Why Montanans Should Be Keeping a Quarter in Their Freezer

I learned a cool hack over the weekend that I wish I had learned a long time ago. A hack that could come in handy for you too. Especially if you experience frequent power outages or have freezers in your garage or other outbuildings.

During the height of this past arctic blast that hit Montana, I experienced a power outage. Thankfully my home does not rely on electricity to heat the home. So I wasn't worried about freezing. But I was worried about my freezer. Thinking to myself "How long is the power going to be out for?" or "Should I be worried about my freezer defrosting?" That was about the time I smacked my head and remembered it was -20 degrees outside and I could easily keep my frozen food frozen if need be.

During the power outage, I realized that I have dealt with more power outages in my home than a normal home should. It seems that any storm that produces wind or cold is a roll of the dice on whether my lights stay on or not. That got me thinking "What if I was gone and the power went out at home?" How could I tell if the power had been out so long that it caused my freezer to thaw and then freeze again without me knowing it?

There is an old hack that involves using a quarter and a cup to help gauge how your freezer is holding up.

It is called the "One Cup Tip."

You put a cup of water in your freezer. Freeze it solid and then put a quarter on top of it and leave it in your freezer. That way when you come back after you've been evacuated you can tell if your food went completely bad and just refroze or if it stayed frozen while you were gone.

• If the quarter falls to the bottom of the cup, your freezer has thawed food should be thrown out
• If the quarter is in the middle of the cup, the freezer has partially thawed but the food should still be good.
• If the quarter is still on top of the cup, everything is fine. Enjoy your popsicle.

This will come in handy for my chest freezer in my shop. I rarely pay much attention to it. I can count on one hand how many times a breaker popped or the freezer simply got unplugged. The "One Cup Tip" could have saved me from throwing away food.