Q. What's the best way to clean the inside of my refrigerator, and do I have to push the fridge away from the wall and clean behind it?

A. It’s easy to clean your fridge quickly if you follow a few simple rules. Clean it just before you go to the supermarket so your fridge is as empty as it gets. All you need is a good all-purpose cleaner and a few paper towels. As with all cleaning chores, you should start from the top, working back to front, then left to right and then down to the next shelf.

Rather than emptying the refrigerator, save time by moving everything on a shelf to the right so you can clean the left side. Then do the opposite. If that’s not possible, set just enough items on the next lower shelf so you can move the remaining ones back and forth. Inspect and wipe the sticky bottoms of the ketchup bottle, mustard and jam jars and other condiment containers, which are often dirty and can quickly spoil your cleaning efforts when you put them back in place. This is also the time to toss out-of-date food and bottles of salad dressing that have been residing in the refrigerator for years!

Finally, be sure to vacuum the vents on the outside of the fridge below the doors. When they’re laden with dust, the fridge has to work harder (and suck up more electricity) to cool your food. If your fridge is on wheels and pulls out easily, it’s a good idea to vacuum the floor behind it and the fridge’s coils. If it’s not on wheels, skip this step. Even with a strong spouse helping, you have a 75 percent chance of gouging the kitchen floor when you try to move it.

Jeff Campbell is the author of the books Speed Cleaning and Spring Cleaning. He runs TheCleanTeam.com.