| How to Teach Creative Writing Posted: 03 Dec 2016 04:00 PM PST Creative writing is one of the most enjoyable types of writing for students. Not only does it allow students to explore their imaginations, but it helps them to structure their ideas and produce writing that they can be proud of. However, creative writing is a relatively difficult type of writing to teach and offers challenges to both new and seasoned teachers alike. Fortunately, though, with some work of their own, teachers can better develop their own abilities to teach creative writing. EditProviding Students with the Fundamentals - Introduce the important elements of storytelling. Great works of literature share elements across the genres. In order for your students to excel at creative writing, they need to know the fundamentals of storytelling. As a result, you need to spend some time focusing on the core elements of storytelling. Focus instruction time on teaching:
- Theme. The theme of a story is its message or the main idea behind it.
- Setting. The setting of a story is the location or time it takes place in.
- Plot. The plot is the overall story, narrative, or sequence of events.
- Characterization. Characterization is how a character or person in a story is explained or presented to the reader.
- Conflict and dramatic action. Conflict and dramatic action are the main events of focus in the story. These events are often tense or exciting and are used to lure the reader in.[1]
- Encourage students to engage the reader. While creative writing is an exercise in expressing individual creativity through writing, the trick to great creative writing is to make it truly compelling and engaging for the reader. The more engaging the story, the more creative the work will be as a whole.
- Explain how your students, as writers, can appeal to the humanity of their readers. One great way to do this is to ask them to explore character development. By developing a character in their story, readers will become invested in the story.
- Discuss the triggers that engage readers in an effective story. Most great stories start with a problem, which is solved with the resolution, or conclusion of the story. Encourage students to create an engaging problem that will hook the readers in the first few pages of a short story or novel.[2]
- Explain the importance of tone and atmosphere. Let your students know the importance of interesting settings with compelling tone and atmosphere. The tone and atmosphere are essentially the "feel" of the story. This is important in creating a gripping story that is well-rounded.
- By setting the tone and atmosphere of a story, the author will establish his or her attitude to the subject and the feel of the story.
- Tone can be positive, neutral, or negative.
- Atmosphere can be dark, happy, or neither.
- Descriptive words like "darkness" or "sunshine" can help set both the tone and atmosphere.[3]
- Promote the use of active verbs. While a student might be a great writer, without the use of active verbs, their story may be dry and not really compelling. To cure this, you should ask your students to use active verbs throughout their story. Active verbs are a great way to make stories come alive.
- Active verbs are used to show action in the story.
- Active verbs are very often a better alternative to passive voice.
- For example, instead of writing "The cat was chased by the dog" your student can write "The dog chased the cat."[4]
EditGuiding Students through the Process - Allow students to pick their topic. The first step in guiding students through the writing process is to allow them to pick their topic. Picking their topic will allow your students to own their writing and to use their own creative energy to craft an engaging story.
- Tell your students to brainstorm about ideas they are truly interested in.
- If you must restrict the general topic, make sure that your students have a good amount of wiggle room within the broad topic of the assignment.
- Never assign specific topics and force students to write. This will undermine the entire process.[5]
- Have your students write a flexible outline. After your students have chosen a topic, have them create a flexible and general outline for their story. This outline will serve as a guide as they write their story. Because the outline is flexible, it will guide them while not limiting their creativity. Consider:
- Letting your students know that the outline is non-binding. They don't have to follow it in later steps of the writing process.
- Telling your students that the parts of their outline should be written very generally.
- Recommending that your students create several outlines, or outlines that go in different directions (in terms of plot and other elements of storytelling). The more avenues your students explore, the better.[6]
- Avoid teaching a story "formula." One of the most important things to remember when teaching creative writing is to dispense with the idea that stories should follow certain arcs or formulas. While formulaic writing can aid students who need direction, it can also bind students and limit their imaginations.
- Tell students that there is no "right" way to write a story.
- Let students know that their imaginations should guide their way.
- Show students examples of famous writing that breaks normal patterns, like the works of E.E. Cummings.
