Why Everyone in Indiana Should Put a Quarter in Their Freezer Right Now

This is one of the most useful tips you will need during these dangerous freezing Indiana temperatures.

We here in Southern Indiana especially have had a pretty mild winter thus far. However, that all changed over the weekend. We have seen some snow and temperatures well below freezing (32 degrees), The majority of days this week, especially here in southern Indiana will see temperatures in the single digits. That's dangerously low. Many people have already had issues at home due to the arctic temperatures. I've seen people who have had their water pipes freeze over and quite a few people have lost power due to the weather. So I want to share a little hack with you that should prove to be very useful during this dangerously cold time.

READ MORE: Tips to Prevent Frozen Pipes This Winter

Here's a Quarter...Put it in Your Freezer

Over the weekend, my fiancee shared a post with me from the Old Recipes that Stir Childhood Memories Facebook page. This post gave readers a pretty useful tip that some might not know about on why you should put a quarter in your freezer now.

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Why do you need to put a quarter in your freezer? Well, it will prove to be very useful in the event that this winter weather causes you to lose power for a prolonged period of time. Essentially, the post suggests this:

• Put a quarter on a glass of frozen water and place it in your freezer
• After a power outage, check the cup with the quarter in it
• If the quarter is on top of the frozen water, your food did not defrost and it's safe to eat
• If the quarter is in the middle or bottom, your food defrosted and refroze and might not be safe to eat.

I'll be honest, this is something that I never thought of before. Chances are, you haven't either. Of course, there will be some "geniuses" reading this thinking it is common sense. So this is for those who want to take extra precautions, but not knowing where to start.

It's actually pretty genius. Losing power for a longer period of time could mean that the food in your freezer might not be safe to eat. As the post says, "if the quarter is still on top, then nothing defrosted and you're good to go. If it's at the bottom of the cup, that means your food defrosted and refroze and is likely not safe to it."

It's honestly a great hack that folks should do for the safety of everyone in the house when it comes to food...and it's not just useful for this winter weather. It would also be a great idea to leave this in your freezer year-round, and if you lose power for any reason you will have this tip to fall back on when it comes to your frozen food being safe to eat or not.