If there’s one kitchen appliance very few of us can do without, it’s a refrigerator.

Oven broken? Use the stovetop or a microwave.

No toaster? Toast it on the grill.

No kettle? The stovetop again, is your friend.

But when it comes to a broken refrigerator, there’s very little that can replace it – besides physically replacing it, of course. It’s crazy that less than 100 years ago, fridges weren’t commonplace in homes.

It’s such a useful appliance, but do you really know how to make the most of it? And, more importantly, the don’ts when it comes to chilling your food?

According to a recent article in Reader’s Digest, there are certain items that you absolutely should not be storing in those handy shelves in your refrigerator door.

And the likelihood is, you keep at least one of these items there.

That’s because unlike the back of your fridge, the temperature in the door isn’t constant – largely because of the impacts of opening and closing your door, and the heat fluctuations the food stored there experiences as a result.

And there’s one easy rule to go by: if it spoils easily, don’t store it in the door!

This means that common fridge door culprits like butter and milk should be kept in the fridge’s main compartments, not the door; exposing it to heat so frequently can cause these dairy products to spoil much quicker.

Meat and seafood should absolutely not be stored in the door – especially since they can be so dangerous if spoiled – and neither should leftovers or soft cheeses.

And, if you live in the US this goes for eggs too, since your eggs are washed, making them more susceptible to bacterial growth (in contrast to other countries, where eggs can be stored at room temperature.

So what can you store in the fridge door? Well, jams, jellies and other condiments are your friend here, as are sauces and bottled drinks – products that can handle fluctuating temperatures.

If you found that story interesting, learn more about why people often wake up around 3 AM and keep doing it for life.