- Ask students to forget about any expectations they think you have for how a story should be written.[7]
- Provide feedback on rough drafts. As your students move through the writing process, you should read over drafts and provide feedback. Feedback is essential in guiding writers and making sure they are on the right path to storytelling success.
- Gather the first drafts and comment on the student's work to encourage excellence in writing.
- Remind them that great writers usually wrote several drafts before they were happy with their stories.
- Avoid grading drafts for anything other than completion.[8]
- Organize editing groups. An important part of the writing process is the formation of editing groups in your class. Editing groups will enable your students to read each others' work and give feedback during the writing process. Students should benefit by listening to the reactions of an audience to their work.
- Let students pair off to edit each others' papers.
- Have your students join groups of 3 or 4 and ask them to go edit and provide feedback on each member's story.
- Provide guidance so students contribute constructively to the group discussion.[9]
- Evaluate your students based on their creativity. Ultimately, when it comes to evaluating your students' work and assigning a grade, you need to evaluate them based on their creativity. While it may be tempting to assign grades based on a certain model or formula, you should look deep into your students' work to see if they've succeeded at writing with creativity.
- Reward your students if they are innovative or do something unique and truly creative.
- Avoid evaluating your students based on a formula.
- Assess and review your own standards as often as you can. Remember that the point is to encourage your students' creativity.[10]
EditSpurring Creativity - Inspire students with an appreciation of literature. Creative writing students will probably arrive with a keen appreciation for great literature and favorite works, but a savvy teacher will review and introduce new literary works of art. Students will learn from the teacher and the masters who preceded them.
- Teach your students about a variety of writers and genres.
- Have your students read examples of different genres.
- Promote a discussion within your class of the importance of studying literature.
- Ask students to consider the many ways literature improves the world and asks individuals to think about their own lives.[11]
- Provide your students with a large number of resources. One of the best ways to teach and promote creative writing is to make sure your students have the resources to write. Such resources include both creative resources and material resources to actually write.
- Make sure your room is stocked with a wide variety of fiction stories.
- Make sure your room is stocked with plenty of paper for your students to write on.
- Line up other writing teachers or bring in writers from the community to talk to and encourage your students.[12]
- Have your students write practice stories based on random photos or pictures you provide. A good way to get your students into the habit of creative writing is to have them write a series of practice stories using a bank of pictures and photos you supply.
- Cut out pictures and photographs from magazines, comic books, and newspapers.
- Have your students cut out photographs and pictures and contribute them to your bank.
- Consider having your students randomly draw a given number of photos and pictures and writing a short story based on what they draw.
- This technique can help students overcome writer's block and inspire students who think that they're "not creative."[13]
- Arrange an audience. One way to teach and reinforce best writing practices is to provide your students with audiences for their writing. This way, your students will have the chance to have their writing read by real people who can enjoy their work and provide constructive criticism.
- Pair your students with students from another grade in your school.
- Allow your students to write stories that younger students in your school would like to read.
- Pair your students with another student in the class and have them evaluate each others' work.[14]
- Create a writing space. For many students, it is very important to have a space that is geared toward promoting creative writing. A space specifically designed for creative writing will allow students to focus their creativity into the writing process.
- If you just have a typical classroom to work with, make sure to put inspirational posters or other pictures on the walls.
- Open any curtains so students can see outside.
- If you have the luxury of having an extra classroom or subdividing your own classroom, create a comfortable space with a lot of inspirational visuals.
- Writing spaces can help break writer's block and inspire students who think that they're "not creative."[15]
- Publish your students' work. One way to teach and promote creative writing is to do an informal publication of your students' stories. This way, your students will not only be able to be proud that their work is printed for others to read, but they'll be able to read each others' work and get ideas for their own future stories.
- Involve students in the printing process.
- Publication does not have to be expensive or glossy.
- Copies can be made in the school workroom if possible or each student might provide a copy for the others in the group.
- A collection of the stories can be bound with a simple stapler or brads.
