Garage Storage Tips: 10 Things You Shouldn’t Keep In Your Garage

The garage can be a great storage area for large items and it can give you a perfect way to keep random clutter out of your house. But it’s important to know what you should and shouldn’t keep in the garage in order to preserve the quality of the important things you own. Certain types of materials won’t last very long in a garage and you don’t want to risk ruining something valuable. Here are 10 garage storage tips to keep your things safe and protected.

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Garage Storage Tip #1: Don’t Store Cardboard Boxes

Cardboard doesn’t do well in the garage because it can easily deteriorate due to moisture from humidity. Cardboard boxes are also a breeding ground for insects and pests who will turn it into their living space.

These insects and pests can then eventually get into your home. Avoid keeping anything cardboard in your garage.

Solution: Use Plastic Storage Bins In Your Garage

Instead of placing your things in cardboard boxes, transfer them to plastic bins and boxes instead. It’s worth investing in high quality containers because they will keep everything neatly and safely stored away.

Use a variety of different sized plastic boxes and stack them neatly inside your garage to save space. Protect your items even more by making sure the bin is tightly sealed and covered with a lid.

Sets of 3 Stackable Storage Bins with Lids

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Garage Storage Tip #2: Leave Bags Of Dog Food Inside The House

While you may find it convenient to store giant bags of dog food in your garage, it’s ultimately a recipe for disaster.

Rodents and other animals will be drawn to the food and will chew through the bags. This can also lead to them infiltrating your house. Keep all pet food inside your house and away from the garage where outdoor animals won’t be able to smell it.

Solution: Pour Pet Food Into Convenient Containers

Buying big bags of dog food can help make it last longer, but the bulky bags take up a lot of space.

Instead, pour the food into tall and skinny containers that won’t take up a lot of space in your kitchen. Plastic containers for pet food makes it easier for you to scoop out daily and it gives you a more compact way to store the food. As a bonus, you can also store other pet supplies in matching containers and bins.

Iris® Pet Food Containers with Scoop

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Garage Storage Tip #3: Bottles Of Wine Will Get Ruined In The Garage

For those who have an impressive collection of wine, it may seem logical to store bottles in your garage and grab them when you’re ready to drink them. However, wine is not made for garage storage.

The changing temperatures and jumping levels of humidity can actually completely change the taste of the wine. Humidity severely damages the corks, letting air into the bottle and oxidizing the wine.

Solution: Use A Wine Rack To Save Space In Your Kitchen

If you have a lot of wine bottles and a small amount of room, you simply have to get creative with the way you store your wine.

Hang wine racks and decorative wine bottle holders on your kitchen walls as a cute way to save space and display your bottles. You can also opt to buy a small wine fridge if you have some room to spare on your kitchen counter.

LED Sentiment Wine Bottle Holders

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Garage Storage Tip #4: Cans of Food Aren’t Safe In The Garage

There’s a reason why cans of food are supposed to be stored in a cool and dry locations. Storing them in your garage can ruin the food, putting you at a health and safety risk.

Damp and humid garages can make your cans rusty, damaging the contents inside. Extreme heat in your garage can also spoil the food quickly. It’s not smart to store food cans in your garage, no matter what the weather.

Solution: Use Pantry Organizers To Store Food Cans

If you like to stock up on cans of food, there’s a more compact way to store them inside of your kitchen cabinets or even on top of your counters. This tip can add some order to your kitchen and pantry storage.

Use can organizers inside of your pantry and cabinets to neatly stack all your cans without taking up too much space. You can also use long and skinny plastic bins and baskets for compact storage that’s easy to access.

Perfect Pantry™ Set of 2 Can Organizers

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Garage Storage Tip #5 – Books Will Be Destroyed In The Garage

Books should never be stored in the garage, even temporarily. If you want to preserve the quality of your library collection, your books should always be kept inside your house.

Humidity in the garage can ruin the pages and can turn them into a breeding ground for insects and rodents. Keep your cherished books out of the garage if you’re planning on holding on to them for a long time.

Solution: Use A Multi-Purpose Organizer To Hold Books & More

If you don’t have room in your house to put a bookcase filled with your collection, choose a multi-purpose organizer instead.

A multi-purpose organizer will conveniently hold your books while holding other household essentials to use the space in your house wisely. Opt for tall and skinny organizers with a variety of shelves and cabinets to store your books and anything else you need.

