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Protecting your refrigerator shelves from permanent messes (and smells!) isn’t too hard if you employ some press-and-seal style plastic wrap. On a regular basis, you can wipe it down and only need to replace it if things get really messy or a spill is really stubborn.
Plus, cute patterns are cute. Does anyone protect their shelves in similar ways or are they naked like mine currently are?
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
I put Newspaper-sheets on top of my wardrobe and other high furniture. When you clean you only need to pull the newspaper down and don’t need to wipe where you can’t reach. It’s especcially useful in the kitchen, where the dirt is usualy fatty from cooking.
wow. such a good idea. I am going to do this when I get home from work. Cleaning the top of my kitchen shelves is a pain in the butt.
I’m in the middle of moving, and the other day I noticed how in the new place the kitchen cabinets don’t go up to the ceiling. I pictured images of cleaning horror, but now you gave me the solution! (I can’t confirm that I’ll be taking down the newspapers until I move out, though)
I don’t think I’d need this inside my fridge, but I wonder if it would stick on TOP of the fridge? Pulling off a sheet of oil and dust would be much easier than trying to scrub it while balancing precariously on a chair / the counter!
Hmm, while I applaud the way it makes clean up easier, I don’t like creating more garbage and I’d rather be able to see clearly when my fridge shelving needs a good scrub. Looks like that pattern might hide stains and spills.
But I definitely like the idea of using newspaper to line the top shelves in my kitchen (and of course recycling it afterwards!)
You might not want to recycle the newspaper if it’s super oily/greasy. You can’t recycle greasy pizza boxes, so you shouldn’t recycle greasy anything else–it can gunk up the recycling process.
But the newspapers could be used as fire starters to keep them out of the landfill.
I saw this on Apartment Therapy a few weeks back. It doesn’t fit in with our design esthetic, but more importantly doesn’t fit in with our values (too much waste). I guess I don’t really see the benefit over just wiping up a spill?
Totally agree. I keep my fridge clean by making sure bottles aren’t sticky before putting them back, and wiping up spills with a sponge as they happen. Every apartment I have lived in, I would spend an hour de-gunking the fridge from previous tenants. For some reason, icky fridges really get to me.
I totally get what you’re saying. For some people, though, it might be hard to remember to clean up regularly. And if someone was always using paper towels (instead of a dishcloth or rag) to clean up spills, it would probably end up being the same amount of waste as using a cling wrap barrier.
Because sometimes you don’t notice that something was leaking, or that a child spilled something, until you pull out the large container in the front of the fridge and notice the dried, sticky mess behind it.
We did buy a fridge that is basically all clear plexi shelves, because otherwise we “lose” food in the depths and it goes to waste (which we hate!). So that gives us an edge on cleaning.
In thinking it over, we also just don’t tend to have sticky things in the fridge? We aren’t partial to jams, syrups, juice or any of the other traditionally sticky and spill-y (that’s a word) items.
Still though…even environmentalism aside I esthetically I find it too “busy” (see above re: losing food, haha).
OH! Wow, I totally didn’t even consider the fact that I don’t have kids! Haha that would make a huge difference!
This would be great for putting in your apartment fridge when you move in, and then just pulling it out when you move out. I have wasted too much time of my life cleaning out refrigerators in apartments. I hate cleaning the fridge, so this would be a good idea for once-a-year fridge cleaners like me. Which reminds me, I need to clean the fridge :-/
My nana has been doing this for as long as I can remember! She also uses (and reuses and reuses and reuses……) plastic wrap to protect dishes she has stored away. Come Thanksgving and Christmas the platters, egg plates, huge bowls, etc don’t need a hardcore washing because they’ve been protected from dust and dirt all year. Who knew she was such an innovator? Haha
I think this is a great idea! I have been putting wax paper on top of our fridge and over the stove cabinets for ages now, but it never occurred to me to put something on our fridge shelves!
We are utterly lazy at keeping the inside of the fridge clean and tidy so this is a fantastic thing to see.
I think this is a fantastic idea! I have rheumatoid arthritis and scrubbing things is just no longer an option for me. This would keep my fridge cleaner without torturing my hands and wrists!
You just saved our adhd/small child household!
Did anyone else have problems getting the paper to stick? I got the press and seal, but it’s not sealing to my glass and it’s really bothering me! I thought this sounded like a fabulous idea but is turning out to be an epic fail! Help please!
1. Cling wrap, like bondage tape, is designed to stick best to itself. When possible, overlap. Notice in the picture how it wraps over the edges and underneath, allowing the corners to create pockets where the cling wrap holds itself together.
2. Be sure your shelves are dry. If you’re like me, you’re trying to apply this stuff after having just scrubbed tons of grime of your shelves, which means they’re damp with cleaning solution. Dry them thoroughly! Even if you didn’t just clean them, condensation in the fridge can still make them damp, so wipe them down before applying the wrap.
3. Patience and pressure. Dry the shelves, wrap the edges, and then just put stuff on top of it, whether it seems to be perfectly sealed or not. I have discovered that the seal on mine has improved with time and flat boxes.
You aren’t applying something with a true adhesive, so if you’re expecting it to truly stick to your shelves in smooth unwrinkling sheets (like my little day dream), it’s just not gonna do that. But if you let go of the perfectionism and just put it on and walk away, it seems to work pretty well.