The One Thing I Always Clean When I’m in a Bad Mood

Geraldine Campbell
Geraldine Campbell
Geraldine Campbell was the Managing Editor at The Kitchn. She loves semi-colons, em dashes, and serial commas. She lives in Brooklyn with her dog, Charlie.
updated Dec 17, 2019
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For some (most?) people, cleaning is a chore to get through. You feel so much better when it’s over, but the actual process? Not so awesome. Is this you?

It’s definitely not me.

My penchant for cleaning and organizing was apparent from a very young age. While my brother and sister were happiest playing with their toys, still-in-diapers me was always looking to when I could put those toys away. When I got a little older, organizing our massive collection of Legos, by color, was a task that gave me great satisfaction.

So, it’s really no surprise that, as an adult, I am something of a neat freak. I still make messes, for sure. I cook things that splatter grease everywhere, I always (always) get flour on the floor when I’m baking, and I have a dog who leaves hair everywhere. Now there’s a new kitten who somehow manages to get her food everywhere, even when I give her a nice big mat to contain her mess.

And then I get to clean it all up! Doing so is calming and almost therapeutic. It may be one of my favorite things to do!

The One Thing I Always Clean When I’m in a Bad Mood

So when I’m in a foul mood, you’ll usually find me with a sponge and a spray bottle of diluted bleach. There’s one thing that almost always cheers me up and that’s cleaning my fridge.

I love cleaning my fridge so much! I love taking everything out and assessing whether it’s past its due date or if I can salvage it. What to do with those radishes I bought because they were so pretty? I wonder.

I love removing the shelves and cleaning them with warm, soapy water. I love wiping down the nooks and crannies you can’t see when the fridge is full. And I love putting it all back in again, starting with those sparkling shelves and bins, then moving onto the spoilable goods, noting to myself: Get more milk!

Finally, it’s time to put the condiments in their rightful place. How did that mustard end up on the bottom shelf with the fish sauce? I muse as I put it on the top shelf where it belongs. This thought is followed by Maybe I should make that French mustard chicken for dinner tonight. A radish salad would go nicely with that.

And just like that, my bad mood is gone and I’m looking forward to a tasty dinner.

What do you do when you’re in a bad mood? Do you clean, too?

Get Cleaning!

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Cleaning