Blog Post

Seven Items to Avoid Storing in Your Garage

George Chowanec • March 29, 2021

Inside storage space always seems to be at a premium. You have specific items you simply can’t get rid of and others you don’t want to. Logically, the garage is an excellent place to put the overflow of not-so-significant or larger items. Yet, it might not be the best place for certain things. So, what shouldn’t you store in a custom garage?

There are dozens of items that should never be stored in a garage. These include:

Paper and Cardboard
Food
Electronics
Clothing
Wood Furniture
Hazardous Materials
Important Documents

Ready to learn why each of the above items deserves a special place somewhere other than your garage? Read on!

Paper and Cardboard

Going green is good for the environment. It reduces waste in landfills. However, going green means that you’ll have papers and cardboard ready for the recycling center. If improperly stored in your garage, these piles will become a homing beacon to rats, mice, and other rodents.

The piles signal these vermin to an open house. Mice love to shred paper and cardboard to make themselves a nice cozy place to live and raise a family. If you must store your recyclables in the garage, make sure you regularly take them to the recycling center or leave for city-wide pickup. While you are collecting papers and cardboard for your next recycle center run, keep them in a closed plastic bin to discourage vermin.

Food

When it comes to food, you might think that keeping it out of your garage is a no-brainer. However, while you may realize your food is better off inside, it’s easy to overlook storing dog, cat, or bird food in there.

Yet, leaving bags of birdseed or kibble in your garage also invites pests inside. While the mice are raiding your papers to make a nest, they may stumble upon the best buffet. They won’t stop themselves from feasting and telling all of their friends.

The best way to avoid an infestation is to store these items inside of your pantry. You can find plastic dog food containers to hold dry dog and cat food and keep pests out. Use a similar box for birdseed as well.

Canned food is another item you may feel safe initially about storing in your garage. However, according to Good Housekeeping, when canned food reaches a temperature above 70 degrees, shelf life takes a dramatic hit. Temperatures above 95 will cause the food to spoil even more rapidly. Freezing temperatures will cause the food to freeze and negatively impact the overall quality.

Electronics

Not currently using that DVD player or gaming system? Maybe you have a vintage record player that you aren’t ready to part with but don’t use anymore. As storage space inside your home is at a premium, you stick them out in the garage until you’re ready to use them again.

It might sound like a good idea, but in fact, it’s not. The extreme changes in temperature that most garages face can damage the sensitive electrical components. If you do end up with a vermin infestation, mice can chew through the wires and cause them to be beyond repair.

If you have a record player, it is also not a good idea to put your vinyl collection in the garage. The summer heat can warp the vinyl into waves which will make them utterly unplayable in the future.

Clothing

A great way to save closet space is to cycle your clothing during different seasons. In the winter, your spring and summer clothes can go in containers to make room for bulkier winter items and vice versa. However, clothing in a garage can make a lovely nest for mice, rats, and even raccoons and possums.

It is best to store your out-of-season clothing and bedding in the house rather than in the garage. If, for some reason, you have no choice but to store your linen items in the garage, make sure you pack them in plastic containers with lids to keep pests away from your garments.

Wood Furniture

Antiques are a wonderful keepsake for your family’s legacy. However, if you choose not to use them yourself until the person you want to have them is ready, don’t store them in your garage. Wooden furniture needs a relatively constant temperature level to maintain its shape.

According to Bob Vila, storing wood furniture in a garage causes the wood to “swell and contract.” This constant swelling and contracting causes the wood to warp, damaging the antique beyond repair. It can also cause “veneer delamination.” The damage can occur within a short period of time.

If you want to store your antiques, keep them inside or in a temperature-controlled storage area.

Hazardous Materials

It is a dangerous thing to store hazardous materials in your garage. Flammable items such as gasoline and propane tanks should be kept elsewhere if possible. Make sure you keep them in a tightly sealed container out of the reach of children and animals. Also, keep the canisters away from any ignition sources, which may cause them to catch fire. At the same time, as propane tanks can leak, they should be kept in a well-ventilated area outside of your garage.

Other hazardous materials such as paint and thinners could cause a fire hazard if left inside. Once you are finished using any type of hazardous material, safely dispose of it.

Important Documents

As the majority of garages are not temperature controlled, essential documents shouldn’t be kept in there. Difficult-to-replace files such as birth certificates, social security cards, passports, and marriage certificates need to be placed in a fire-safe box and stored in your home.

Think that a fireproof box will protect your documents, even in the garage? While moisture will not penetrate the box, the garage temperature is still not regulated and can affect the strong box’s contents. Additionally, you shouldn’t leave essential papers outside of the security of the interior of your home. Garages are often more easily broken into than homes, especially those with security systems, as most don’t add protection to the garage.

Due to the extreme temperatures, the garage is also not the place to store precious photographic memories. The photos can become damaged due to fading or getting stuck together over time. In the end, your memories will be a ruined mess.

Conclusion

It might feel like you’re losing storage options by no longer keeping these items in the garage. While it may seem like a hassle to stop stockpiling paper and cardboard and finding new places to store important documents, clothing, furniture, food, electronics, and hazardous materials, it is for the best. You can avoid having an infestation, eliminate safety issues, and preserve your precious items.