Has it been a week already? It seems like just yesterday I was recovering from all those sore kitchen-cleaning muscles, and now I've got sore muscles and pruny fingertips all over again... I had planned on starting a new weekly mission today, but because this kitchen thing is still quite shaky - I'm giving it a second whirl tonight - I think I'll wait on the new mission for another week. The kitchen is about 2/3 of the way done and that's taken me 1 3/4 hours. Last week, the same amount of work took me about 2 hours. So I'm gaining! I've got more work to do, but it's getting late and I still have some evening chores, so I'll finish the kitchen tomorrow morning.
I'm not quite convinced that the refrigerator really needs a thorough cleaning every week, but I'm trying to stay open to the idea and see if it has any surprises for me. It really is useful to take this opportunity once a week to empty the fridge of leftovers that are past their prime, produce that needs to go, and other items that may have expired. This Friday, I wiped down the exterior as well as the interior and was pretty skeeved to find how dirty the side of the fridge had become. It's one of those surfaces I walk by several dozen times a day and had never really noticed how much it needed cleaning! The refrigerator is shining now, along with the range.
Speaking of the range, did you know some of these appliances come with a little metal thingie under the stovetop which can hold it up as you clean underneath? Just like popping up the hood of a car! I had no idea it was there - but it comes in very handy. So did the steel wool I picked up last weekend to clean the drip pans this time. They're not spotless yet, but much shinier than last time 'round.
You know, it occurs to me that housewives who cleaned the outsides of their refrigerators on a weekly basis would probably find it easier not to keep any magnets or other odds and ends stuck all over it. I've always thought refrigerators with a little decor, shall we say, made a kitchen feel more cozy, but it sure takes a heck of a lot of time to remove all that decor in order to clean what's behind it! Let's just say some of that decor didn't make the cut this week.
8 comments:
I'm hearing you - the more I clean, the less clutter I'm willing to accomodate. I am heading towards a life of minimalism with no open shelves to dust. I never thought I would come to this...
Your words explain my reasons for decluttering and streamlining, too!
My ultimate goal is for the house to be pretty, functional, comfortable, and EASY TO CLEAN. At one point a few years ago, I had an entire tea set (pot, cups, saucers, sandwich plates, etc.!) on top of my little buffet.
Now I have two lanterns and a bowl with apples. MUCH easier to clean.
On my blog I've quoted William Morris who said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." Function and beauty.
I clean my frig once a week, and for all the reasons you noted. It is VERY easy to clean because I don't have to scrub. I quickly wipe it out with the cleaner and put everything back in, minus the things that don't belong. It takes 15 minutes, at most.
Before you can reach maintenance level, you have to get rid of the unnecessary items and get things to a place of cleanliness you want to maintain!
Good for you! Keep up the good work! I did have to laugh about you discovering that the range top lifts up. Sorry. (That was such a wonderful help when we could start unplugging the burners and lifting the range top!)
Note to you and other commenters: I love Arts and Crafts style houses, except I'm really not into the Arts and Crafts movement as such. I would like my circa 1918-1920 bungalow a lot better if it had some available storage. (Sheesh, even people in 1920 needed a place to store an extra set of bedding.)
I don't want to get rid of anything, so one goal I have is to get nice display cabinets with tight fitting glass doors. Maybe someday. Sigh. :)
IT is funny as I too now clean my fridge every Sunday, and believe me it needs it. I alway displiked magnets and things on the fridge and now with more cleaning feel the same way. Once I have my lovely vintage fridge painted and installed in my kitchen, I will be so proud of it (probably like a real 50s housewife) I will look forward to cleaning and keeping it nice. No magnets on my new baby! I also laughed when I read about the stove. I never knew that about stoves either until this year. I lifted it up and thought, "Oh, so that is where all the spilled and dropped items go!" I, too, use steel wool on the little burner trays. I also put them in the dishwasher, of course that is a 1950s option but not so much a 1940s option.
Jo and Roxanne, yes - we certainly become less accommodating of clutter when it has to be cleaned under and behind every week --- not to mention being dusted itself! Once you become dedicated not just to cleaning around something, it's guaged with a new eye. Just this week, I got ride of four decorative chickens that my sister had lent me when I first moved here and my apartment was bare and stark. I don't particularly like 'em, they make cleaning the back of the range a pain... Out they went (with her blessing, of course)!
Packrat, laugh away! Even my mom laughed when I told her what I'd discovered. :)
50s gal, I'll be very interested to learn how things go once you get your new fridge cleaned up and moved into place. Will you find it hard to fit the same amount of food inside that we fit in our modern appliances? I keep having to remind myself that - at least in the '40s - they didn't have any storage space in the refrigerator door, so all those condiment-type things would have to find space on the shelves.
Does any one know if kitchen Jubilee wax ( white in a glass bottle ) still is available? This was the wax we used to keep from having to clean the fridge and stove so often. The dust just rolls of and the finger prints are nearly none.
I haven't heard of Jubilee myself, but housekeepers were awfully fond of wax in the '40s. I vaguely recall Harlow Wilcox mentioning waxing appliances in his ads for Johnson's Wax on "Fibber McGee and Molly." I wonder if the build-up would be hard to clean up after awhile...
You can use a good car wax or Gelgloss to wax the fridge(not stainless steel, but you vintagey ladies wouldn't have that!). It is helpful in keeping fingerprints etc to a minimum. You only have to do it once or twice a year.
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