@mike808 isn’t that what chest freezers are for? It’s always fun to shop for them by telling a stranger they look about the right size and asking them if they will let you see if they fit inside.
They didn’t ask how often you clean your fridge, they asked how often you clean it out, which I interpret to mean How often do you throw dead food away. Weekly. However, I rarely clean the fridge. I admit it.
@Fuzzalini exactly what i was going to say - i clean mine out every week either the day before or day of grocery shopping, which lines up with when we put trash out.
i would say i actually take out all the shelves and wash it all in soapy hot water once a year or every other. i’m more of a spot clean person if i come across any spills or crumbs or whatever.
That’s sort of a rolling target. Stuff goes in, other stuff comes out. I virtually never clean the entire fridge at one time. Spills get wiped up when they happen (or get noticed) food that gets to be unrecognizable/inedible gets tossed when discovered. We try to use the FIFO method of inventory control.
Sometimes when I am taking out the trash, and the bag has room for more stuff, I remember about the things in the fridge that are… distressingly ripened.
The previous owners of my house left their fridge, a really nice Kenmore Elite side-by-side. About 8 years into my home ownership, one of the light bulbs went out so I decided to replace it. The refrigerator side has two bulbs, an upper and a lower. The lower bulb is behind this plastic shroud that has to be removed. I removed the shroud and found a nice little present. One of those individually wrapped cheese sticks. Looked like one of these:
It was all shriveled and curved up, presumably from being so dried out, but it still looked like a cheese stick. No mold, and it was still orange and somewhat pliable. I have no idea how long it had been in there, but it had to be at least 8 years, because we don’t buy those cheese sticks.
When something has leaked potentially dangerous substances…
@duodec Do not suggest that batteries would do this. Just don’t go there.
@shahnm
/giphy leaky batteries
When I need to make room for more batteries.
I have never cleaned out my fridge. When one dies, I empty it and haul it to the dump, but I don’t think that counts.
This, except mine’ll get hauled away & recycled by the folks who deliver the new 1 (in 6 days
)
When the smell quells my appetite. Eventually it overcomes my hunger.
I take a little bit out every day.
@lazyideas Ah. Like bowels.
When items I try to take out are stuck to the shelf due to my kids spilling and not cleaning up the mess. Biweekly I’d say…
When I have more than one shelf full of baking soda boxes to absorb the horrid scents on the others.
I cleaned mine the hard way last week. It broke down, I put it on the curb, it disappeared, and I bought a new one. Clean fridge.
@moondrake I wouldn’t call that the hard way. The expensive way, yes, but probably among the easiest of ways.
Unless that trip out to the curb is a bitch.
When you need to make room for another body.
@mike808 isn’t that what chest freezers are for? It’s always fun to shop for them by telling a stranger they look about the right size and asking them if they will let you see if they fit inside.
@djslack @mike808 I thought the chest freezer was for the chest; where do you put the limbs/head?
When people who come in the house ask,
“What’s that smell?”
/youtube can you smell that smell
They didn’t ask how often you clean your fridge, they asked how often you clean it out, which I interpret to mean How often do you throw dead food away. Weekly. However, I rarely clean the fridge. I admit it.
@Fuzzalini exactly what i was going to say - i clean mine out every week either the day before or day of grocery shopping, which lines up with when we put trash out.
i would say i actually take out all the shelves and wash it all in soapy hot water once a year or every other. i’m more of a spot clean person if i come across any spills or crumbs or whatever.
The uncleaned fridge and his conflict with the cleaning lady was a wonderful side story in the book Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.
There’s a great scene at the end wherein the fridge attains sentience.
Monthly. My fridge is for keeping food fresh, not for challenging me at backgammon.
@PocketBrain Admit it, you’re just afraid you might lose.
Technically, I never clean the fridge. My spouse does that chore.
That’s sort of a rolling target. Stuff goes in, other stuff comes out. I virtually never clean the entire fridge at one time. Spills get wiped up when they happen (or get noticed) food that gets to be unrecognizable/inedible gets tossed when discovered. We try to use the FIFO method of inventory control.
Sometimes when I am taking out the trash, and the bag has room for more stuff, I remember about the things in the fridge that are… distressingly ripened.
Not so infrequently that I need a 55 gallon trash bag to do so!
@rtjhnstn What? Your freezer isn’t full of UFO’s (unidentifiable frozen objects) that need tossed due to freezer burn?
@Kidsandliz @rtjhnstn that’s what the meh Foodsaver vacuum packer is for!
I clean it when I notice something looks messy. I cull items a few times a week.
Gross story alert:
The previous owners of my house left their fridge, a really nice Kenmore Elite side-by-side. About 8 years into my home ownership, one of the light bulbs went out so I decided to replace it. The refrigerator side has two bulbs, an upper and a lower. The lower bulb is behind this plastic shroud that has to be removed. I removed the shroud and found a nice little present. One of those individually wrapped cheese sticks. Looked like one of these:
It was all shriveled and curved up, presumably from being so dried out, but it still looked like a cheese stick. No mold, and it was still orange and somewhat pliable. I have no idea how long it had been in there, but it had to be at least 8 years, because we don’t buy those cheese sticks.
And, no, I didn’t open it!
@jsh139 I wouldn’t have been able to resist the urge to try at least one. 8-year-old cheddar? That’s the kind of stuff people pay top dollar for!
@Dweezle it was only one stick. I regret not at least opening it. I also didn’t take a picture. Total failure on my part.
I pretty much just don’t put food in it to begin with.