

1. Reorganize your fridge and freezer –
In order to keep your food frozen or cool you need to move the items closer to each other. A tightly packed fridge or freezer can save food for up to two days but a bare fridge will only keep food safely cool for about half a day.- Move all items off of the doors and onto the shelves, tightly packed together.
- If you have large open spaces and expect your power to be out for more than a few hours pack those areas with newspaper.
- If you have two freezers, put your high priority items in one freezer and your easier/cheaper to replace items in the other freezer. The high priority freezer should be packed as tightly as possible and never opened until power is restored.
- Move any food that can be frozen, such as milk and meat, from the refrigerator to the freezer to keep it at a safe temperature for longer.
2. Use bottles and tupperware containers to freeze ice –
Your refrigerator and freezer will act like a giant ice chest when the power is out. The key is that you simply have to add ice.
Here’s some more details on throwing stuff out and how long it lasts: http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html
A trick I learned years ago is to fill a drink bottle half way with water. Lay it on it’s side and freeze. When frozen stand the bottle upright again. If the power goes off for a long time while you’re gone and the temp in the freezer warms up, the ice will melt and you’ll know to toss the food. I keep one in the freezer year round. You can add a few drops of food coloring to make it more noticeable.
That’s a great idea!