This clever hack could save your frozen food during a power outage

All you need is a cup and a coin.

When a big storm hits, power is often one of the first things to go. Sometimes this means having to dispose of all the food in your fridge and freezer on the likely chance they've spoiled during the outage—a depressing notion indeed for any food lover.

You see, even if all the items in your freezer have refrozen again by the time you arrive home, it's impossible to know precisely how long they've been incubating at room temperature, and whether they're still safe to consume.

Luckily, there is a hack to ensure you never have to chuck out perfectly good groceries post-power failure again—and it's so brilliantly simple you'll wish you'd known about it sooner.

Ready for it? All you need is a tall cup or jar of water (any vessel will do but must be transparent) and a coin. Simply freeze the cup of water until frozen solid, then place the coin on top and leave the cup and coin in the freezer. If at any time you suspect you've had a power outage, you can check your cup—the coin will slowly sink as the frozen water melts and confirm any doubts.

If you find the coin at the bottom of the glass, the power has likely been out for hours or more and all the food will need to be thrown out. If the coin is towards the top or halfway, the power probably hasn't been out for too long and your food is safe to chow down on.

Super cool.