- Seek out other opportunities for your students to publish their stories.[16]
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| How to Love Yourself Posted: 03 Dec 2016 08:00 AM PST Improve your inner voice by thinking positively and avoiding perfectionism. Don't call yourself names or assume the worst. Exercise self-love by listing your positive attributes and reflecting on them daily. Consider visiting a therapist. Repeat positive affirmations daily and do things you enjoy. Lastly, consider practicing loving-kindness meditation. EditImproving Your Inner Voice - Overcome negative beliefs about yourself. Many people have trouble letting go of negative thoughts that they have about themselves. These negative thoughts often come from outside people whose opinion we value and from whom we seek love and acceptance.[1]
- Avoid perfectionism. Some people have trouble accepting anything less than perfection from themselves. [2] If you find yourself pursuing perfectionism and feeling negatively about yourself when you are less than perfect, take three simple steps. Stop your current line of thinking, then focus on the effort that will be required to work towards a goal, then steadily apply the required effort.[3]
- Changing your focus from a final product (which may be evaluated in terms of "perfection) to the effort behind a task (which is harder to quantify as "perfect") can help you appreciate your own good work.
- Discard your negative filter. Focusing only on the negatives in your life is a bad habit. Excessive focus on negative or less favorable events in your life can make these events seem disproportionately important. [4] If you find yourself complaining that everything that happens to you is bad, try to find a little evidence to the contrary; it is very unlikely that everything is really bad.
- Never call yourself names. Calling yourself a name is reducing yourself from a human to a single element of yourself that you do not like.[5]
- Saying "I am such a failure" after getting fired from a job is inaccurate and unfair to you. Instead, make the useful comment, "I lost my job, but I can use this experience to find and keep a new job."
- Saying "I am so stupid" is also likely untrue and reductive. If you feel stupid, it's more likely that you have a lack of knowledge about something. Instead, think, "I don't know how to do this basic home maintenance. Perhaps I could take a class and learn to do this in the future."
- Do not assume the worst can happen. It can be easy to fall into the assumption that the very worst outcome will happen with every situation. [6] However, changing your inner thoughts to be realistic or truthful can help you avoid the generalization or exaggeration that accompanies assuming the worst.
- Rewrite your internal script. When you realize that you are thinking negatively for yourself, acknowledge the feeling, identify the source of the feeling, and then consciously make a new statement re-writing your thought as a more positive one.[7]
- For example, if you forgot to send an important work-related email, you may find yourself thinking "I am so stupid! How could I have done that?"
- Stop yourself, and think "I feel stupid right now because I forgot to send the email. When I would forget to do things as a child, my father would tell me that I was stupid. These are his words, not my own, in my head." Then think to yourself, "I am a competent employee who made a human mistake, and I will be sure to write myself a reminder in the future. For now, I will send the email along with an apology for not sending it before."
EditExercising Self-Love - List your positive attributes and reflect on them daily. This can be difficult for someone who habitually thinks negatively of themselves, but try to find one positive thing about yourself to add to the list once a week. At the end of each day, reflect on your entire list.[8]
- Make your list very specific. Instead of using general adjectives to describe yourself, try listing specific actions or attributes that describe who you are and what you do.
- For example, instead of simply saying "I am generous," you can write "Any time I know that a friend is struggling, I give her a small, thoughtful gift to show that I care. This makes me generous."
- As you read and reflect on your list, remember that each item on the list, however insignificant it may seem, is a reason that you are worthy of respect and love.
- Give yourself the gift of time. Do not feel guilty for spending time thinking about and reflecting on yourself and your own life.[9] It is important to give yourself the time and permission for self-love. You will likely find that by doing so, you are more able to spend quality time helping others.
- Celebrate and reward yourself. This is the fun part of self-love: rewarding yourself![10] If you have had a significant accomplishment, celebrate it with a nice dinner at your favorite fancy restaurant. Think of all of the hard work you do every day, and find a reason to reward yourself with something nice. Buy yourself the new book or video game you've had your eye on. Take a long shower or bubble bath. Go on a solo fishing trip or get a massage.
- Develop a plan for dealing with setbacks or negativity. Notice what tends to throw you off from your current path of self-love, and decide how to deal with those things.[11] Realize that you cannot control the words and actions of others, but you can control your responses and reactions.
