We have an assortment of 5 day coolers. Hubby bought one many years ago when he was living in Manhattan and traveling to Long Island or New Jersey to shop. He used it not only in the summer where ice cream could be a puddle of cream before you made it from the store doorway to the car, never mind an hour driving home, but also in the winter time. In the winter the inside of your car is heated, and so the groceries in the back can become heated too – assuming you have an SUV or pile them in the backseat instead of in the trunk.
The first time hubby went summer-time shopping with me, he was aghast that I didn’t use a cooler for my frozen and dairy products! “Those will melt!” was his biggest concern. I’d honestly never really thought about it. I lived in a city where the a grocery store was no more than 10 minutes away. Why did I need a cooler? You shop, you load the car, you go home, you unload the groceries. Done.
Then we moved out to the boonies, and while everything seems close, it is 15 minutes to the nearest grocery store, and if I want to go to two grocers, well, now I could see hubby’s point.
I now don’t leave home to grocery shop without a 5 day cooler, regardless of the time of the year. Not only don’t I have to worry about dairy and frozen, but I can combine trips to the grocery and drug stores since I don’t have to rush hime to pack away from ice cream. That is a gas and time saver.
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Shell says
I also take a cooler with me. I don’t use a 5day cooler though. I have one I bought at Big Lots years ago and it is made from plastic fabric so it folds up. I love it because it is not ridged therefore it fits in many different spots in the car depending on how many groceries I need to fit in. I also have a cooler bag in with my reusable grocery bags. It fits frozen pizzas exactly and I love that. I take it into the store and put them in there. I put them in so the upc code is showing so they just scan then right in the bag.
Ann says
Hey that is cool, Shell! Where’d you get that cooler bag?
Ann
Shell says
I got it years ago at Big Lots.
KimH says
That really is a great idea but Im just a mile or two from most of the stores I shop at.. It’d be handy though for when Im shopping just a little south of us at Costco, Trader Joes, & Whole Foods..I buy specific things at each of them and I wouldnt have to hurry!
Ann says
Hubby makes me take it even to the stores only 1-2 miles away. I think he’s a worry-wart sometimes.
Ann
Candie says
I too have a cooler bag but it only stays cold for about 2 hours. I am going to look into the 5 day cooler because I always want to stop somewhere else and can’t because I am afraid the ice creams and frozen items will melt. Thanks for sharing.
Ann says
Candie these coolers (we have 3 in varying sizes) really do keep things frozen for a decent amount of time, and cold for even longer. We had a storm once that knocked out our power (and it warmed up the next day so we couldn’t pack anything in snow), and these coolers pretty much saved all the food they held until Sonny-boy could bring it over to my ex-SILs (she had power). I definitely recommend them.
Ann