refrigerator

I've been resisting taking Fly Lady's advice on housekeeping, but this afternoon I happened to see on her Facebook page a challenge to clean out refrigerators. Not the inside, just the outside. I have been wanting to do this for some time. I've even tried to talk my hubby into buying a stainless steel refrigerator so I don't have the option to put anything on the refrigerator since magnets won't stick to that metal. I am a visual person and like to have a pleasant environment. It really influences how I feel when I'm in a room. After removing everything and scrubbing the refrigerator, I was going to put a few things back, but it looks so nice I thought I'd at least try having a bare refrigerator for a few days.

The first photo is how it looked before I started cleaning. I had several drawings and projects that Mateo has done for me. I think it's so sweet that he has taken interest in writing this year. I also had some photos of the kids. I'm not sure where I'll put those. I'm thinking of putting them in the kids' room since they love seeing photos of themselves.

On the "after" photo you can see that I removed everything from the front part, except for some magnets. I cheated and left informative magnets on the side that is rarely seen. It has phone numbers, breast milk storage guidelines, basketball schedule so I know when my hubby has to shoot, etc. I always keep the current grocery store flyer hanging from that cow magnet. I replace it as soon as I get the new one in Wednesday's free newspaper that I get in the mail.

I repackaged the things that I wanted to remain on top of the refrigerator. I found glass containers for the dog biscuits and a small amount Oxi Clean. I keep the large container in the laundry area. The black bag contains my breast pump and its accessories. I may move it to the hallway linen closet. Our home is limited on space and storage so I have to make decisions all the time about what I really need to keep in my home and what I should not keep or buy in the first place.