- You may notice that negative comments from one particular person, such as your mom or your boss, set you off into a spiral of negativity. If this happens consistently, try to identify why this is.
- Decide how you will deal with negative thoughts you do have. You may need to give yourself a time-out to meditate or breathe. Acknowledge your feelings and reframe your negative reaction with positive reminders of your self-worth.
- Visit a therapist. Exploring negative thoughts and identifying triggers for your emotions can bring up feelings or memories from your past that are difficult to deal with. [12]
- A therapist who is experienced with addressing painful pasts can help you navigate through the experience of recovery without causing you to relive painful experiences.[13]
- A therapist's office can be a great place to learn to handle your negative thoughts productively and realize your positive qualities.
- Repeat positive affirmations daily. Find some positive thoughts that help you feel better, and repeat them daily. This may seem awkward or cheesy at first, but the habit will cause the positive thoughts to sink in, and you will begin to believe them, even if you don't at first.
- A good positive affirmation to promote self-love is: "I am a whole, worthy individual, and I respect, trust, and love myself."
- If you find that the affirmations are not helping on their own, try visiting a therapist and pursuing a multi-level treatment that includes other approaches as well.[14]
- Do things that make you feel good. Think of feeling good physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Do what it takes to feel good in multiple ways; it may require exercise, meditation, dancing and keeping a positivity journal. Find a routine that feels good and stick to it.
- Reflect on the effects of practicing self-love. When you spend time loving and rewarding yourself, you will likely see benefits in other areas of your life. Notice whether you have more energy, or if you are able to be more present with others. You might start to feel like you are more in charge of the choices you make, and that you have more control of your life.
EditPracticing Loving-Kindness Meditation - Understand Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM). LKM is a form of meditation that enhances your feelings of kindness for yourself and others. LKM can give you the tools that you need to become proficient in self-love.[15]
- Embrace the principles of LKM. Loving-Kindness Meditation involves loving without the imposition of expectations or conditions. It encourages you to love without judgment (either of yourself or others). [16]
- Judgments of ourselves or others often causes misery in relationships with others or in our own minds. Learning to love without judgment is learning to love selflessly.
- Breathe deeply. Begin with breathing in slowly and deeply. Sit comfortably in a chair and allow your chest to fill completely with air, expanding from your diaphragm. Then exhale slowly and completely. [17]
- Support yourself with positive affirmations. As you continue your deep breaths, begin repeating the following affirmations to yourself: [18]
- May I achieve my dreams and live in happiness and peace.
- May I love others with my whole heart.
- I wish for myself and my family to be protected from harm.
- I wish for a life of heath for myself, my family, and my friends.
- May I learn to forgive myself and others.
- Identify negative responses you have to the positive affirmations. If you find yourself thinking negative thoughts while you are repeating these affirmations, think about who is triggering these negative thoughts. Identify people towards whom you have difficulty feeling unconditional love. Repeat your affirmations, thinking about these people. [19]
- Think about someone you feel positively towards. Repeat the affirmations, keeping that person in your mind as you repeat them.
- Think of someone you feel neutral about. Repeat the affirmations, keeping that person about whom you feel neutral in mind.
- Allow the positivity from the affirmations to fill you completely. Repeat the affirmations without thinking of anyone in particular. Focus instead on the positivity of the affirmations. Allow the feelings of positivity to fill you completely, and send that positivity out from yourself to the entire planet. [20]
- Repeat a final mantra of love. Once you have extended feelings of positivity everywhere, repeat the following mantra: "May all living humans feel and be joyous, happiness, and healthfulness." Repeat this affirmation five times as you feel the words resonate in your body and extend out to everything in the universe. [21]
EditUnderstanding Self-Love - Know the dangers of a lack of self-love. A lack of self-love can lead you to make harmful choices. A lack of self-love often equates to a lack of self-worth that leads to conscious or unconscious self-sabotage and prevents individuals from advocating for their own basic needs.
