--- description: Keep your milk where it's coldest in your fridge. title: How to Properly Organize Your Refrigerator image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How to Properly Organize Your Refrigerator by [Mike Nudelman / Business Insider](/author/business-insider/) ## Mike Nudelman / Business Insider Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 10, 2015 4:58 PM CUT by [Mike Nudelman / Business Insider](/author/business-insider/) ## Mike Nudelman / Business Insider Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 10, 2015 4:58 PM CUT Refrigerators are complex and beautiful machines. They’re also much more nuanced than you might expect. For instance, did you know that the doors are the warmest, the bottom shelf the coldest, and the drawers the most humid? What about the fact that many fruits emit a [gas that accelerates rotting in vegetables](http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/avoid-premature-spoiling-fruits-vegetables-10000000681591/ "undefined"), so they should always be stored separately? Or that you should never put bread or wine on top of your fridge because the warmth will ruin it? We made this simple graphic to help you maximize your food’s freshness.  Mike Nudelman—Business Insider _This_ [_article_](http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-organize-your-fridge-2014-7 "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Business Insider_](http://www.businessinsider.com "undefined") _More from Business Insider:_ * [A Japanese lifestyle guru explains how to organize your home once — and then never again](http://www.businessinsider.com/marie-kondos-philosophy-organization-japan-tidy-folding-joy-cleaning-2015-10 "undefined") * [15 storage essentials to keep your pantry organized](http://www.businessinsider.com/15-best-pantry-organizers-2015-2 "undefined") * [How To Clean Your Entire Apartment In 30 Minutes](http://www.businessinsider.com/clean-your-apartment-in-30-minutes-2014-10 "undefined") * [The only 3 knives you need in your kitchen](http://www.businessinsider.com/the-only-3-kitchen-knives-you-need-2015-5 "undefined") * [Here’s a brilliant solution for anyone with a tiny kitchen in their studio apartment](http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-the-quickest-way-to-clean-up-your-kitchen-2015-6 "undefined") How to Properly Organize Your Refrigerator ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4106451/how-to-organize-fridge/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4106451/how-to-organize-fridge/"},"headline":"How to Properly Organize Your Refrigerator","datePublished":"2015-11-10T16:58:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:42:18.247Z","description":"Keep the milk where it's coldest","url":"https://time.com/4106451/how-to-organize-fridge/","keywords":["Living","advice","kitchen","life hacks"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mike Nudelman / Business Insider"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4106451/how-to-organize-fridge/","name":"How to Properly Organize Your Refrigerator"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"IKEA: The Psychology Behind Why We Overshop","description":"Here's how IKEA gets us to buy more than we need, explained by TIME writer Josh Sanburn","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0fFiBuse/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-11T22:23:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0fFiBuse.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4106451/how-to-organize-fridge/","duration":"PT2M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4106451/how-to-organize-fridge/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```