Clean It Now or Pay Later: The Surprising Link Between Freezers and Bookkeeping

Not long ago, I was at a church playground event, chatting with other moms while our kids played. Somehow, we got on the topic of bad smells — you know, those unforgettable stinks that seem to hang in the air no matter what you do. I never thought that I will have my own stories.

It was wintertime, and I was driving home in our van with groceries. A gallon of milk had a "tiny" hole in it, and drip by drip, the half gallon of milk slowly escaped into the van’s carpet without me noticing. When I got home and saw the mess, I was frustrated, but I did my best to shampoo the carpet, feeling confident that I’d caught the mess in time.

But a few months later, as the weather began to warm, a truly awful smell took over the van. Each time I opened the door, it felt like the odor slapped me in the face. I knew I couldn’t ignore it, so I decided to go deeper. I removed every seat, every floor mat, determined to find the source. That’s when I discovered a hidden compartment for the spare tire, filled with sticky, spoiled milk residue. It was absolutely disgusting. Scrubbing out that mess in the cold was no easy task, but there was no way I’d keep driving around in a smelly van. After hours of hard work, the smell was finally gone, and everything felt fresh again.

Fast forward to our new home, where I faced another surprise yesterday. We have an upright freezer in the garage, but I’d lost the temperature control knob. For almost ten months, I tried to adjust it by guessing, hoping to keep the food just right. Eventually, I gave up and ordered a replacement knob.

Before installing the new knob, I decided to deep clean and defrost the freezer so I could start fresh. When the knob arrived, my husband set it up and I was excited to finally regulate the temperature properly.

But on Sunday morning, as we were about to head to church, I walked into the garage and was greeted by a horrific smell. The freezer had stopped working overnight, and everything inside was beginning to rot. Hoping the freezer would hold until after church, I closed it quickly and we left. I completely forgot about the freezer until we pulled back into the garage later that afternoon- the smell was even worse- it was over 80 degrees outside, what was I thinking.... — the smell nearly knocked me over.

Without wasting a minute, my husband and I jumped into action, cleaning out the freezer while the kids pitched in to empty it. In less than half an hour, it was sparkling clean.

But a few hours later, the smell returned. It turned out the drain line underneath the freezer was clogged with spoiled meat juices, and the odor had leaked into the concrete floor. My husband came to the rescue again, we pulled the freezer out of the garage, cleaned the drainage thoroughly, and even scrubbed down the garage floor.

Two major cleanings in one day — it was a wild adventure. But afterward, we sat on the porch, catching our breath, enjoying a warm breeze and some rare sunshine peeking through the clouds, with the kids playing and the birds singing, and that hard-won fresh air. At that moment, I felt such gratitude for teamwork, persistence, and fresh starts.

Why share these messy stories?

Because, friend, the business world isn’t all that different.

So many business owners hand off their income and expenses to the tax preparer at year-end, trusting it will all work out. Problems can go unnoticed for a while, hidden under the surface, but eventually, they start to smell — financially speaking. Just like a deep clean, a thorough bookkeeping review sometimes means pulling up every seat, checking every hidden space, and clearing every clog. And, just like with our freezer, sometimes you have to call in a team to help.

Some business owners notice that something doesn’t smell right — maybe a gut feeling or a small mistake — and they act fast, hiring a bookkeeper to do a thorough clean-up and even file amendments if needed. Just like deep-cleaning the van or the freezer, they tackle the problem before it grows worse.

But for others, that “hidden smell” only shows up when the IRS comes knocking. Suddenly there’s a full-blown audit, and what could have been a simple cleanup becomes a stressful scramble to gather missing information, explain errors, and sometimes pay penalties, fees, and interest — all because the problem was left to rot instead of being handled early. It’s stressful, overwhelming, and costly.

But for those who face problems early, at the end of the day, putting in the work brings peace of mind — and a fresh, clean start. Whether in business or in life, it’s worth digging in, doing the hard (and sometimes unpleasant) work, so you can sit back, breathe freely, and truly enjoy the good moments.

So, friend, here’s the question: Do you want to keep your financial house in order today, or wait until someone else forces you to?

It’s your choice — clean up with a trusted bookkeeper now, or take your chances until the smell is too strong to ignore. If you’d rather skip the stress and get ahead of any mess, reach out today and see how we can help keep your books spotless and your mind at ease.

Kuznetsov Bookkeeping