Pump at work? Store milk + car keys in the refrigerator so you won't leave it behind.

How's this for an effective reminder system? From Kerri:

When I was breastfeeding my sons, I would pump milk at work.  I always worried I would accidentally leave the milk in the refrigerator there, and then we'd have to thaw frozen milk at home for his next day's feeding.  I began keeping my car keys with the milk in the fridge, so I could not leave work without my milk!

This is a variation on a basic trick for reminding anything: attatch the thing you're worried about forgetting to something you can't forget. At the very least, put it in the same place. For example:

• Tie poop bags to the dog leash
• Store your purse near your cell phone charger
• Put your vitamins in front of the coffee maker

What two things do you associate so you'll remember both?

OR

If you pump at work, how do you remember to bring your milk home?

Related: Hacks for moms who use breast pumps

And: You won't forget items stored in a friend's fridge if you toss your keys in as well (Same hack, different location)

Comments

[Malva]

For breastmilk, I used to keep it in the office fridge inside a lunch box. I occasionally forgot it there.

That was until I found out freshly expressed milk is safe at room temps for up to 10 hours.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html#storage

After thatm I kept it unrefridgerated in my bag at my desk.

[Mia J.]

I travel a lot for my job, so I frequently stored milk in the hotel refrigerator. When I am in a city where I don't have a rental car, I can't use the key trick.

So to avoid leaving my milk as an unpleasant surprise for housekeeping, I would put one of the shoes I was planning on wearing the day I left on top of the refrigerator.

The odd placement of only 1 shoe reminded me to pack the milk into my bag.

[Sarah S. Chicken]

My only concern is whether it's okay to put the fancy keys with lock clickers in the fridge. they seem to be a little fragile to me.

[Anne]

Heh. On my husband's recommendation, I did this at home to try to remember to bring my lunch to work. And then I spent a 30 minutes freaking out because I couldn't find my keys the next morning!

[Ilene]

I use the keys in the fridge trick to remember to bring home any groceries purchased on my lunch hour home. Can't go home without the car keys. It works so well some of my coworkers have started to do it as well.

[Allison]

Brilliant!
Anyone have a hack for the other end? I walk in the door and my sweet baby wants to say hi and nurse right away... distracting me from putting the milk in the fridge. I've lost more milk than I want to think about because I didn't remember it until the next morning.

[Alex]

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Read about it on this web site Many Rich. com

[Katie Gill-Harvey]

So Smart! This is the first and probably only time i have ever wished i was still working and breastfeeding:)

[Jen]

I did a similar thing to poster number one. Breastmilk is safe at room temp for 10 hours, but it is safe at 60 degrees for up to 24 hours. If you keep it in a bag with an ice pack, even if you leave it on the counter til the next morning, it's fine. I have done this on more than one occasion. Breastmilk is not cow's milk, it is an awesome thing!

[Gina]

I like the keys idea, but for me, I pump as the last thing I do for the day. I have a long enough commute that by the time I get home, we can do dinner and I can nurse her after dinner.

[pizza refrigerator]

f you're the type to repeatedly forget your lunch in the refrigerator before heading off to work, Reddit user LS6 suggests keeping your keys in or on top or your refrigerator to help you remember your lunch. More