Farmhouse Wood and Metal Organizer

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Garage Storage Tip #6 – A Garage Refrigerator Takes Up Too Much Energy

It may seem smart to keep an extra fridge in your garage for all your drinks and other food items, it’s actually more of hassle than you realize.

The unsteady, changing temperatures in your garage forces a fridge to work even harder. This not only shortens the life span of your fridge but it can also noticeably raise your electric bill. Storing a refrigerator in your garage is not worth it in the long run.

Solution: Create More Room With Fridge Organizers

Instead of getting a second fridge, find ways to condense the items in your current fridge in order to make enough space for all of your food and drinks. Fridge organizers can help you get the job done.

Using special bins and baskets inside the refrigerator is a smart way to open up more space inside the fridge and keep everything neatly organized. Putting in organizer drawers also adds extra storage space without taking up too much room.

Adjustable Refrigerator Drawer or Egg Tray

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Garage Storage Tip #7: Electronics Should Always Be Kept Inside

Maybe you have some old electronics that you’re planning on donating, or you just don’t seem to have a place to put that old boombox that you still use every once in awhile.

But the garage is not a good place to keep these electronics because they’ll get ruined. All the moisture in the air can quickly destroy them, making them useless. Garage storage should never include electronics.

Solution: Use Decorative Bins To Discreetly Store Electronics

Combine decor with function by using decorative bins and baskets to store any necessary electronics. This will help you store the electronics nicely without having an unsightly pile of them on the floor.

Place these bins and baskets in the corner of your living room or bedroom where they can blend in with the rest of your home decor. You can even use a storage bench or ottoman as an even more useful and practical way to store your electronics, fit the style of your home, and have somewhere to sit.

Set of 2 Baskets

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Garage Storage Tip #8: Photographs Should Be Stored Carefully In A Regulated Environment

Photos are worth a thousand words and are a precious way to cherish your memories. Don’t risk storing your photos in the garage – they won’t hold up.

The changing temperatures and high levels of humidity will do a lot of harm to your photographs. It’ll cause them to fade, stick together, and become susceptible to rips. It’s best to keep your photographs out of the garage and into a safer space.

Solution: Keep Photos In One Place With Photo Organizer Boxes

If you don’t want to use photo albums for all of your photographs, other photo storage organizers may be a better option for you.

Photo organizer boxes can keep your photographs neatly stored and protected. Each photo can be protected with individual containers inside the box. These boxes don’t need to take up a lot of room – store them on the top shelf of your closet, keep them underneath your bed, or put them inside of living room cabinets.

1,600-Photo Organizer Cases

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Garage Storage Tip #9: Don’t Keep Important Papers & Documents In The Garage

Even though a lot of things are digital today, it’s typical to have a lot of important paperwork and documents sitting around that you need to keep. If you’re considering keeping these in your garage to save space, think again.

Don’t store papers and documents in your garage because they will get ruined by moisture and they also might get covered with dirt and dust over time. If these papers are important, you’re going to want to keep them safe.

Solution: Use Space-Saving File Organizers For Your Important Papers

You don’t have to sacrifice space in your home in order to store your papers in an organized fashion. Whether you want to store your papers in a home office or another room with a desk, there’s a simple way to stay organized.

Use a hanging file organizer underneath your desk to organize all your papers into labeled photos. This will take up less room and still allow you to find something when you need it. Other office organizers and supplies can also make it easy to keep your papers neat and tidy.

Space-Saving File Organizers

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Read: How To Organize A Home Office For Better Productivity

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Garage Storage Tip #10: Keep Bedding & Clothing Out Of The Garage

Whether you want to store away your seasonal clothes until next year or keep an extra box of sweaters somewhere, it’s not ideal to store clothes in your garage.

Humidity in the garage will cause mold to develop on the fabric. Insects can infiltrate and make your clothes their home. Car fumes and dust can also cling on to your clothing, ruining the quality of them.

Solution: Use Under Bed Organizers To Keep Extra Clothes

Extra clothes and seasonal outfits should stay inside of your house to maintain the quality of the fabric and make sure they last a long time.

Under the bed space-savers can conveniently hide your clothes away in a compact space. Carefully fold up your clothes and put them in an under bed storage bag to keep them out of sight and out of mind until you need them.

Under Bed Storage Bag

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