WWYD re: freezer stash

JenGarden

So, we may need to evacuate later this week for Hurricane Irene.  I have about 100 oz of BM in our deep freeze, and I imagine it would probably thaw if we lost power here.  If you were me, would you take it with you?  How would you transport it to keep it frozen (would just a cooler with ice keep it cold enough?)  I haven't really had to touch it, with the exception of when DH and I went out of town (and we'll go out of town again for a weekend in November).  Ugh...I hate hurricanes.

lilmgirl

How long would you be gone for?  It may not defrost at all if you're only gone for a couple of days (especially if you have other large frozen items in there with it).

sokmonkee3517

I would take it.  Will you have to go far?  Family or friends to stay with that can make room for it?  Some stores offer dry ice, that might keep longer.

mamaholmes2010

I would take it with me.  Pack the cooler with ice on the bottom, the milk, and then ice on top (since heat rises you want the milk sandwiched in the ice to keep it at the coolest temperature possible).  Just make sure that wherever you are going will have a large enough freezer to accomodate the milk, or make sure you are within walking distance of a store well-stocked with ice.  Good luck with the hurricane...scary business!

jillybean800

Where are you evacuating to?

JenGarden

lilmgirl:

How long would you be gone for?  It may not defrost at all if you're only gone for a couple of days (especially if you have other large frozen items in there with it).

I have no idea.  It's currently projected to be here very early Saturday, so I would imagine we'd leave early Friday.  If it's not bad, we could be back on Sunday...probably Tuesday at the latest.  We do have a ton of other frozen stuff (some casseroles, two turkeys), so I guess it would just depend on how long (if at all) we have to go without power.

JenGarden

sokmonkee3517:

I would take it.  Will you have to go far?  Family or friends to stay with that can make room for it?  Some stores offer dry ice, that might keep longer.

We would go about 45 minutes - 1 hour inland; Irene isn't supposed to be a huge hurricane.  Unfortunately, we'd end up at a hotel (most people we know are right here, too, and would need to evacuate).  Dry ice is a good idea!

JenGarden

mamaholmes2010:

I would take it with me.  Pack the cooler with ice on the bottom, the milk, and then ice on top (since heat rises you want the milk sandwiched in the ice to keep it at the coolest temperature possible).  Just make sure that wherever you are going will have a large enough freezer to accomodate the milk, or make sure you are within walking distance of a store well-stocked with ice.  Good luck with the hurricane...scary business!

One of the hotels on our evacuation list is a suites-style hotel, so hopefully we could stay there and keep it frozen. If we can't get that hotel, I could call ahead and see if there was a freezer on site that I could use.  I hadn't thought about what I would do with it when I got there, so thanks

lilmgirl

If you don't know how long you'd be gone for, I'd take a cooler with lots of dry ice.  I couldn't stand to lose it!

JenGarden

jillybean800:

Where are you evacuating to?

We would evacuate 45 mins - an hour inland.

JenGarden

lilmgirl:

If you don't know how long you'd be gone for, I'd take a cooler with lots of dry ice.  I couldn't stand to lose it!

That's my thought.  I mean, if my supply tanked, 100 oz wouldn't last me long, but at the same time, I worked hard for that milk!

kat81again2

That's a tough one. 

Maybe you can bring part of it. It's kind of the least risky thing to do. Trying to preserve the milk might work and it might fail. Leaving it at home might be fine (you might not lose power, or not for long) or it might be a terrible mistake. But taking some of it is a nice compromise, right?

OTOH, if you are only going to preserve the milk with dry ice or not at all, you might as well preserve all of the milk. I feel like getting dry ice is tough and maybe expensive, so you might as well store all of your milk with it.