No…get yourself mind out of the gutter.

My question is how long can foods remain in the fridge/freezer that is not powered until they go bad? I am on day three. My big freezer is in the basement which is I heated, so I think I will be good there.

No generator?

A lot depends on outside temps, is it in the living quarters or garage, and amount of food inside the freezer (If packed it'll last longer). Once they thaw all bets are off. I have had partial thaws and refrozen stuff without any bad side effects (I think it promotes freezer burn). I'd say 48 hours without considering other factors if you haven't opened the door.

Try to find some dry ice. A couple 3 pound blocks will keep the freeze cold for days and the same with the fridge.

Different foods spoil at different times. I would use your eggs and milk first.

Depends upon the internal temp of the food, right? Eggs? Longer than chicken. Pickles last a long time.

I would leave the freezer closed till you have power back then check to see if anything is still frozen, if not it's time to toss.

I have left a freezer alone for 4 days and things were still frozen pretty well.

fridge stuff is toss time now, 48 hrs. at most on that type food.

In our freezer, I place a small solo cup with water. When the water freezes in that cup in the freezer, I place a coin on top of the ice in the cup. If I ever see that the coin has sunk down into the ice, it means that the ice melted. If that happens, it means that the frozen food has likely thawed as well so the food goes in the trash.

If in doubt, unfortunately, toss it. Food poisoning is awful.

This is genius Bob!

Does this include meatloaf?

It’s probably too late for your freezer but if you think you’re going to be down for awhile and need a generator I’ll bring you one PH. They’re going to be scarce around there for a long time.

Meatloaf never would make it into my freezer. However, a pair of frozen meatloaves may be good for blocking the wheels of your truck when jacking to change the oil. Or if you are 4 wheeling in the mud, a few frozen meatloaves would be handy to throw under the wheels for traction if you get stuck.

Get a bunch of fruit cakes, they'll last 50 years.

Throw it all out and list it for the insurance company. It goes a long ways towards any deductible.

Food loss with insurance is usually $500 max.

There are exceptions if you recently purchased aside of beef and have a receipt.

We have some fruit cakes at TFF that are a lot older than that.