I get to work in a freezer!

[bean]

And I'm not terribly happy about it. However, the work that needs to be done in there is WAY overdue and it's going to take several of us a few days to do it. And I'm really in no position to say "oh hell no" after they accommodated my whole rehab/nervous breakdown bit so well.

Specifically, organizing the damn grocery backstock freezer and getting ready for inventory. It's a walk in freezer that's bigger than my entire apartment - and it's the coldest freezer in the store. Most of them hit 0 to -10F, this one will reach -30F to -40F (we store ice cream and gelato in this one, hence the extra cold setting - gelato is incredibly delicate). That's -34C to -40C for you, Raps.

So - give me some tips on clothing. I have ski gloves, a cheap knit hat, and a ski coat. What else should I keep in mind and/or pick up before then? They suggested wearing 2-3 pairs of socks instead of 1 (I wore 1 pair when working 8 hour shifts in a 35 degree cooler with no problem). I don't have thermal pants, and nobody around here sells them anymore (we've already hit 85F once this month, currently 73F outside, and only one occurrence of sleet this winter). I was able to find the gloves and knit hat on clearance at WalMart today (under $5 for both), and already owned the jacket.

I was thinking of wearing sweatpants under jeans to keep my legs warm, my thermal shirt with a t-shirt under the ski coat, 2 pairs of socks, and good solid shoes. Obviously, I'm not used to cold... having lived in Texas my entire life. My biggest concern is keeping my hands, feet, and ears warm (ears because the large piercings I have cause reduced bloodflow to my earlobes - which puts me at a huge risk for frostbite - the holes in my ears are more than large enough to hold a Sharpie marker).

Suggestions?

[Broomjockey]

I'm going to suggest a second pair of gloves, that will fit under your ski gloves similar to these. Trust me. If you ever have to take your gloves off, you're going to appriciate having ones that have more dexterity on underneath. I'd also suggest a facemask. Like a toque but for your whole head. Should fit underneath the cap, likely. The big thing is layers, layers, layers. 3 pairs of socks should be okay, but try and get a pair of long underwear so your legs survive more comfortably at least.

[crazylegs]

How much physical activity will you be undertaking within the freezer, remember you don't want to get so hot you end up sweating and therefore cold...

Make sure you get some decent boots, either ex army issue winter boots or if you're going to splash the cash these http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives...ont_eat_it.php are worth the money, but if you can get some older ones as they are gore tex lined.

[bean]

Unfortunately, boots are out of the question - I have about $100 to last me until next payday right now (next payday is 2/22) and a car with an empty gas tank (it costs about $50 to fill up, but at least I only have to fill it once a month). I do have some heavy non-slip shoes leftover from when I worked in the deli, so those will have to do.

Physical activity? LOTS. Basically we'll be moving every item in the freezer at least once. The freezer is a massive mess right now - nothing is on shelves at all, everything is on pallets, and nothing is organized at all. Even if I was in there in a tank top and boxers, I'd be working up a sweat.

I do have a second "light" pair of gloves that I use when helping the frozen group stock the display freezers. They'll fit under the ski gloves fine. The "light" ones are basically 75 cent Wal-Mart knit work gloves - they keep my hands somewhat warm while working the display freezers and they're comfortable.

Still looking for a pair of long underwear.. again, since we've already hit 85F once this month (and broken 70F most days this month), nobody is stocking winter wear anymore except on clearance. Worst case, I wear a pair of sweatpants under my jeans.

Also, the freezer shuts off if the door is open (fans + compressor shut down), and we can get away with leaving the door open for a few minutes at a time. Leaving it open more than 15 minutes is begging for spoiled product though.

I'd rather wear several light layers instead of one or two heavy layers. I was thinking my thermal shirt, followed by a t-shirt, followed by a sweatshirt, followed by the ski jacket... as it is, I wear those first 3 layers most days if it's cold when I leave home. Foot wise, 3 pairs of socks it is.

I'm sure I'm going to be bitchy as hell, but at least I have a (cheap as hell) mp3 player to keep me entertained in there.

[powerboy]

What about hot hands and toasty toes? You could find them at Walmart for like $5.00 each. They will help you out. When I go on cold investigations, I use them.

[Bright_Star]

Wear your clothing in layers & you'll be good to go.

