Colorado Life Hacks: Keeping A Quarter in the Freezer

Colorado loves shortcuts and little things that keep us healthy and helps us to save money. From ironing a shirt collar with a hair straightener to freezing grapes to chill your drink without watering it down, life hacks never get old.

If you have plans to travel away from Grand Junction for the holidays, this might be the perfect time to learn about keeping a quarter in your freezer. When you get home following time away, you'll never have to wonder if the food in your freezer is safe to eat.

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When the Lights Go Out In Colorado

Colorado's Western Slope is used to the power going out. Sometimes the cause is weather related, sometimes it is not. If loss of power is more common where you live, it's time to start keeping a quarter in the freezer. To start enjoying the benefits of this hack you will need two items. A shiny quarter (use a Colorado quarter), and a coffee mug (use the small one nobody likes).

The Colorado Freezer Hack

Fill the coffee mug 3/4 full with water and put it in the freezer. Let it freeze for a few days. Once the mug is frozen solid, place the Colorado quarter (Longs Peak side up) on top of the ice, and return the mug to the freezer. Leave it in there. Hack complete.

Everyone Loves Insurance

If the power goes out and the contents of your freezer defrost, so will the ice inside the mug. If the quarter is ever below the surface of the ice in the mug, you will know the power went out and the food in your freezer started to defrost. If the coin is at the bottom of the mug, odds are your frozen food thawed completely and likely re-froze. It should be thrown away.

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