Day XIII ~ Doesn't look like much

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This was one of those days where you work your butt off and it looks like you did hardly anything.  I washed almost all of the driveway side wall.  It was really scary doing the very tippy top of the peak of the roof area.  I had the ladder extended and sitting on top of the scaffold.

To make me feel a little more secure I went inside and tied a rope to a bed that was just inside the window in the attic, then tied it around the ladder, and then around my waist (you can see it still hanging out of the lower right corner of the top window).  All I could picture was the scaffold tipping over, knocking me off the ladder, and then me looking up from the ground and seeing the ladder on its way down on top of me ...... followed immediately after by the bed!  But, it seemed to work pretty well and was a great psychological help as well. 

So, the day was spent washing the wall and scraping the roof trim.  It's funny, you scrape and scrape at a spot and nothing happens.  Then just for fun you hit it again with the scraper about ten minutes later .... and it almost FALLS off!  I could scrape these things forever and not be done, but it's as good as it's going to get for me.  Let the next owners worry about it (hint hint).

 One other very thankless but yet extremely satisfying job was cleaning my fridge the other day.  I may have already posted about it, but if I didn't here's my cleaning secrets. never before revealed.

The secret is using a solution of some sort of soap ... dishwashing soap, even shampoo will work, in a container of hot water.  I used MelaMagic.  And then add the secret ingredient .... bleach!  Do not substitute anything else for bleach as you want to sanitize as well as clean.

Now, the first thing you MUST do is take absolutely EVERYTHING out of the refrigerator... all food, racks, drawers, shelves, etc.  You can wash these separately in the sink before reinstalling.

Emptying the fridge accomplishes two things:  1) it creates a perfect cleaning area in the fridge.  You can get at EVERY nook and cranny, and 2) it gives you the opportunity to discover and throw out all that crap you've been saving that's in the back of the fridge just taking up space.  You may need a strong stomache for this part but believe me, it's worth it.  Throw out anything expired, spoiled, rotten, or anything even close to an expiration date.

Now, get to work on the fridge.  You should have a scrub brush and sponge. I find it's best to start from the top down (yes, even wash the "roof" of the fridge area).  The excess water will run to the bottom area and help to soak all that crud that has accumulated.... you know, everything you've spilled for the last five years ..... where do you THINK it went, anyway! they haven't come up with a "self cleaning fridge" yet.

Keep  working down the sides, and, finally the bottom.  When you're done you can dry it with a towel and it will shine and smell like brand new!!

Wash the shelves, drawers, and stuff and put those back. 

Lastly the fun part.... Only putting GOOD stuff back in.  It also gives you an opportunity to arrange stuff in some kind of order ... something that hasn"t been done in years either.  When you're done your refrigerator will be the envy of all!  It's amazing how a few cents of cleaner and a little elbow grease will bring you so much pleasure.  Feast your eyes..................

The stuff in the upper right of the top shelf are going to Val's house as they're hers, otherwise look how much room there now is!!  (Oh, and it also helps if you are a bachelor who doesn't cook  nobody ever visits, and never goes shopping.)  So get cracking and get YOUR fridge clean!