10 foods you don't actually have to refrigerate

If your refrigerator is getting a little crowded, chances are you’re keeping items in there that don’t even need to be refrigerated.

For example, that ketchup bottle can actually be kept in a cabinet for up to a month. And unless your peanut butter is organic, you can store it in the pantry.

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Here are some items you don’t actually need to keep in the fridge:

Ketchup and mustard

According to TheKitchn.com, yellow, Dijon or even whole-grain mustard can be put away in the cabinet for up to two months and, as mentioned before, ketchup can be kept outside the refrigerator for up to a month.

Honey

According to sustainability website Treehugger, honey does not need to be refrigerated — ever.

Credit: Bill Lackey

Tomatoes

Tomatoes should be kept at room temperature and out of direct sunlight, according to Treehugger.

Potatoes

Here’s a suggestion from CNET.com: Store your potatoes in paper bags in cool, dry pantries.

Credit: Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Stone fruits

According to FarmersAlmanac.com, stone fruits such as peaches, plums and cherries don’t need to be refrigerated if they aren’t ripe.

Credit: Renee Studebaker AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Garlic

According to Treehugger, the Department of Food Science and Technology at University of California, Davis, suggests storing garlic not in a refrigerator, but in a cool, dry, dark place in a mesh bag, where it should keep for three to five months.

Avocados

Unless your avocado’s ripe and ready to eat, don’t refrigerate it. According to CNET.com, putting an unripe avocado on the counter will make it ripen much faster.

Bread

According to CNET.com, storing bread in the fridge actually speeds up the dehydration process and makes it go stale faster.

Credit: Sarah Acosta

Hot sauce

Most commercial hot sauces don’t need to be kept in the fridge, according to PepperScale. Bacteria aren’t able to tolerate the environment created by the acidity of the vinegar and the relatively high salt content.