- Lack of self-love can lead to a harmful dependence on others for validation.[22] Relying on others for validation often leads people to set aside their own needs in order to gain others' approval.
- Lack of self-love can also prevent emotional healing and progress; one study showed that individuals who engage in self-blame and ignoring themselves had poorer outcomes in psychotherapy.[23]
- Recognize the importance of childhood experiences to loving yourself. Parent-child relationships have lifelong effects on character development; children who did not have physical, emotional, and mental needs met may have lasting problems with low self-esteem.[24]
- Negative messages received in childhood—particularly recurring messages—often stick in an individual's mind and color their self-perceptions later in life.
- For example, a child who is told that she is "dull" or "boring" will likely think that she is dull or boring as an adult, even if there is evidence to the contrary (such as having many friends, making people laugh, or living an interesting lifestyle).[25]
- Understand how parents can support self-esteem. Parents can follow the following advice to improve their children's feelings of self-worth:
 - Listen to your children; it increases their self-worth.[26]
- It can be easy to "tune-out" a child who talks a lot, not really listening to what she is saying. However, if you really listen to her and interact with her by asking her follow-up questions and responding to her words, she will feel that you value what she has to say.
- Teach children in a non-aggressive way (without hitting, yelling, or shaming) to stabilize their feelings of self-worth.[27]
- For example, if your child hits another child, you can pull him to the side and calmly tell him that he shouldn't hit other children because it can hurt them. If necessary, you can have him take a short break to breathe and collect himself before returning to play.
- Offer children warmth, affection, support, and respect without judgment to make children feel worthy of love and acceptance. [28]
- If your child tells you that he is sad about something that seems silly to you (like the sun going down), do not dismiss his feelings. Acknowledge his feelings by saying "I understand that you are sad that the sun went down. Then do your best to explain why the situation cannot be changed by saying something like, "The sun has to go down every night because the world is turning and the people on the other side of the Earth need to get sunshine too. It also gives us the opportunity to rest and get ready for the next day." Finally, offer a hug or other physical affection to comfort your child and help him feel that you empathize with him, even if you cannot change the situation.
- Understand the effects of outside comments on self-love. You will encounter negativity in your life. Self-love cannot be practiced in a bubble, without the influence of outside comments and potential negativity. As such, you must learn to deal with negativity from your partner, your boss, your parents, or even strangers on the street.
- You can empower yourself to let such negativity roll off of you without allowing it to change your feelings of self-worth.
- Remind yourself that you are worth loving. Many people tend to get insecure about themselves, when in reality we are all human beings! Always believe in yourself, and be the confident, optimistic you.
- Avoid things that encourage stereotypical ideas, such as beauty magazines.
- Be yourself and stop caring about what others think. Be the best version of yourself that you can be.
- Being yourself isn't bad. We all want to achieve the best person we can be. Just remember that if you're trying to be like someone else, or your method to feeling positive feels fake even after a long time of trying, then it's not YOU that you are loving. Accept yourself, identify the parts of yourself that you haven't yet. Try new things and conquer your fears.You'd be surprised at what you find!
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| How to Clean a Refrigerator Posted: 03 Dec 2016 12:00 AM PST Every so often, a refrigerator needs to be cleaned from the inside out. The shelves have to be washed down from milk spills, and food must be tossed out if it has outlived its shelf life. Though it's not the most pleasant task, knowing how to do it efficiently and effectively will save you plenty of time and hassle. EditCleaning the Refrigerator - Take all your food out of the fridge. Place it on a table or counter so the refrigerator is completely emptied out. You'll want to have empty space so that you can survey the damage.
- Throw out any aged, moldy or inedible food, bagging securely to prevent leakage or mold distribution. The yearly or quarterly refrigerator clean often alerts us to items we've completely forgotten about, and which have sadly lost their inevitable fight with Time. 'Tis life. Discard hastily or restock at your own risk.
- Don't be bashful about throwing away the items that you never use. Those pickles that have been sitting in the back of the fridge before grandma got her dentures probably got to go, unless you accidentally want to invite disaster.
