Refrigerator Avoidance

May 27, 2021

I’m sure you’ve heard of the term “Refrigerator Mothers”. These mothers are cold, neglectful, and uncaring towards their children. They lack physical and emotional warmth. There was once a theory that Refrigerator Mothers caused their children to have autism. While this thought it now outdated, emotionally neglectful parenting often results with children having either avoidant or anxious (or anxious-avoidant) attachment styles. Of course the parents are not to be blamed, since they were probably doing the best they could. And like I’ve said in a previous blog post, we all come to earth having chosen our parents so that our souls can learn specific lessons. I’ve been talking with a friend about the theory of Refrigerator Mothers and it got me thinking about refrigerator organization, and the avoidant tendencies we all can have towards that big rectangular structure we all have in our kitchens.

There are many different things that can cause refrigerator avoidance. It usually starts out with something small. A well-intentioned box of leftovers, optimistic thinking when purchasing vegetables, or just not knowing how long a jar of olives stays good for once it’s been opened. Something in the fridge gets neglected, guilt and shame set in, and instead of using the other food that’s still good in the fridge, you find yourself ordering takeout so that you don’t have to come to terms with the fact that you’re never going to use that jar of sauerkraut. You feel yourself running low on a few items from the grocery store, but instead of clearing out the old food from the fridge before restocking the new items, you put the fresh groceries in-front of the old ones. More and more food starts to go bad, and instead of dealing with it, you order more takeout.

This is the time to clean out your fridge! Why??

• We just had a major lunar eclipse early in the morning of May 26^th, 2021. Eclipses come in pairs. The next eclipse will be a solar eclipse happening on June 10^th. The time between these two eclipses is PERFECT for resetting your perceptions about life. Do you have the identity that you’re someone who regularly lets food rot in the fridge, has a disorganized fridge, or never has what they need in the fridge? This is the time to clean up your fridge so that you can re-write a new identity of yourself and your fridge management style. If you can clean up your fridge within this time period (and even a few days after the solar eclipse), your old fridge identity will be gone for good!

• The Summer Solstice is coming up. This is a great time of year to set intentions for how you want the rest of your year to go. There are lots of positive spiritual forces to assist you with your intention setting during the solstice. The best way to make sure your messages are sent to the universe loud and clear is if you can clean up your environment as best you can. Clutter can muddy up the water. It’s best to be crystal clear about what your intentions are. A clean environment = clear intentions.

• Cleaning up your fridge will help inspire you to fill it with healthy food. Eating right (for you!) will help you feel fresh, full of bright shiny energy. Powerhouse tip: When you listen to your body about what it needs for nourishment, other people will listen to you much better! If you’ve ever felt like no one listens to you, ask yourself if YOU even listen to yourself. (Insert wink emoji!).

How to clean out your fridge??

Clean off a countertop so that you can take everything out of your fridge.
Pull everything out onto the counter and group like items.
Compost anything that has gone bad or you know you’ll never eat. This is the time to really be honest with yourself. Keeping something out of guilt does absolutely nothing for anybody! Take the compost out right away before it makes a mess.
Wipe down the shelves and walls of the fridge really well. Empty out the drawers. Spray an all-purpose cleaner all over all the surfaces, and let it sit for a few minutes. Fill up a bucket with warm water and a dash of sea salt (to help clear any stale energy from the fridge). Use a microfiber cloth to clean off all of the surfaces.
Dry everything really well. Use another dry microfiber cloth to dry all the surfaces.
Put everything back in the fridge in a way that makes sense to you! What do you reach for most often? Does your fridge have any cold spots? I like to recommend coming up with a system that encourages you to use the older vegetables first so that they don’t get neglected. Rotating older items to the left and filling in the new items on the right seems to work for a lot of people.
Bask in the glory of your newly cleaned fridge! Fill it with foods that help you feeling your very best!

What was the grossest thing you extracted from your fridge? Send me a message, I’d love to cheer you on!