutter for me, even when the things are tidy. So, I just have to live with this (until we move or do a renovation!). So, the next few posts will be a tour around my kitchen, little bit by little bit. In general, the kitchen is pretty well organised. It just sometimes gets a little messy or disordered. So, I regularly do "supercleans" - intensive cleaning - but only in one area at a time. This keeps it manageable, satisfying (because it always gets finished), and easy to walk away from if I have to (this is REAL life, after all, and things do suddenly happen...). So, step one is the "Top of the Fridge". Firstly, I confess, I'm short (about 153cm), so I actually can't see on top of my fridge. This is my excuse for having a fridge which looks like this: It is the place where we keep our breakfast cereals, paper towels, spare tissue boxes and a couple of other items (including some medication). The photo shows that recently we've acquired one more regular (no pun intended) cereal to our two basics, plus some dried fruit. And, the actual surface has acquired a layer of that horrible greasy dust that kitchen surfaces can if left untended.

1. Now, the first rule of a decent cleanout is always "Start with a clear space". So, all the bits had to come off the fridge, onto the bench.


2. Clean the surface: with a clean cloth and some basic cleaner (or white vinegar & water), spray and wipe the entire top of the fridge, including the seals and hinges (I love old toothbrushes for fiddly areas). Be very gentle when scrubbing fridge surfaces, as you don't want to scratch the surface. Always dry the whole thing off before you restock the space.


3. Clean & sort the "stuff": I went through and cleaned each cereal box (just a basic wipe. These are used daily, so they're pretty clean!) I also bought one more container and decanted the boxed cereal into it. I love matching containers. I also threw away unneeded packaging (eg around the multi-pack of tissues), and put the dried fruit back with similar items inside the pantry. I wiped down the other few bits as well.


4. Throw away rubbish.


5. Put it back in a logical & useable order: The cereal boxes are used daily, so they're at the front. The paper towel roll is also used fairly frequently, so it's next. The spare items (tissues, paper towels, and the vacuum cleaner head) and medication (which we hopefully won't need for much longer) are to the side/back, but still near the edge so Shortie (me) can reach them when required.

So, a mini-organise/tidy to start off. There will be more to come.