Find me five people that truly enjoy cleaning their fridge. But boy does it make a difference when it IS clean and well organized.

Besides the fact that a dirty and disorganized fridge is an unpleasant sight and difficult to work with, there’s the bacteria issue. Loads of research has proven that bacteria can still survive in cold conditions, so it's essential to routinely clean and disinfect the fridge to prevent mold or bacterial health issues.

So, it is with this chore in mind that I share a very simple and clever tip. If you want to spend less time cleaning your fridge, and make the cleaning easier, consider using plastic or vinyl fridge liners.

Liners do a couple of things. First, they create a removable barrier between your fridge and its contents. They make it easy to keep the fridge bacteria-free.

Second, liners make for fast and easy cleaning. Instead of awkwardly washing your drawers in the sink, you can remove and clean their liners. Then with drawers in place, you just quickly wipe them down with a sanitizer of your choice.

Follow the same process for your shelf liners. Just remove and clean them, sanitize the shelves, and replace the liners. Voila, you’re done! Lots of time and energy saved.

While you can actually buy these handy items (which run around $15-$20). You’ll find them at Walmart and on amazon.com. BUT, you can make your own for much less.

Anyplace that sells fabric usually sells oil cloth and flannel-backed vinyl by the yard. Typically used for table cloths, these fabrics are perfect for lining a fridge. Depending on your fridge size, 1½ to 2 yards will likely be enough to make liners for all your shelves and drawers.

If you'd rather not spend the money or contribute to the 380 million tons of plastic produced yearly, then tea towels are another good option. They're not resistant to liquids, but you can still easily replace and wash them to avoid direct contact between produce and your drawers and easily clean up spills and debris.

Fridge liners seem like a no-brainer, but I have to admit I’d never thought of this before, and I intend to take my own advice. If any of you are already using these, it would be nice to hear from you. And if any of you have other suggestions for how to keep a fridge sanitary and easy to clean, please do share in the REPLY section below. We love hearing from our readers!

I’ll close with a recipe. It doesn’t have anything to do with our fridge cleaning, but it’s a terrific summertime treat that’s just fun to have on hand—JELL-O® Poke Cake—an old-timey dessert that’s been around since the ‘50s.

It’s simply a baked 9x13 cake (whether homemade or box), that’s been “poked” all over the top with a fork, and then gelatin is poured over the whole thing. It is then put in the fridge to set for a few hours or overnight and frosted with whipped cream just before serving.

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    Alice Osborne
    DVO Newsletter Contributor since 2006
    Email the author! alice@dvo.com