Dear FlyLady,

I have an area I need help in and haven’t found it anywhere on your website: The Refrigerator!

Refrigerator clutter can be evil. I’ll bet I’m not the only one. I’ll bet the advanced ones are at the swish and swipe level, but I need advice more on the archaeological approach…Can you give us a page on the upbeat to give us courage to venture in?

Flybaby in the Kitchen

Dear Scared FlyBaby and the rest of you,

It is time to clear out those leftovers. I bagged everything up in Zip Lock Bags and I will be putting the veggies in the freezer for a pot of soup next week.

Don’t be afraid; it really isn’t that bad when you get started. As with most things we procrastinate about; we blow the job out of proportion in our minds. If the truth be told; most jobs only take a few minutes.

As you know, Wednesday is always anti-procrastination day. What better day to tackle a dreaded job! Besides we need to take stock of what leftovers need to be used and what we needs to be purchased. This will give us room to put away our groceries.

Things will never get as bad as it is right now; when you use Anti-Procrastination Day.

Now for those of you who have been putting this off.

Set your timer for 15 minutes.

Start with a sink full of hot soapy water.

Utilized a big Ziplock bag for the science projects. This way you can freeze them for trash day and they will not stink up your trash can. We live in the woods, so I can take one dish at a time and toss the contents over the back fence. I am careful not to toss onions in case our dogs out of of the fence. Then I wash the dish in the sink. If need be I put the rinsed dish in the dishwasher to sanitize it.

As you are doing this notice what you are having to throw away. My Granny always said any food that you put int the trash is like throwing dollar bills in the garbage. Our goal is to plan for leftovers and use them.

When we are in Zone 2, that is the time for us to do a little detailed cleaning of our refrigerator; wipe down a shelf or clear off the refrigerator magnets.

I guess we really do have a swish and swipe for our refrigerators. Every day when you start supper; check to see what needs to be used up from your refrigerator. This will keep things from spoiling.

Are you planning your menus? This will help you to stay on top of what needs to be cooked. You can save a lot of money by menu planning from the contents of your freezer. With the busy summer just around the corner this could help you with a little extra money.

If you have never menu planned; keep a diary of what you eat every night on your calendar. You can utilize your calendar to plan your menus for the next month. We have succeeded at eating at home this whole month except for Robert’s birthday when we went to dinner with friends.