Nine tricks to help your fridge work less and save more

Throwing away food is one of the most wasteful things you can do. When you think of all the energy that goes into producing each item in your refrigerator, discarding something without using it is a major eco-crime. Additionally, the refrigerator is one of the biggest energy hogs in your home, and it's working hard all day to keep all that food cool for you to consume.

To save energy and avoid waste, follow these tips for proper food storage, keeping your foods fresher for longer and helping to justify that carbon footprint.

1. De-clutter While a full fridge doesn't have to work as hard as an empty one, a cluttered fridge has less airflow, meaning it will have to work harder to cool. Make sure to leave space for the air to circulate around items by using your shelf space wisely.

2. Clear Your Vents Don't block the air vents of the refrigerator when you are storing your food. This can cause items nearest to the vents to freeze and results in poor cooling throughout the rest of the compartment.

3. Know Your Zones Different parts of the fridge have different temperatures. Ever stuck your lettuce on the top shelf only to find it's gone brown and icy? It was probably in front of an air vent. The top of the fridge is the coldest area; use it for storing low moisture products that need to stay the coldest.

4. Designate A Dairy Aisle Don't put dairy products in the fridge door. This is the warmest part of the refrigerator, and milk may spoil if left there. Use the door space for storing drinks (other than dairy). Because drinks are the most frequently accessed item, if they are all in one spot, drink-seekers can just open and grab, spending less time browsing and letting warm air in that raises the overall temperature, causing the unit to use more electricity.

5. Cover It Up Always keep liquids covered and make sure to wrap foods before storing them in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods dry out and spoil more quickly, plus the moisture they release makes the refrigerator's compressor work harder, using more energy.

6. Go With Glass Use glass containers to store leftovers. You'll be able to see what's in them, helping you to remember to eat it, and glass retains the cold temperature better than plastic, meaning the fridge doesn't have to work as hard to keep it cool.

7. Choose the Correct Crisper Those sliders on the crispers aren't just there to play with. By controlling the humidity in each one correctly, your fruits and vegetables will last longer and your fridge will have less work to do. High humidity keeps moist air in the crisper for optimal storage of leafy vegetables, and low humidity lets the moist air out for the best storage of fruit.

8. Designate a Snack Drawer Store snacks such as yogurt and other frequently accessed items in a common location. If everyone in the house knows right where all the good stuff is they'll grab and go, and avoid leaving the door open for extended periods as they rummage.

9. Organize Everything Use fridge storage bins to coral items and keep things from getting lost in the back of the fridge and forgotten about. Designating one compartment for meat products also helps prevent cross-contamination and food spoilage. Another bin for all your condiments also helps come dinnertime. Rather than having to hunt around for the ketchup you can just pull out the container and select your needs for the night.

What other tricks do you have to save energy with your refrigerator?