[Gurndigarn]

In addition to what others have said: layers. T-shirt, shirt, flannel shirt, jacket, coat (or the closest approximation you can come up with out of your wardrobe). This way, you can strip off the extra layers if exertion starts warming you up.

Winter pajamas under your pants if you can't find thermal stuff. Might look funny if it peeks out, but which would you rather have: stuffy dignity or non-frostbit extremities?

[bean]

Winter pajamas under your pants if you can't find thermal stuff. Might look funny if it peeks out, but which would you rather have: stuffy dignity or non-frostbit extremities?

I go to work looking like this, and have holes in my ears big enough to shove a typical marker through (and I'll often do this then forget I have something in my ear). Believe me, dignity is far from my list of concerns.

Me (linked for size)

The PJ's idea is excellent though - I have plenty of heavy PJ bottoms.

[Broomjockey]

Well, sounds like you've pretty much got it, though I still say add in a facemask, as that will cover your ears and nose.

[MrWags]

I am a lurker and saw this so I registered to give advice. I work for a major ice cream distributor, and am in the cold all day.
I generally wear a t-shirt, then sweat shirt, work shirt, work coat(not very thick). Also sweats under jeans would be about all you need. I use thermals under thin work pants and am fine.
Definately wear a hat if the fans are running. Thick knitted gloves, or leather work gloves would be sufficient for your hands.

Take frequent breaks- in 20 min out 5min if the fans are running. Most important, have fun, I do!

[wagegoth]

You say you're going to wear boots, so my one contribution would be that those boots have thick soles. Having that insulation between your feet and a cold floor helps so much.

[smalltownclerk]

Don't forget chapstick. You can also get away without a facemask if you put a light film of petroleum jelly on your face to protect the skin from frostbite.

But the chapstick is a must.

[bean]

Well, today was an odd twist of fate.

Grocery's overnight was running WAY behind - by open they still had almost 2 full aisles to go. Up until 7 (we open at 8, I came in at 4), I was simply working frozen's shipment. They had 3 pallets come in on frozen, and the backstock freezer was so full that the drivers parked them outside the freezer and left a bunch of dry ice on top of them. (also, I learned today that grabbing dry ice even through gloves is never a good idea)

I jumped in on grocery, and had only half an aisle left at open - the aisle everyone hates - it has juices, teas, candy, and energy bars (think of every possible protein and energy bar in the world.. and it's on that aisle)... which I managed to finish in about an hour. By then, the boss was in, and they had someone else in to help with frozen and he asked me to run grocery backstock + front dairy for the rest of the shift. I actually wound staying an extra half hour to help grocery - I asked my boss if he minded if I stayed late to help everyone get caught up, he told me to go for it. (I love me some OT!)

I will say that wearing two pairs of socks made a huge difference though - my feet actually didn't start to hurt until I was walking out the door, instead of 3-4 hours into the shift. I'm probably going to start doubling up all the time.

I'm sure I'll wind up in the freezer at some point this week - inventory is Sunday. I did make sure to apologize to the frozen guys today, apparently the boss had already told them he'd sent me elsewhere. (I also wound up making a cardboard bale today... the fifth fucking bale I've made this week and it's only Tuesday!) I didn't even get a chance to run much backstock, the store was pretty busy and I wound up taking a few special orders from customers (my first day ever taking one in grocery), carrying heavy items to the registers for customers, and helping a ton of people find things.

also - smalltown, I always have Carmex (lip balm) in my pocket anyway - I've always wound up with chapped lips even when it's 100 and humid outside, to the point that I actually have a pretty bad scar on my lower lip. Lower lip used to split open all the time when I was in middle/high school.

[PepperElf]

if you're still working the freezer i'll offer this....

get the extra socks. don't wear them all at once, just change out the socks - i'd suggest changing them at least once per shift.

and... you might not be able to get official thermals, but there's stuff that works just as well in your local sporting goods stores.
- Men's running tights. basically spandex for guys.
- under armor. pricy but if you get long-sleeved it'll work as a thermal shirt.

[Naaman]

Whilst I'm sure this comes under the "It makes sense.."

If the company is throwing you in the freezer for any length of time they should be providing the correct equipment for you to work safely in there.