National Holiday Proposal 1-26-09

The top of my refrigerator has become a catch-all for the "stuff" I don't know what to do with or that won't fit, because of its enormous bulk, into any of my kitchen cabinets. I usually try to clean it off once a year, at Christmas, when daughter #1's 6-foot 7-inch (or so) father-in-law comes for dinner (He's the only one who can really see the top of the refrigerator.) Noticing it today, it appears that I missed the annual cleaning event this year.

Today is "clean off the top of the refrigerator day" - not a National holiday, yet.

This is what I removed from the top of my refrigerator:

• A General Electric Juice Extractor - I haven't used it in over a year, but today I made a delicious batch of apple-carrot-ginger juice. Who knew there would be such tasty advantages to cleaning house? I found a place for the juicer on the top shelf of the pantry after rearranging some of my other "stuff".
  
• A red enameled 1.5-quart pitcher that once belonged to my mother. It matches my kitchen and it reminds me of her and I use it to water my plants. It will get to stay.


• A Wear-Ever aluminum potato ricer, complete with stand and pestle. (I will confess I had to Google mortar and pestle because I can never remember which is which.) I have never used a ricer. It is a semi-antique I bought at an Estate Sale because my grandmother, Big Red, swears that riced potatoes are better than mashed potatoes. I am keeping this on the outside chance that I might one day use it and it makes a nice decorative statement in the kitchen.


• A box containing my irreplaceable and much used "rabbit" corkscrew. This is a necessity in my house, so of course I'm keeping it. I will, however store it in the cabinet under the wine rack.
  
• A wine bottle lamp I purchased in a moment of weakness at a craft mall. It is a wine bottle with clear Christmas lights on the inside and glass grapes and raffia decorating the outside of the bottle. I have relocated this to the table behind the sofa. I may move it around a bit before I realize it is pretty tacky and get rid of it.


• A zip-lock sandwich bag containing granular humate - 70% humic acid. I'm a gardener, what else can I say? I relocated this to the potting shed (yet another purge project).


• Instruction manual to juicer. I put this with the juicer now residing happily on the top shelf of the pantry.


• A broken plastic fly-swatter. Trash!


• A HUGE stainless steel pot only used for making beer (yes, I have made home brew!), and for Cajun shrimp boils. I stored this in the black depths of the corner cabinet by the dishwasher. I am sure I will forget it is there and will tear up the house looking for it the next time I have a hankering for home brew or Cajun food.


• A bread-machine that may or may not work. The last time I used it the bread didn't turn out well. Was it the fault of the machine or the cook? I am going to bake a loaf of bread tomorrow as a test. Once I sample the freshly baked bread I will determine the fate of the machine (or the fate of the cook?)


• Three writing pens; one working two not. Kept one, tossed two.


• A 1/4-inch of dust. Didn't keep that!

The top of my refrigerator is now clean. Perhaps I should have my daughter's in-laws over soon.