For some reason, every time a thunderstorm rolls through, our power goes out. Annoying! What’s worse, if it’s out for a long time, food in our refrigerator and freezer could spoil.

To help prevent losing money, I keep a full freezer. A full, closed freezer will keep food cold enough to be safe for up to 24 hours. A mostly empty freezer won’t.

When I don’t have enough food in there, I make up for it by filling up old milk jugs and juice bottles with water and putting them in the freezer.

A bonus: A full freezer won’t have to operate as much to maintain its temperature. So, you’ll save on your electric bill.