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The refrigerator organization secrets that will keep your food fresher

There's one important factor that determines how long your food will survive in the fridge. Here's what you need to know.

Headshot of Sharon Profis
Headshot of Sharon Profis
Sharon Profis Former Vice President of Content, CNET Studios
As vice president of CNET Studios, Sharon led the video, social, editorial design, and branded-content teams. Before that role, Sharon led content development and launched new verticals for CNET, including Wellness, Money, and How To. A tech expert herself, she's reviewed and covered countless products, hosted hundreds of videos, and appeared on shows like Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, and Today. Sharon is also a recurring Best of Beauty Awards judge for Allure, and she's an avid chef -- she's developed and published hundreds of recipes, and she hosts the cooking segment Farm to Fork on PBS nationwide.
Credentials
  • Webby Award ("How To, Explainer, and DIY Video"); Folio Changemaker Award, 2020
Sharon Profis

Watch this: The one thing every refrigerator owner should know

Most refrigerators have a problem: they don't maintain a consistent temperature throughout their interior. No matter what temperature your fridge is set at (ideally somewhere between 37 and 40 degrees Farenheit, or 2.8 and 4.4 degrees Celsius), some areas will always be cooler than others.

Here are the most important considerations:

  • The door is the warmest place in your fridge
  • The bottom shelf is the coolest spot
  • Keeping food items spaced out will promote air circulation (which will keep your food -- and entire fridge -- cool)
  • The bottom drawers' humidity settings should be adjusted based on what's being stored

Knowing this, you'll want to develop a strategy for organizing the food in your fridge. For instance, eggs and milk should never be stored in the door, where the temperature is warmest. Check out more tips in the video above, and this slideshow:

You're using your fridge wrong

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