The Refrigerator Science Experiment You Forgot About
Pop quiz: What's the oldest thing currently living in your refrigerator that isn't technically food anymore?
We need to talk if you had to think about it for more than three seconds.
I've been cleaning houses with Megan for three years now, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that everyone—and I mean everyone—has at least one mystery container in their fridge that they're afraid to open. You know the one. It's been there so long you don't remember what you put in it. The lid is slightly bowed from internal pressure that definitely shouldn't be there. You've moved it to different shelves over the months, hoping it will magically disappear, but it never does.
We found a Tupperware container in someone's fridge last week that contained what we think used to be chili. We're not certain because it had evolved beyond recognition. It had layers now. Different colors that formed distinct strata, like those colored sand art bottles from the craft store, except horrifying. The client looked at it and said, "Oh yeah, I made that for the Super Bowl." The Super Bowl was eleven months ago.
Why does this happen to good people?
Life gets busy. You cook a big meal, store the leftovers with good intentions, then order pizza the next three nights. Before you know it, that chicken casserole is pushed to the back by the milk, then hidden behind the orange juice, then completely forgotten until it achieves sentience.
The smell is always worse than you expect. Always. Your brain tries to protect you by making you think it won't be that bad, but your brain is lying to you. It's going to be worse.
The actual solution:
Set a reminder on your phone for every Sunday night: "Fridge Amnesty Hour." Spend ten minutes going through everything in there. If you don't remember when you made it or what it is, it goes in the trash. No guilt. No "but I might eat that tomorrow." You won't. We both know you won't.
Use clear containers so you can see what's inside without playing Russian roulette with the lids. Label things with dates using a dry-erase marker. And please, for the love of everything holy, clean up spills when they happen instead of letting them fossilize into the glass shelf.
Now, if your fridge has reached the point where you can't even face opening it, or if you just want it deep cleaned and organized properly—that's literally one of the services Enchanted Broom offers. We'll pull everything out, deep clean every shelf and drawer, check expiration dates, organize it logically, and make it actually functional again. No judgment, just results.
Your future self will thank you. And so will whatever unfortunate person eventually has to open that container.