- Empty the bin afterwards to make sure your house doesn't smell of all the food you throw out!
- Take out any shelving, drawers (e.g. crispers), or other removable surface areas from the refrigerator. Sticking your head into the belly of the refrigerator in order to clean it isn't very pleasant, and it sure isn't that effective. In order to get the job done quicker, you'll probably want to remove shelving and the like and place it near the kitchen sink, where it will be much easier to clean.
- Wash the shelving, drawers, and other surfaces by hand. Most of what you took out of your fridge either won't fit or shouldn't be placed in a dishwasher. Instead, lather up some suds, get a nice brush or sponge to scrub with, and start going at the removable items from your fridge. This is where the rubber meets the road.
- Never wash a cold glass shelf with hot water. The sudden temperature change could shatter the glass. Instead, use cold water or remove the shelf and let it come up to room temperature before washing it.
- For heavy-duty spills and/or stains, don't be afraid to use the power of hot water and ammonia. Dilute a little bit of ammonia in hot water (1:5 ratio should be plenty) and let the item(s) soak before scrubbing.
- Be sure to let the shelving, grill, etc. dry out completely on a drying rack before inserting back into the refrigerator.
- Wipe the inside of the refrigerator with your preferred cleaning solution. Attack any big or stubborn stains and hit all the remaining surfaces with a clean cloth or sponge.
- You probably don't want to use soap or a chemical cleaner on the inside of the fridge, as food will absorb the smell. Instead, use one of the following natural cleaning solutions:
- 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 quart hot water[1]
- 1 part apple cider vinegar to 3 parts hot water
- For really stubborn stains or buildups, try using a dab of white toothpaste. It serves as an abrasive cleanser and it smells mighty fine to boot.[2]
- Make sure to clean the inside of the fridge doors. If your refrigerator door has shelving space and is regularly used, make sure to hit that area too, either with a chemical cleaner or a gentler one (explanation above).
- Dry off shelving before putting it back in its home in the refrigerator. With a clean cloth, wipe off any excess water from your removable shelving and place it back in the refrigerator.
- Clean the gasket using a dissolved solution of ½ water and ½ vinegar or bleach. Don't saturate the seal with undiluted bleach as this may ruin the integrity of the gasket. Pat the gasket dry and then apply lemon oil, mineral oil, or body lotion on the gasket to keep the rubber supple.
- Reintroduce the food into the refrigerator. Wipe off any jars, bottles, or tupperware and place them back into the refrigerator. Double-check the expiration dates on any perishable items before placing them back.
EditCleaning the Exterior - Wipe down all exterior surfaces of the refrigerator, including the front, back, sides, and top.
- Pull the refrigerator forward to expose all sides. To avoid scratching your wood floor or tearing linoleum, use an appliance glide when moving your refrigerator.
- Clean the all exterior surfaces using a towel and all-purpose cleaner.
- If your model has the coils mounted on the back of the unit, skip wiping the back until Part 3.
EditCleaning the Condenser Coils and Fan Blade Your refrigerator condenser coils and fan are responsible for releasing heat back into ambient air. If your coils are covered with dust, hair, and debris, heat isn't released properly causing your refrigerator's compressor works harder to keep the refrigerator cool. Clean your refrigerator condenser coils every six months to keep your refrigerator in optimal condition. - Locate the coils. Depending on your refrigerator model, the condenser coils can be located in several places: 1. Along the back of the unit; 2. Mounted under the unit and accessed via the rear panel; 3. In the front of the unit and accessed via the toe grill. For information on your refrigerator's condenser coil location, reference your Use and Care manual.
- Isolate the refrigerator from its power source. It is important to unplug the refrigerator to prevent electric shock. If your unit is built-in or difficult to pull forward, turn off power via your home's break box.
- Use a coil brush to gently remove dust and debris from the coils. Be extremely careful not to puncture the coils.
- After cleaning the coils with a coil brush, use a vacuum with attached brush to clean up the excess dust and dirt on and around the coils. Do not use a cleaning solution on the coils
- Use the coil brush and a damp rag to remove dust and dirt from the condenser fan blade. The fan circulates are across the coils, which aids in releasing excess heat. If the fan blade is obstructed in anyway, the coils will have a hard time releasing heat.
