How do I organise a fridge properly?

A fridge is not one temperature. The bottom is coldest, the door is warmest and swings every time it opens. Matching food to zone extends its life and — because raw meat goes at the bottom — prevents contamination of everything below it.

What you'll need

• Fridge thermometer (optional)
• Clear containers (optional)

Step by step

1. Check the fridge is running at 0-5°C.A cheap thermometer tells you. Many domestic fridges run warmer than their dial suggests, which shortens the life of everything in them.
2. Raw meat and fish on the bottom shelf, covered.The coldest part, and nothing beneath it to drip onto. This is a food safety rule rather than an organisational preference.
3. Cooked food and leftovers on the upper shelves.Above raw meat, always. Covered and dated so they get used within two days.
4. Dairy in the main body, not the door.The door temperature swings with every opening, which is why milk kept there goes off noticeably sooner.
5. Condiments and things with a long life in the door.Jars, sauces, ketchup. Their preservatives make them tolerant of the temperature swings.
6. Vegetables in the drawers with the humidity set right.High humidity for leafy greens, lower for fruit. If the drawers have a slider, that is what it does.
7. Keep a use-first area.One shelf or a box for things nearing the end. It is the simplest single change that reduces food waste.
8. Do not overfill it.Air has to circulate. A packed fridge has warm spots and the temperature at the front differs sharply from the back.

Tips

• Do not store tomatoes, bananas, potatoes or onions in the fridge. Cold damages their texture and flavour, and potatoes and onions keep better in a cool dark cupboard.
• Clear containers and a quick weekly look prevent the classic problem of finding something unrecognisable at the back.
• Let hot food cool before refrigerating, but not for more than two hours. Hot food raises the temperature of everything around it.

Common mistakes

• Keeping milk in the door — It is the warmest part with the biggest temperature swings, and milk sours noticeably faster there than at the back of a shelf.
• Storing raw meat above other food — Drips contaminate whatever is below. Bottom shelf, covered, is a rule rather than a suggestion.
• Packing the fridge completely full — Air cannot circulate, creating warm spots, and food at the front sits at a very different temperature to the back.

Questions people ask