January 3, 2009 8:55 AM
What's in your refrigerator?
My column from this week's Purcellville Gazette, the local paper for which I write twice a month:
2009: Out with the leftoversWhen it comes to New Year's resolutions, it's not the big ones that get to me. Giving up smoking, drinking, overeating, overspending on Ebay - been there, done that.
Still I don't consider myself a hero. All it takes is one look at my refrigerator to see that on some level I'm still locked in denial.
The truth is I hate cleaning out the fridge. Hate rummaging through all those clumsy plastic drawers to see what needs to be tossed and what I might puree into salsa or shred into a meat loaf to fill the hungry hordes in my house. And the longer I wait the worse it gets.
So the longer I wait.
Thank goodness, every once in a while the urge to purge takes me by surprise - as it did the other day when I went looking for lettuce and found an erstwhile science project. Next thing I knew, I found myself actually digging back to the depths - and then, lo and behold, even wiping the shelves.
It was like an out-of-body experience. As though something came into my house and took control. Because believe me, I just don't add to a list - mental or otherwise: Clean the Fridge. I just don't. I can't. It has to sneak up on me unawares. Then I try to relax and go with the flow.
Later, with the kids in bed and the house quiet, I found myself returning to the day's events and waxing philosophical on the mundane tasks that make up the life of a mother. And I say mother because if I weren't a mother, I know I would have complete control of the fridge. No Tupperwared tidbits moldering away in the back, no empty jelly jars hogging precious door space, no unziplocked cheese turning to petrified rock.
Even as I say this, I know - I just know - there are mothers out there whose refrigerators actually do look like magazine ads. My hat's off to you. And please call me today - I need your advice. Is there a 12-step group for people like me? First step: Admitted we were powerless over our refrigerators and that our lives had become unmanageable. And will you be my sponsor?
Anyway, as I contemplated my lot as a mother I was suddenly struck by the fact that the same lot that drove Sylvia Plath to call it quits by sticking her head in an oven drove Erma Bombeck to keep on cleaning hers, digging deep to find laughter and renewal each day.
It all comes down to something as simple as the glass half empty/glass half full thing, doesn't it? You're one kind of person or the other - except for people like my son Zach, who when asked which he prefers, says, "Hey! I ordered a cheeseburger!"
Our character isn't written so much on the big decisions we make but on the little details of our lives that no one really sees - well, unless they open the fridge. Now that I've got those big ticket health items under control, I guess it's time to fine tune.
So when it comes to my refrigerator this year, I really mean it: Out with the old, in with the new!
Posted in Humor, Inspiration, My life, Writing | Permalink
Comments
Barbara are you sure you weren't digging through my fridge before you wrote this column??
Posted by: Margaret | January 3, 2009 9:59 AM
Thanks for sharing this article! I'm off to clean my fridge! Let me know if you find a sponsor, I could use one too!
Posted by: Diane | January 3, 2009 12:42 PM
Having a clean, orderly fridge is a goal so lofty it has not made my list yet. I'm still working on seeing the bottom of the laundry baskets a couple of times a week!
Given the choice between chores and playing with the kids, well, the fridge seldom gets cleaned.
Posted by: Elizabeth M Thompson | January 3, 2009 12:55 PM
Love this idea! I had already made my big resolution "out with the stuff," but hadn't considered the refrigerator. I have been trying to declutter for a while, but after I tripped over a wheelchair down the stairs to the garage on New Year's Eve, I had a day of no walking to realize it wouldn't have happened if I didn't have SO MUCH STUFF! My refrigerator is always overflowing with leftovers too. I am adding a new resolution, stop cooking so much extra and use up what's there before making something new. Thanks for the inspiration Barbara!
Posted by: Danielle M. | January 3, 2009 1:15 PM
Question most often heard in my home, "Who put the (fill in the blank) container back into the fridge empty?"
Posted by: Cheryl (Copper's Wife) | January 3, 2009 2:18 PM
Crack me up! I was cleaning out my cabinets and fridge most of the afternoon...tossing and keeping stock of what I have for the next month. I love to organize stuff, just never had the time to do it. Blessings in the New Year!
Posted by: Faithfulmom2 | January 3, 2009 7:15 PM
I am so laughing because of the timeliness of this post. My husband asked me today if I had any plans to clean out the frige. Ummmmmm, well, not really. He asked if I could please do that because clearly it was not going to clean itself. I committed to cleaning out the top shelf. I could not get my brain around any more than that. But I did it. Tomorrow will be the middle shelf, and so on. Thanks for the giggle!
Posted by: Mrs. King | January 3, 2009 9:27 PM
Barbara,
Allow me to be your sponsor :) It's easy for me right now though. In a few more years it won't be.
Oh and I got a really cute apron for Christmas from my friend Emily. Can't wait to send it in.
Happy New Year!
-Shannon
Posted by: Shannon Best | January 4, 2009 8:10 PM
