Many of us have been cleaning the fridge this week as part of the Kitchen Cure.
Do you have a system for deciding what goes where? A little knowledge about the different temperature zones in your refrigerator can help.
Refrigerators vary, so ultimately you'll want to assess the design and temperature of your own particular model, but these are some general guidelines:
The door
This is the warmest part of the fridge and subject to the most temperature fluctuations, so avoid storing highly perishable foods on the door. Even though many refrigerator doors have an egg compartment, it's generally not a good idea to store eggs there; keep them in the carton on a shelf, instead. Condiments and other well-preserved foods are generally fine on the door.
Upper shelves
Upper shelves are usually constant in temperature. Use them for dairy products, drinks, containers of leftovers, and anything you want to be able to see first when you open the fridge, such as healthy snacks!
Bottom shelf
This is often the coldest spot in the fridge. It's a good place to store meat, fish, and eggs. (There's also a health advantage to storing meat here.)
Crisper drawers
Some refrigerators advertise humidity features, and how well those actually work depends on the model. Drawers do tend to retain some moisture, though, which is good for produce. If you have multiple drawers, use them to separate ethylene producing fruits and vegetables from sensitive ones, or organize for food safety and designate one drawer for produce and another for meat.
On top of the fridge
If the top of the fridge is warm, avoid storing food here. You might use the space for small appliances, cookbooks, or other items. (See What's On Top of Your Fridge? for more ideas.)
Is this how you organize your refrigerator? Or is there a different system that works better for you?
Related: How To: Organize Your Fridge
(Image: Flickr member Average Jane licensed under Creative Commons)
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
How to Make Buckwheat Soba Noodles from Scratch
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Martha Concrete Lam...
Dirty Little Secrets of Tidy Families
Hillary & Michael's Refined Roost
I store cereal, sugar and other dry goods up there, nice and cozy :)
A friend of mine gave me a nice tip. If you have a vegetable drawer which is adjustable for humidity, set it on low for the produce with thicker skins and then create microclimates with bags for the greens.
I wish they would design fridge interiors with temperatures and food safety in mind.
Meat should go on the bottom most shelf, but then the crisper drawer full of vegetables is right below that? No, no, no.
In my old, outdated fridge, that drawer isn't well sealed, and juices have managed to drip there way down there due to my poor wrapping judgement on a couple occasions.
Any remembrance of middle school science will lead you to the (correct) conclusion that the permeability of gasses makes the idea of separating ethylene producing and ethylene sensitive items in the same space (a refrigerator) a bit silly. Don't store apples and carrots in the fridge at the same time. Period.
We have fake foliage (fauxliage? LOL) on top of ours, I'm not allowed to put anything up there.
I have a tip for those of you worried about meat juices dripping everywhere in your fridge. If you have just purchased a shallow plastic shoebox to store pantry items in, it probably came with a lid that won't fit over your taller items. I repurposed my plastic lid to sit in the fridge and hold whatever meat is currently defrosting- keeps juices from running all over, doesn't take up much room and can just be tossed in the dishwasher when it does get messy.
Hm, interesting, Killdeer Farm. I knew about the potato and onion situation, but not the carrot and apple one. There is more produce storage advice here:
http://www.mealsmatter.org/CookingForFamily/Planning/Articles/Fresh-produce-storage-tips.aspx
and here:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4549561_can-store-potatoes-onions-together.html
Hmm, our general way of storing things in the fridge is to cram it totally full of as much vegetable produce as we can, and then leave the rest out in the garage as it won't fit. Not ideal, but we need a much bigger fridge - and we already have a tall one, not just an undercounter. I'd love one of the american-style-could-practically-live-inside-this fridges.