Disaster Averted, Some Advice

Yesterday afternoon, after considering the possibility of a power outage and after hearing an idea on how to extend the cooling ability of your refrigerator during an outage, my daughter and I decided to place water in quart plastic bags and freeze them in the bottom freezer drawer of our refrigerator.  This evening, my daughter tried to open that freezer drawer.  It was frozen shut!  The quart plastic bags of water had leaked into the drawer slide mechanism.  The bags weren't even overfilled (to allow for expansion).  I am still uncertain as to why they leaked and, at this point, it really doesn't matter.  Thankfully, my husband was able to open the freezer drawer and thaw the mechanism with my hair dryer.  I was freaked!  I thought, for sure, that my daughter and I had broken the refrigerator!  Praise the Lord, no.  No broken relationships, either.  A little panic, some edgy yelling, and some forgiving words/hugs later, all appears to be ok.

If you, too, heard this advice --- to put water in plastic bags and freeze them to turn your refrigerator into a giant cooler in case of a power outage --- be careful how you implement the idea.  You could create a disaster in your house before the one outside your house (Hurricane Irene) ever arrives.