Tips to Make Your Refrigerator More Efficient!

Pull the fridge forward an inch or two.

In many kitchens, refrigerators are pushed back as close to the wall as possible in order to save a few more inches of floor space. Those few inches are really expensive.
If your refrigerator is pushed back as far as possible, pulling it forward one inch can reduce the energy usage of the refrigerator by as much as 40%, and you’ll barely notice the difference in your floor usage.

Vacuum the Back: 

So much dust and dirt can get trapped behind your refrigerator (especially if you have pets) and this collects on the condenser coils. As that dust builds up, your refrigerator doesn't run as well as it used to. The condenser kicks on more often, because it has to work harder, it eats up more energy (costing you), and it wears out quicker (costing you). Once you've cleaned them off, the heat from your refrigerator will be able to be carried away without as much resistance, making your cycles run for a shorter period of time.

Check the Door Seal: 

Use a thin piece of paper or dollar bill to check whether your seal is losing air. Hold it up next to the closed refrigerator door and see if it flutters at all. The rubber or plastic door seal on your refrigerator can be easily replaced and although it might seem like a pain, it really is not. Refrigerators are expensive to replace and so is the food you want to keep fresh inside.

Cover Everything: 

Most foods in the fridge contain moisture. When left uncovered, foods will leach this moisture into the air and the compressor in your refrigerator will have to work twice as hard to remove it. (Plus, most foods will suck up smells of other foods and that is not something you would want)

Let Your Food Cool Before Putting it Away: 

Sometimes you make a big batch of soup and you're really tired. Sleep needs to happen ASAP, and you just don't want to wait up any longer. Sure, you can toss it in the fridge, but your refrigerator will have to pull double duty to cool it down. Try to let foods sit as long as possible before placing them in the fridge (not too long for bacteria to start growing)

Fill your empty milk or juice jugs with water, then stick ‘em in the freezer.

A freezer, whether it’s a deep freezer or a freezer housed in the same appliance as a refrigerator, functions best when it’s really full, as the cold items help keep other items cold and maintain the low temperature.
If you currently don't have enough food to fill up your freezer, fill it with water.
It’s simple. Take an empty milk jug (or juice jug), rinse it out, then fill it about 75% full with tap water. Stick that jug in the freezer and just leave it there. It’ll freeze, then it will help keep the temperature of your freezer low over the long haul, causing your freezer to kick on a bit less often to keep your items cool.

Stick a thermometer in your fridge.

The ideal temperature in your refrigerator holds pretty steady around 37 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (3-5 C).
If you keep it below 37 degrees, you’re pushing up against the freezing point of water, which can affect food quality and burns a lot of extra energy. If you keep it above 40 degrees, it can affect food quality in a different way, leading towards spoilage. The range between the two is optimal – and it’s also optimal for refrigerator efficiency, since devices are designed to run in this range.
Get out a thermometer, put it in a glass of water, then put that cup in your refrigerator for 24 hours. Check the temperature afterward – that’s the true temperature of your fridge. Adjust upward and downward as needed – you might be surprised how much your temperature is off.
A freezer has a different optimum temperature – 0 to 5 F (-18 to -15 C). You can get this temperature by putting your thermometer between two frozen items for 24 hours.

Have you found any other ways to keep your fridge running efficiently? 

Feel free to comment and share :)

some of this information was sourced from "Trent at thesimpledollar" and "Sarah Trover at thekitchn"