Every morning, before I get out of bed, I make a mental list of all the major things that need to get done for the day. Today’s list included: dropping the boys off at my mother-in-laws, running a few errands in town, laundry, and having dinner with the in-laws. The planned post I had for today’s blog was going to be DIY yogurt!
This morning went along well. Errands in town went well and I came home to put groceries away as usual. And that’s where I noticed it.
The big purple blob of elderberry syrup at the bottom of the fridge.
I spilled a little last week but never took the time to wipe it up. Everyday since, I SEE that it’s there every time I open the door. Yet at some point… I stopped noticing it. Honestly, there’s a good possibility it’s been there for a few weeks. And I just accepted the sticky purple blob as one with our fridge.
For some reason, today I noticed it again. I had some spare time and no one climbing on the table or plugging in the vacuum while I wasn’t looking, so I grabbed a cloth to wipe it up.
And then I noticed the ketchup splatters on the door.
The food pushed far in the back that looked like a science experiment.
A dried up, crusty piece of carrot stuck under one of the drawers.
I was disgusted, frustrated with myself for not noticing the state of our fridge sooner. How had I become so blind to the mess it had become? Why hadn’t anyone pointed it out sooner?
Before
Complacency.
A few weeks ago I wrote about giving up complacency in 2020. It’s definitely an active process. I had allowed little spills and crumbs to pass for so long that it eventually grew into a several hour mess in order to clean up.
Let’s be real, my fridge is going to get messy again. And most likely, yours will too. (Solidarity. I’m not going to judge you for that, friend.) But I don’t want to allow little ‘crumbs and spots’ to build up in my life. Little bits of stretching the truth or wandering into grey areas. They may seem simple or small enough in the beginning, but the mess they lead to is not worth it.
So I’m encouraging you today, to take some time to reflect on what areas of your life need cleaned up. Maybe it’s a huge mess in your heart that needs time to work out, maybe it’s something as simple as a messy fridge or house. Work on it. It might be hard and messy, but the relief it brings when it’s cleaned up is worth it. You deserve it.
*Stepping down off the soap box*
It took several hours to clean the fridge. It’s never an easy job, when you let things go. But it did open my eyes to a few other areas in the kitchen that needed attention. (And was a good opportunity for some reflection, listening to positive jams, and some much needed organization.)
I moved on to the freezer, the refrigerator in the garage that holds a lot of our freezer meals, and the oven got a good scrubbing, too!
After
Just a good visual of why it’s so important to leave enough headspace when freezing in glass mason jars. – Yikes!
Just a random little blurb about this BBQ sauce! It’s fabulous! But I never noticed the Bible verse on the packaging!
There are affiliate links in this post. Read my disclosure policy to learn more.
If you’re looking for any organization or storage containers, this is what we use:
Stackable egg cartons (with funny sayings on the sides!)