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" Does your milk smell like onions? Your lettuce go limp in a week? Are you tossing cold cuts before you get a chance to make sandwiches? Avoid these common fridge missteps, and you may find you waste less food. 1. Storing milk and dairy on the door The temperature is warmest there, and it can turn your milk, yogurt, and butter quicker. Put them on refrigerator shelves instead. 2. Not keeping meat in the meat drawer In most models, this compartment is designed to keep foods colder than the rest of the refrigerator, so it&amp;#039;s the ideal spot for raw meat, poultry, and cold cuts. Often these drawers have various settings \u2014 choose the coldest one, and it may keep meat slightly below freezing so it stays fresh significantly longer. Remember to keep raw meat in containers or bags, so juices can&amp;#039;t leak out and contaminate other foods. 3. Failing to clean the condenser coils If you notice that your fridge is warmer than usual, your coils might need cleaning. You should tackle this easy-to-do task several times a year and even more often if you have dogs or cats that shed. Unplug the unit, snap off the grate, and clean with inexpensive coil-cleaning brush (find it at a hardware store) or your vacuum&amp;#039;s crevice tool. Clean coils also help your unit operate more efficiently, so you&amp;#039;ll save a bit on electricity. 4. Not wrapping food tightly before freezing Whether you use zipper-top freezer bags, aluminum foil, or heavy-duty plastic wrap, make sure to remove the air by smoothing the wrap around the food. If you&amp;#039;re using storage containers, fill them almost to the top. You&amp;#039;ll protect leftovers from freezer burn, but give the food enough room to expand as it freezes.  5. Not stashing fruits and vegetables in the crisper drawers They&amp;#039;re called crispers for a reason. Keep lettuce, broccoli, and other veggies in one of your fridge&amp;#039;s produce drawers with the humidity level set to high, and you&amp;#039;ll be surprised at how long they stay sprightly. Use the other drawer for fruit with the humidity levels set to low. Storing a cut onion? Wrap it in plastic and place it in the crisper to keep it from flavoring nearby foods, like milk. Sharon Franke is the director of the Kitchen Appliances and Technology lab of the Good Housekeeping Institute. NEXT: 5 Biggest Mistakes You Make With Your Washing Machine \u00BB Photo: Cristian Baitg/Getty "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/cooking/a25132/refrigerator-mistakes/>