When the lights go out, put the refrigerator on a clock

The first useful fact is the time

A power outage interrupts more than supper. A Gretna household may have milk for tomorrow, a packed lunch and leftovers from a meal shared with relatives.

Before opening the refrigerator to inspect everything, write down when the power stopped. A paper note on the counter works when the phone battery needs to last.

FoodSafety.gov says a refrigerator keeps food safe for up to four hours during an outage; keep its door closed as much as possible. Its guidance says to discard refrigerated perishables such as meat, eggs and leftovers after four hours without power.

Never taste food to decide whether it is safe. The federal chart distinguishes foods rather than treating every jar and package alike.

Make a decision station before a storm

Put the printed chart, a pencil and an appliance thermometer where an adult can find them. On the note, leave spaces for outage time, power restoration and the temperature observed when checking becomes necessary.

Record what you actually know; an estimate of when you woke up is different from a confirmed outage time.

For an original practice exercise, choose three imaginary items: unopened mustard, cooked rice and a container of raw chicken. Locate each on the chart before there is an emergency.

The purpose is to learn how to use the categories, not to memorize one rule for all food.

The next grocery trip

After an actual outage, list discarded items separately from the regular shopping list. That makes replacement needs visible without turning a stressful night into an argument about waste.

Keep a few meals in the household plan that do not depend on refrigerated ingredients. Decide who will manage the food log and who will check utility updates, so repeated door opening does not become everybody's task.