your suggestions on moving/packing pantry canned goods

lunagardens · #1 02/05/10, 05:15 PM

We will be moving from our homestead sometime after September/October (not sure yet) and of course I will have the huge garden which will have been preserved by canning and freezing. I would like to hear suggestions on how to transport all those jars to a new home. Not sure if it will be 50 miles or if it will be 700 miles. (Depends on Husbands work.) Do I wrap with paper and pack in box's? I have no clue since this dilema has never come up.
Also, how would I transport the frozen food (we have a deep freezer) for say a 12 hour drive? Would I just need to put a dozen (or how ever many fit) water filled milk jugs frozen in with the frozen foods?
I am trying to think ahead and I know I will not have as many jars to use for all the preserved food and we always freeze the strawberries, blueberries, mulberies, etc plus should have rabbits processed before the move.
I do not know where we will be moving but we have 3 spots we know are of the potential. I will most likely not be able to have animals so rabbits have to be processed before moving.
Just looking for some answers on long distance moving of these food items. I amextremly thankful I will be able to get at least 1 huge garden season in before moving since I have no clue what the next home will offer.
Thank you for you helpful input.

MullersLaneFarm · #2 02/05/10, 05:26 PM

Jarred goods, wrap in paper and box up. Make sure the boxes aren't too heavy.

Frozen goods. Unload freezer, wrap everything in newspaper. Load freezer onto truck, reload frozen goods into freezer. Top with frozen milk jugs. Do not open freezer until you are at your destination and can plug it in.

lmrose · #3 02/05/10, 05:39 PM

When we moved to our farm from our previous home I packed the preserving jars of food back in the boxes I bought the jars in with the card board dividers. Packing jars wrapped in newspaper like someone suggested works well too. Moving frozen goods in the freezer was a good suggestion too. You can also wrap the freezer in sleeping bags or blankets to help the frozen food keep. If the freezer is not yours and you can't take it I would put the frozen food in insulated coolers with ice packs and wrap the coolers in sleeping bags or blankets. Berries thaw easier than meat so I think I would can them so they don't have to be moved frozen.

Rocky Fields · #4 02/05/10, 06:16 PM

Get some boxes from the grocery or liquor store that have the dividers in em.

PKBoo · #5 02/05/10, 06:58 PM

I second Rocky Fields - we moved almost 2 yrs ago, and I got boxes from liquor stores because of their dividers. When the jar was too big, I just moved dividers out of the way and stuffed dish towels in between where there were spaces. Worked out great - not a jar lost!

empofuniv · #6 02/05/10, 07:13 PM

We've kept frozen food in ice chests that we put blocks of dry ice (ordered from local ice cream shop - they needed 1 week notice) on top of the food and then taped the chests shut.

We wrapped the dry ice in newspaper.

This worked even when we camped in the desert in the summer.

edcopp · #7 02/05/10, 07:51 PM

A while back I met some new neighbors who were moving in. There was a 55 gallon drum on the trailer that the new neighbor moved off of the trailer. It was the type that has a removable lid with a band that bolts in place. I asked him what was in the barrel? He told me, canned goods. He said that they packed their jars in oats to keep them from breaking on the trip.

My new neighbor is Amish, and has horses so they will need the oats. This might not work for everyone. but it worked for them.

Now as for the frozen food this would depend on a few things like how far, and what kind of truck?

50 miles just close the lid and do it.

12 hours may be a bit tricky, but not very.

If you are using a pick-up truck I would fill the freezer as full as possible, and keep it plugged in and running, with an extention cord; until ready to go. Cover the freezer with pads, or a sleeping bag to insulate it well. Then when ready to move out, I would unplug the long cord and keep it with the freezer.

Drive down the road about 6 or 7 hours and check into a nice motel. Tell them you need to plug your truck in. Plug in the cord and go to bed. Whenever you get up take a nice shower and have a good breakfast. When you get ready to travel don't forget to unplug the cord.

myhorsejack · #8 02/06/10, 12:45 AM

Just make sure you dont haul a loaded upright freezer. Our friends did this, it not only broke the shelves but also busted up the inside enough it was totally ruined. Now maybe they were bouncing a bunch since it was in a livestock trailer... but just be careful if you have an upright freezer.

luvrulz · #9 02/06/10, 03:47 AM

You shouldn't store your unplugged freezer with the lid closed even for a 12 hour drive. It will burn up the compressor. I don't think it's a good idea to store frozen food in it when you travel for that reason... you might want to find a way to plug it in maybe??

springvalley · #10 02/06/10, 04:20 AM

Hey Luv; never heard of that before, we have lost power before for longer than that, and never had a problem. I`m going to ask my brother this one as he use to repair fridgs.

lunagardens · #11 02/06/10, 04:42 AM

Thank you everyone. These are all great! SpringValley, please do let us know what your brother thinks on that subject. My freezer is a big deep chest.
Thanks again guys. This makes me much more comfortable and gives plenty of time to collect box's and milk jugs.

ErinP · #12 02/06/10, 09:08 AM

Huh.
We've moved our upright deep freeze 10 times, in a stock trailer. (With food in it because it was most efficient that way). We do it that way, because that's how DH's folks always moved, too.
I've heard of people breaking shelves, but never known anyone to whom it actually happened... For whatever reason, it's always a "friend of ours..."

On the other hand, DH dropped it off the porch last time we moved. lol We now have a dent as big as your head in the back corner of it, but it still runs just fine.

Callieslamb · #13 02/06/10, 10:21 AM

I moved last year. The movers taped my jar lids shut,then wrapped in paper and boxed them up. We didn't lose any of it. For the freezer: we had a 9 hr drive. We emptied it, loaded it in our trailer, then filled it back up. We plugged it in for the night. The next day, DH took off. He made arrangements ahead with the motel to use a plug there when he arrived. He had to do that since we weren't closing on the house until noon the next day. If we had the number of the seller, I am sure they would have allowed us to plug in at the house, but we didn't. Once the paperwork was done - he drove to the house, took most things out of the freezer and unloaded. Ta. Da. Didn't lose anything.

We actually had two freezers, but were able to put everything into just the one. The movers took the other freezer. It is just a lot of work, but don't be afraid of losing what you have. Those freezers can stay frozen a long time if they are full.