Baking Soda

As the day nears that we are to take possession of our new townhouse, we are increasingly busy with all the usual junk... home inspections, hiring the handyman, negotiating the costs for the repairs, arranging for the place to be painted and getting the word out about it. We need a tennant to be in place by October 15th. And believe it or not, it's a very real possibility... however, it does tend to rush things a little.

Today was the day that we got to inspect the appliances being left behind. Washer, dryer and fridge. I feel very lucky to have won the negotiation where those three things would stay behind with us. But they had to be looked at and while I stayed with the handyman who was sizing other things up... Rick took on the task of checking out the fridge.

You need to know that the fridge was originally left in the house unplugged but with the doors closed and that is a cardinal sin. You never leave the fridge doors closed if you are unplugging it.

Why? Not just because some small child could crawl in there and suffocate (like I'd always been told) but more because when you eventually DID open the doors again, it would smell like a raccoon had died in it.

And it did. There was definitely something dead in this fridge.

However, one smart person, namely our real estate agent, had the forethought to just plug it back in. And so she did. And then someone came along at some other point in time and cleaned the fridge. I don't know who took on that job... or why. But they did.

So, today... Rick opens the now clean and fresh fridge and sees a little item inside resembling a toilet bowl cleaner. Except it was mean't for the fridge. And it had 'Baking Soda" written all over it. AND it had expired. It was now pink, which mean't that it was time to change it.

And Rick, bless his little heart, was beside himself.

"Hey, guys? We have to change this."

"Why?"

"Because it says so."

"I don't want to."

"You have to."

"I do not. I am not even going to use this refrigerator. I'll leave that task for the new tennant I hope to get. Plus, the fridge now smells pretty good!"

"But... but... it's pink!"

"Rick... Get over it. Put it down and just walk away from it."

"You're gonna be sorry when you don't change this."

And so we left, went on our merry way, only to have Rick bring it up again about three hours later.

"So when are we going to change the baking soda thing?"

"October 1st, Rick. We'll change it on October 1st."