Well, I will admit, it is a lesser known holiday, that’s for sure. The origins of it supposedly derive from Whirlpool, a leading manufacturer of refrigerators (whoddathunk?). Though I theorize that, in fact, the idea of cleaning out your fridge just before Thanksgiving might allow more room for leftovers?

It’s a thought. At any rate, in honor of this national holiday, I present you with some tips for cleaning out your fridge.

Step one, first things first. Remove everything (and I do mean everything, even the lowly little ketchup packets stuck in the bottom of one of the refrigerator doors shelves) and place on the counter. Toss out anything that is past its expiration date (obviously) and then throw out anything (ingredients, etc) that you haven’t used in months. The idea is to free up as much space as possible, not merely put everything back after a thorough cleaning.

Step two; systematically go through the fridge with a damp paper towel or rag that has a 1 part rubbing alcohol to 8 parts water solution on it. Go over all the shelves, run it through the drawers and clean the back. Get rid of all food residues.

Step three, using another clean damp paper towel or rag spritzed with the same cleaning solution, (mentioned above) clean the sides and bottoms of the food containers you have opted to keep.

Step four, before putting back all your food stuffs, take a moment to pause and see if your fridge may benefit from a better system. Would it make more sense to put meat and other protein perishables in the bottom drawer, versus the top shelf next to the soda for example?

Finally, after putting everything back, make sure to use another clean damp paper towel or rag spritzed with the same cleaning solution to clean the front and sides of the outside of the fridge too.