The Battle Has Ended . . . For Now

The refrigerator war was raging when I came back to work Wednesday morning.  I had to borrow a crowbar and a can of grease to pry open a small slot to stick my 4" square by 1" deep Tupperware sandwich container.  OK, I didn't actually have to use a crowbar and grease, but I think you get the visual.  The top shelf was crammed full. The main occupants were a gallon jug of milk and three half-gallon jugs of juice.  WTF?  The next two shelves were also filled to capacity with various and sundry items in plastic grocery bags.  The shallow meat drawer was full, as were the bottom two crisper drawers. One drawer had 3 of the 2-liter bottles stuffed in it.  As I was trying to squeeze my sandwich box into a small opening, one of the guys from HR came in to put something on the bulletin board and noticed what was going on. I told him if he would send the official email, I would volunteer to clean out the frig.   A few minutes later, the wheels were in motion for the Friday Frig Clean Out.

Friday afternoon arrived and it was time for the big Clean Out.  I started to go round up a pair of latex gloves, but figured if things got too messy, I could always stick my hand inside a plastic grocery bag for an impromptu glove.  The first items removed were the big jugs of milk and juice.  Once those were out of the way, we found all kinds of interesting things.  It seemed that forest green was the color scheme of the day for all of the things we threw away: oranges that were once actually orange were now covered in dark green fuzz; sour cream containers that were also filled with the same dark green fuzz; I could go on but I think you get the visual on this, too.  We found bread that was truly as hard as a rock, and we found a jar of marischino cherries that had hardened and was the consistency of rubber.  Inch by inch, we made our way though the refrigerator, clearing it out.  Before anyone is quick to point fingers, let me say that we followed the ZCO Refrigerator Rulebook:  if something was labled with a name or initials, it stayed - [sigh] regardless of how old it was.  We also went one step further, and didn't toss any condiments that still looked fresh. 

When we finished with the dirty deed, which didn't take 10 minutes, it looked like a new refrigerator.  Now everyone can come in Monday morning and find a spot for their lunch without having to use any tools or farm implements.  Let's see how long it stays that clean.