There is only one good way to clean a refrigerator ➞ and it sucks.
You know the drill and if you’re like us, you hate it: You have to first take everything out, scrub everything down, dry them, and then put everything back together again. By using these 3 cheap accessories, you won't ever have to do that ever again (or not very often).
Below are some flexible fridge mats, a roll of non-sticky shelf liners, and some tea towels that can help you keep the grossest parts of your fridge fairly clean.
Adjustable liners for door pockets
Condiments sometimes leak unexpectedly. Using a liner protects your refrigerator and is easier to spot clean.
Check out these sturdy, transparent mats that come in a 1x 6.5 foot roll. Just measure your fridge compartments, cut a piece to size, and then pop them under the future leaky bottles and jars.
If you already have another brand of liners, make sure they're not the kind with adhesive backing. You want to be able to easily remove the mats to clean them, and the moisture in your fridge eventually makes the adhesive kind of buckle.
Flexible mats for the shelves
If your fridge has wire shelving, then you know the worst messes come from leaks that drizzle their way down from one shelf to another. A couple of thin, washable mats keep spills on their own levels.
These mats come in multiple colors and are pre-cut in sizes that fit most shelves, and you can trim them down as needed. These liners have a gridded, grippy side to keep containers in place in your fridge. They are a bit thinner and more flexible but are easier to keep flat on shelves where you're often sliding or pulling items around.
A blanket for your crisper!
No matter how hard you try to keep things under wraps, there's always produce that ends up smashed and rotten at the bottom. If you line your crisper drawers with something easily swappable, you’ll hardly ever have to take out those clunky, unwieldy drawers to clean them.
Line the bottom of your crispy bin with thin cotter flour sack towels, which dry quickly and are generally considered safe for wrapping around food that you're planning to eat. Talk about the more you know…
If you're looking for even less labor, you can also use paper towels.
(Sidenote: We’re huge fans of Who Gives A Crap, their bamboo and sugarcane towels are insanely good, and the company is committed to worldwide goodness.) Use a mix of paper towels, flour sack towels, or brown paper lunch bags, depending if you are crisping already washed and dried lettuce (flour sack towel), dusty winter beets (paper bag), or easily squashed, permanently staining berries (paper towels).
