I have been designated as the staff person to oversee the refrigerator in the parish hall that so many of us use on a regular basis. My task is to make sure that is kept up and kept clean. In order to do so, I've come up with a 3-STEP PLAN that I wanted to share with everyone, but before I get to that PLAN, I thought I'd share with you some of the highlights from my lovely experience of cleaning out the refrigerator today.
These are the "BEFORE" pictures - (What it should NEVER look like again!!)
Here is one section of the refrigerator:
And another.....
Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Hey, that's not too bad."
Oh, just wait. If you look closer at the above picture you will see a red bowl.
What could be in that red bowl, you ask?
I don't know either....
But it didn't smell too good....or look good. I just wonder how long it's been in here!
There were opened cookies on their way to going stale.
And several delightful tubs of Blue Bonnet.
That when opened, The "Blue" part of Bonnet took on a whole new meaning!
Oh, and check out this wonderful, unassuming container of cool whip......
Anyone want some pie?
Now I know that all of us want to be good stewards and NONE of us ever want to throw food away.... but seriously....this is not good stewardship! This is bad stewardship! When we are done with our events and if we have food left over then we need to either:
1) throw it away
2) take it home or
3) take it to a mission.
DO NOT leave it here to sit and grow fur!
Look at this poor, sad little orange that was squashed behind a box. It had so wanted to be eaten, but unfortunately it is now on it's way to the dump with the other five bags of moldy food.
mmmmmmmm.......banana anyone?
Now, on to the freezer.
Can someone please explain to me why there was an open can of Nestle Quick powder in the freezer ?!!
As I started to remove items from the freezer, I found some very interesting things.
Let me show you.
Three very frozen snicker doodles.
Several used plastic table clothes (the last I checked, plastic table clothes do not need to be kept frozen).
Dirty knives.
Look closely below.... remember, I said knives. Plural.
An unopened bag of creamer.
A half frozen bottle of juice.
An opened half-eaten Reeces ice cream bar. mmm - the germs. (notice how I put on gloves)
Oh, and more knives. Sharp, dirty knives. Now, unless these knives are secretly being stored up for some kind of rebellion that I'm not aware of.....then they should not be stashed in the freezer!!
And if you thought it couldn't get stranger, looked what I else I found.
Yes, that's correct.... a froze bottle of holy water.
It is currently thawing out it my office if anyone would like to come and claim it.
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Okay, so now for my BIG 3- STEP plan to keep this refrigerator a little less exciting.
STEP #1) Every quarter (that is every three months) a different parish group that uses the refrigerator will be expected to clean it out. Here is the assignment for the groups and the months they will need to deep clean the refrigerator. Since I've already deep cleaned it and from this point on none of us are going to be leaving food in the refrigerator, then it shouldn't take longer than 30 minutes for each group to deep clean every three months.
May - Knights of Columbus
August - Committee
November - Friendship Feast
(4 different parish groups will be assigned next year)
Here are the proper steps for cleaning out the refrigerator :
Remove ev-er-y-thing from the refrigerator and freezer. (including the racks)
Use cleaner to wipe down all the surfaces.
Both inside....
and out.
And even in the corners where I found a little surprise sitting on one of the door hinges.
A little nut that must have been sitting there for so long that it literally had hair growing on it. He no longer dwells on that hinge. He has gone to live with moldy orange and banana.
Wash the racks. If you look closely at this rack you will see the mold that I had to clean off of it. Most of the racks were like this.
STEP #2: If you MUST (I've capitalized the word must for a reason) leave something in the refrigerator then you MUST label it with your groups name and date.
I have attached these AWESOME folders to the refrigerator doors with markers and labels.
And yes, I understand that these sharpie markers are bright and colorful, but they are not to leave the refrigerator folders. What no one knows is that I have secretly installed GPS tracking devices inside these pens and should they go missing, I will know exactly where they are....
And if the tracker indicates that a pen is in your home, vehicle, or on your person, we will send out our "secret weapon" (Sister Maria Elena) to track you down.
Yes, I know that she does look so sweet, innocent and holy. But this is one Sista' you don't want to mess with!
Finally, Step #3:
Every Sunday after youth group, I will make a complete observation of the refrigerator. If I find anything that is not labeled and dated, it will go in the trash or in a box that will be taken to the St. John's foodbank or Corpus Christi house. If things are labeled but expired then they will be thrown OUT!
Now, trust me... I am not afraid to throw things away. I threw away 5 very heavy bags of disgustingly moldy and old food today.
However, I'd rather not have to spend large amounts of time on Sunday nights taking care of the refrigerator. Sunday's are my busiest day in which I am doing my most important work, trying to lead young people closer to Christ.
I am usually at the Cathedral from 1:00 pm until at least 9:30 pm on Sunday evenings at which point my precious and sweet children are waiting quietly in their beds for Johnny and I to come home to them in order to tuck them in and kiss them goodnight.
And there is also the fact that my life is actually already crazy enough taking care and cleaning up after these 5 little ones (including having to clean my own refrigerator regularly), that I'd rather not have to spend large amounts of time, late on Sunday evenings, cleaning out the parish refrigerator.
So, if everyone just removes their own stuff and cleans up after themselves, then it should be fairly simple to keep our parish refrigerator clean and sparkling.
And there won't have to be anymore, "Mrs. Grumpy Pants".
Just Happy Ole Me - the way I like to be!
Blessings,
Lorissa
