I have always had a little dish with a cube of butter in it that I keep out at room temperature so that it is conveniently spreadable for toast, or waffles, or whatever we need. That is until I pulled out my trusty butter container and went to spread a chunk of it on my daughter's toast, when out of the corner of my eye I saw green on it. Mold! Yuck!! It was then that I did a little research to read about what to do with my butter where I came across a few articles that talked about the common things that people refrigerate that should NOT be refrigerated. I am guilty of half of these….oops! At least now I know!

1. POTATOES

Keeping a potato in the cold temperature of your refrigerator will turn its starch into sugar more quickly, so that you'll be left with a sweet, gritty potato. Instead of putting potatoes in the fridge, store them in a paper bag in a cool -- not cold -- place. Assuming you don't have a root cellar -- the ideal place for potatoes -- store them in a dark place, like inside your pantry. Paper bags work better than plastic because they're more breathable and the potato won't rot as fast. Martha Stewart suggests you store potatoes at a temperature as close to 45 degrees as possible. All this goes for sweet potatoes too!

2. TOMATOES

Tomatoes will lose all their flavor in the fridge. The cold air in the fridge stops the ripening process, and ripening is what gives tomatoes more flavor. The fridge will also alter the texture of the tomato. According to Harold McGee's 'On Food and Cooking,' the cold temperature breaks down the membranes inside the fruit walls, turning it mealy. Keep tomatoes out in a bowl or basket on the counter.

3. ONIONS

If you put onions in the fridge, the moisture will eventually turn them soft and moldy. Keep them in a cool, dry place. (You can store scallions and chives in the refrigerator, however, because of their higher water content.) They like their original mesh bag (or any bag that allows for air circulation) in the pantry. But keep them away from potatoes, which emit moisture and gases that can cause onions to rot.

4. AVOCADOS

If you want avocados to ripen, definitely don't put them in the refrigerator. However, if you've bought an already-ripe avocado that you don't want to use right away, that can go in the fridge.

5. HOT SAUCE

It can live happily in the pantry for up to three years.

6. GARLIC

Eventually, garlic will start to sprout in the fridge, and it may also get rubbery and moldy. You should instead keep garlic in a cool, dry place.

7. BREAD

You refrigerator will dry out your bread quickly. Unless it's sliced sandwich bread that you intend to use within a few days, keep bread out on the counter or in the freezer. You should keep bread that you will eat within four days out, to be sliced when you're ready to eat it, and you should freeze the rest to thaw and eat later. Bread in the freezer should be wrapped so it retains its moisture, and when you remove it from the freezer, you should let it thaw slowly and completely before eating or toasting.

8. BATTERIES

Stash in a drawer at room temperature. Extreme cold (or heat) can diminish performance.

9. COFFEE

The fridge (and the freezer) create condensation, which can affect the flavor of both ground coffee and coffee beans. It will also lose its flavor and actually take on some of the odors in the fridge. You should store coffee in a cool, dark place, where it will retain its flavor and freshness.

10. HONEY

There's no need to store honey in the fridge -- it will stay good basically forever if you simply keep it tightly sealed. Keeping honey in the refrigerator can cause it to crystalize.

Oh, and as for butter, according to the USDA, you should store butter in its wrapper in the fridge and keep butter out only for 10-15 minutes before using, but some cooks will use butter after leaving it out for a week. Or in my case, pretty much until it's gone, which has probably been up to 3 weeks for me. Nowadays, I try to just use half a cube in my butter dish and throw it out after a week. I still don't want to give up to ready-to-use soft butter!! :)