Your zone is fine for triggering dormancy. The problem will be storing them while dormant. Mulching with about 4" of pine needles is your best choice but I see nothing wrong with the frige if monitored and not kept too wet or too dry. If you bring them inside while dormant they might think it's time to grow without getting the rest they need. The only way your idea would work is if it had a heater to keep them from experiencing an extended freeze.

Yep, we went with the color in that last photo---BM Wales Green. (It's actually eggshell finish, not glossy---I think it was still wet when I took that shot!) Still a little lukewarm on it (maybe too pastel?) but we haven't gotten our lightbulbs yet, so I suspect lighting will make a big difference, for better or worse.

Do you think that storing water for an extended period that you planned to drink or use for cooking might leach out some of the unpleasant chemicals in the plastic? I'd want to fill it with water, let it stand for a while, preferably in the hot sun, and use it to flush the toilet about a dozen times before I used it that way, I think. My landlord buys weed kller in about 4 - 5 gal. jugs and, after rinsing several times and letting stand a while in hot summer sun, I use them to carry water down to the other end of the garden, that I can't reach with the hose. Haven't heard any complaints from the plants, yet - or lost any. The cucumbers, melons and squash, plus tomatoes, sometimes suffer from blight ... but that's well after they've been watered from the jugs, a number of times. Suzie, if you were to get a piece of mesh with apertures of about 1/4" or slightly more and fit it into about a 12-18" square frame of wood, with a container to put under it, perhaps you could run the used litter over it and get another use or two out of it? Make a funnel of cardboard, or cut the corner out of a cereal box, or use a margarine/yogurt container to refill the jug. 'Twould be especially helpful if you could train the cat/dog to use one litter box for the one kind of waste and another for the other. First idea - straight goods. Second - somewhat tongue-in-cheek. ole joyful

I'm not an expert on these things, but I did once use epoxy wood repair material to fix a rotting corner on a wood window. I waited until we'd had dry weather for several days before tackling it. You can buy kits at the big box home center stores. Here is how This Old House did something similar. I wouldn't mess with foam. That stuff makes a mess, and I don't think it will help your situation. Nor would I worry too much about mold. As for killing it (if really necessary), I've used diluted chlorine bleach for that purpose. I don't know about vinegar. There's really no good answer to your last question. If you can't fix it and can't find someone who can, well, it'll just keep getting worse. It's tough to find contractors who are willing to take on small jobs. That's where a good handyman, uh, comes in handy. As in all trades, they vary in skill and diligence. Ask friends and neighbors. Fifteen years ago you could trust online reviews of tradespeople, but unfortunately all the review websites I know of have pretty much sold out. These days, a mediocre (sometimes worse) tradesperson can often get negative reviews suppressed just by buying advertising on the review website.