When the power grid goes down for a long time you will have to find other ways to keep you foods cold or hot. There are few ways you can do this.
For keeping food cold:
If you have a cement floor basement or even a dirt floor basement you can place a big metal tub or plastic tote on the floor, fill it 1/3 of the way with water and place your food in there. Make sure the food is in tight sealing containers to keep water from seeping in. Glass jars with tight fitting lids work best as glass chills faster and better than plastic. Place the lid on the tub and it will help the water stay cooler. The reason I say use a plastic tote instead of a cooler is because the tote being thinner will pick up the coolness of the floor to help keep the water cool. The same with the metal tub.
In winter time you can use ice or cold water from a nearby stream or outside well in a cooler to keep foods cold. If you get snow you can put snow in the cooler to help keep foods cold or you can place the coolers in a garage or even outside if you don't feel they will be stolen during the night.
For keeping foods hot:
During the winter time and if you have a wood stove going it will not be to hard to keep foods warm from one meal to another. Simply place a pot of food down on the floor near enough to the wood stove to keep it warm or if you have a spot on your stove that does not get to hot you can place the pot there. If you are heating with a fireplace you can place the pot near the fire but not to near to boil dry, scrape some warm ashes around the pot every once in a while to keep the pot hot enough to keep the food from spoiling but not to hot to burn.
A haybox is another good way to keep food warm for a few hours. You can make a haybox from some hay or straw, a good wood apple box, a couple of towels and a pillow. Place the hay in the box leaving a nest for the pot to sit in. Place the towels unfolded over the hay, place the pot inside the towels, cover the pot with the towels then cover the whole top with a pillow. You can also make a haybox using a big cooler. Place a layer for wadded up newspaper in the bottom of the cooler. Wrap the pot in two thick towels and place in the cooler, surround the towels with more wadded newspaper, place a pillow or heavy towel on top and shut the lid of the cooler. You food will stay hot for hours. You can also check out the how to section of the site and look under the "Cooking without Power" tab to find the directions for making a wonder oven from cloth and stuffing.
Thermos will help in keeping foods hot or cold for a few hours so make sure to have a few of those on hand. Stanley or glass ones will work much better than the plastic ones will so are well worth the investment. Keep and eye out at garage sales and thrift stores and you may get luckey and find some cheap.
Other ways to keep food from spoiling is to do what our ansestors did before refrigeration. They kept their food cold by either lowering it in buckets to keep it in the cold well water or placing it in earthern ware jugs and placing in streams.
Just remember that you have several options and try them all to see which way you find works best for you. If you are like me you will find them all very helpful at one time or another.
Prepping Granny
For keeping food cold:
If you have a cement floor basement or even a dirt floor basement you can place a big metal tub or plastic tote on the floor, fill it 1/3 of the way with water and place your food in there. Make sure the food is in tight sealing containers to keep water from seeping in. Glass jars with tight fitting lids work best as glass chills faster and better than plastic. Place the lid on the tub and it will help the water stay cooler. The reason I say use a plastic tote instead of a cooler is because the tote being thinner will pick up the coolness of the floor to help keep the water cool. The same with the metal tub.
In winter time you can use ice or cold water from a nearby stream or outside well in a cooler to keep foods cold. If you get snow you can put snow in the cooler to help keep foods cold or you can place the coolers in a garage or even outside if you don't feel they will be stolen during the night.
For keeping foods hot:
During the winter time and if you have a wood stove going it will not be to hard to keep foods warm from one meal to another. Simply place a pot of food down on the floor near enough to the wood stove to keep it warm or if you have a spot on your stove that does not get to hot you can place the pot there. If you are heating with a fireplace you can place the pot near the fire but not to near to boil dry, scrape some warm ashes around the pot every once in a while to keep the pot hot enough to keep the food from spoiling but not to hot to burn.
A haybox is another good way to keep food warm for a few hours. You can make a haybox from some hay or straw, a good wood apple box, a couple of towels and a pillow. Place the hay in the box leaving a nest for the pot to sit in. Place the towels unfolded over the hay, place the pot inside the towels, cover the pot with the towels then cover the whole top with a pillow. You can also make a haybox using a big cooler. Place a layer for wadded up newspaper in the bottom of the cooler. Wrap the pot in two thick towels and place in the cooler, surround the towels with more wadded newspaper, place a pillow or heavy towel on top and shut the lid of the cooler. You food will stay hot for hours. You can also check out the how to section of the site and look under the "Cooking without Power" tab to find the directions for making a wonder oven from cloth and stuffing.
Thermos will help in keeping foods hot or cold for a few hours so make sure to have a few of those on hand. Stanley or glass ones will work much better than the plastic ones will so are well worth the investment. Keep and eye out at garage sales and thrift stores and you may get luckey and find some cheap.
Other ways to keep food from spoiling is to do what our ansestors did before refrigeration. They kept their food cold by either lowering it in buckets to keep it in the cold well water or placing it in earthern ware jugs and placing in streams.
Just remember that you have several options and try them all to see which way you find works best for you. If you are like me you will find them all very helpful at one time or another.
Prepping Granny