Quick question - what did you do with your frozen stuff when you moved?

[loveyouradvice]

We're literally moving a mile down the road... and taking our small freezer with us... I was going to pack up all the frozen stuff into a cool box but just realised it's probably better to leave it in the freeze with extra newspaper etc ... Will it stay frozen for the 2-4 hours I guess it needs too? Nothing dangerous, like poultry or anything - mainly fruit and dahl and things so we don't have to cook the first few days...

Emptied my freezer in the weeks leading up to the move!
Probably not helpful, though...

We ate all our frozen stuff , and gave a few bits to. Eighbours ( but we were moving across country over 2 days )
I'd just unplug , move and plug back in
It'll be fine

Why does it need to stay frozen for 2-4 hours if you're only moving 1 mile down the road?

Pack the freezer last, plug it in first- it'll barely notice it's been switched off.

Eighbours = Neighbours 😀

Thanks guys - will do!

Make sure it stays upright during the move. It is going to be much heavier with all the food in.

I ran our stocks down and put what was left into padded cool bags with freezer blocks. We sold our FF to our buyers and our vendors left us their American style FF.

Like others have said, we just ran down the contents, then unplugged the freezer, moved it and plugged it in again at the new house. It was only a few hours & it was fine.

Are you moving yourselves?
Our removal firm said the freezer had to be empty/defrosted/dry before the move.
We used up most of the stuff and put some in others people's freezers if they had space.

Don't you have to be careful with freezers and let the gases or whatever settle before plugging in after moving, though I don't know how long for.

Must admit I came on here thinking this was going to be a thread about how to get your kids to part with all their Elsa shite. Disappointing. But now I'm here I have to tell you, OP, you're doing this all wrong. The final three meals in your house need to be some bizarre kind of freezer buffet of stuff in breadcrumbs, Potato Smiley Faces and five-year-old unidentifiable stew with a side of frozen peas, sweetcorn and spinach. And an array of last-one-in-the-box lollipops for pudding. It's the best bit about moving house! Good luck with the move!

Our removal firm said just to leave everything in there (short distance move). A local well-known firm.
So we did, never gave it a second thought.
They just moved it, plugged it in to the new house, and it's been perfect ever since (5 years since the move).

What IonaMN said about eating it up in some bizarre combos

But I'm surprised no-one has advised you to just let it go.....

I binned most stuff - good opportunity to start afresh with newer bags of peas rather than the 6 bags with a little bit left in each!

For the newer or expensive stuff I packed it into a cool box with loads of ice packs and it was fine. Only moved 30 mins away tho.

Most freezers will be good for like 4 hours or more if they electricity goes out and they are not opened so leaving food in the freezer if you're taking that would be best.

I would check your freezer manual. A lot of freezers have to be left to stand for 24 hours following a move or they don't work properly.

My parents moved a freezer they'd bought 2nd hand from someone else's house to.theirs, it came empty (obviously!) And my dad plugged it straight in without letting it stand and filled it up with food. It was a frost-free one but started to get huge build up of ice. Eventually they had to empty the freezer, defrost it, let it stand for 24 hours and start again.