- Clean the floor and surrounding area using a vacuum and rag.
- Plug the refrigerator back into electric power and slide the unit back into place.
EditReplacing Your Water Filter It's important to replace your refrigerator water filter every six months. Build up in the filter can cause clogs in your ice maker system and odors or contaminants in your water. - Reference your Use and Care manual for information about how to change the filter in your unit.
EditKeeping Your Refrigerator Clean and Tidy - Do a seasonal (quarterly) pass through your refrigerator to keep it smelling fresh and looking good. Every three months, remove most or all of your food from the fridge and wipe all the surfaces with a baking soda or vinegar solution. Regular maintenance will save you time and energy in the future.
- This almost goes without saying, but if you notice a spill or stain in the fridge, try to clean it up quickly and remove the source of the stain. Spills or stains that aren't cleaned quickly can set and become harder to remove in the future.
- Use a homemade air freshener to absorb unpleasant smells and keep your fridge odor-free. Before food goes bad, and starts coating the inside of your fridge with regular blasts of bad odors, it's time to act. Here's what you can equip your fridge with to combat these smells:
- A clean sock filled with activated charcoal — from an aquarium store, not from your bbq briquettes. The charcoal absorbs bad odors for up to three months.
- An opened box of baking soda. Baking soda is another expert odor absorber.[3] Most baking soda packages say you should change your baking soda out every 30 days, but you can probably get away with 60 to 90 days of use before exchanging.
- Freshly ground coffee, placed in a small dish at the back of the fridge, also works very well at absorbing odors.
- Unscented chlorophyll cat litter is yet another odor buster. 1/2" kitty litter in a shallow pan at the back of the refrigerator should eliminate most offending smells.
- Scent your fridge to give it a subtle fragrance. This may not be for everyone, but some people might enjoy the subtle hint of vanilla, for example, when they open their refrigerator. The operating word in this whole step is "subtle." You probably don't want any fragrance to be overwhelming upon opening of the fridge. Like cologne or perfume, a nice "afterthought" is much more pleasant, especially coupled with food:
- Sprinkle a little vanilla extract, tea tree oil, or essence of lavender, lemon, or even bergamot in a cotton ball and place the cotton ball in a small dish at the back of the fridge. Exchange every couple of weeks.
- Crumple a piece of a brown paper bag into a ball and place it alongside fruits and veggies in the crisper for odor protection. A crumpled paper bag works wonders at removing smells in the crisper.
- Clean your fridge out approximately once every month.
- Organize to make things easier to find. Put milk, juices, and other drinks on one shelf, and your dressings, sauces, and similar items in another place.
- Check weekly for bad products to help keep out odors.
- Keep a small jar (with the lid off) of baking soda in the fridge to absorb excess moisture. Please note that it has to be a jar and not a box.
- Keep sauces/marinades in a plastic basket. Easy to take out in one go (eg: for bbqs etc) and if they do spill or break, you can just wash the basket and not the whole fridge.
- Once your fridge is clean, one easy way to keep it clean is to empty and clean just one or two shelves or drawers at a time. The entire fridge is never spotless all at once, but it can stay reasonably clean without being an all-day project. Just make sure to cycle through all the shelves.
- Make sure that no parts will fall so it won't crash and break.
- Put shelf paper on the shelves in the fridge. It keeps the shelves from getting soiled. Once they get dirty just pull up, toss, and reapply a new design or texture!
- Don't let water or cleaning solution fall into any of the inside vents.
- Old food should be bagged securely and separately before placing inside your regular kitchen trash bag to avoid attracting animals/rodents if the garbage bag is not sealed securely or acquires a rip or tear while outdoors.
EditThings You'll Need - Vinegar
- Baking soda (optional)
- Water
- Plastic grocery or trash bag(s), if necessary
- Washcloth or sponge
- Cleaner
- Coil Brush
- Vacuum with brush attachment
- Water Filter (optional)
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