Cleaning and Cleaning Out a Freezer

I am creating this blog because, this summer, one of my fondest dreams has occurred... I have begun to teach myself to fear clutter and desire cleanliness.  Yes, I'm finally one of those people.  I've never been downright filthy, but I am a right-brained person from a right-brained family.  I've always struggled with junk, clutter, and tidiness.

I've spent the summer living with my parents while my husband Layne is back at Fort Leonard Wood.  In the beginning, my days were a dreary haze blending with my nights as I took care of our newborn daughter Ruby.  She is now 5 months old and sort of on a schedule.  Meaning... I can get things done!

This space, this free time, is one thing that began my obsession.  I would also like to blame Pinterest for finally sinking in.  And the fact that my parents have a somewhat cluttered home that I found myself going through when I had free moments.

But it's not just "I'm bored". I'm finding myself disgusted with clutter and untidiness.  I'm not yet obsessive, but I might be going toward a healthy range of keeping things clean.

Today, I gave in and cleaned out the freezer.

Oh, it was scary!  But not as scary as I thought.  The nice thing about frozen food is that it is, thankfully, frozen! All the gross and scary things are fortunately solid.

I had on hand several items:

• Towels (old ones I had designated rags from cleaning out the towel closet).  These are excellent for really scrubbing.  I don't have to feel guilty because I can pretty much toss the towel when done.  They also protect the floor, which gets wet.
• Hot soapy water.
• Clorox wipes.

Here's what went down:

1. I took everything out of the freezer.  Everything.  This was followed by examining expiration dates, rot, etc.  I'm a big believer in expiration dates.  I get that there is still a window after that, but really, how often do you make that, especially when something is trapped in a freezer.  My favorite part of this was throwing things away!  Into the trash, into the compost heap, etc.  Tossing things out really is cleansing.
2. Hot soapy water.  There were some gross spots here and there, and the soap made a great soaker.  
3. Went over everything with a clorox wipe! I know they are "disposable" and therefore not desirable, but I believe that if you have it, use it.  

My favorite portion of cleaning was what I did with the popsicles. I used an old plastic container which fit perfectly in the door, and stuck the popsicles in it!