When it comes to storing belongings in your garage or unfinished basement, don’t just think “out of sight, out of mind.” To prevent damage – and even risks to your family’s health and safety – where you store your items should depend on what you’re storing. 

Excess moisture, extremes of heat or cold, and even pesky critters like mice and bugs can make garages and basements (attics and outdoor sheds, too) surprisingly inhospitable homes for everything from photos to food.  

Fortunately, a love of prevention can save your stash from turning to trash! As you start your spring-clean maintenance routine, keep an eye out for things that don’t belong in your garage or basement (and a few ideas for what you can safely keep there instead). 

Store it safely 

We’ve all been there. You open a box of stored mementos only to get a musty waft of … Ew, what is that? We naturally think of spaces like the garage and basement as perfect places to tuck away seasonal, rarely needed, or bulky items. But too often, storage space that’s not temperature-controlled can take a toll, especially for these eight surprisingly sensitive items: 

 What NOT to store anywhere in your home 

Safety first! These two things never belong inside your home or garage: 

1.  Flammables, like gas cans and barbecue propane tanks. It’s fine to keep a spare propane tank on hand to prevent a mid-barbecue sputter but it needs to stay out of your home. Otherwise, it can pose an explosion hazard in a house fire, and a leaking tank could spark a fire if fumes connect with an ignition source. You can keep it outside on a flat, stable surface, far from open flame, or store it in a shed away from the house, where you also should keep your lawnmower gas.  

2. Firewood. Firewood dries poorly in a garage (inadequate air circulation) and insects can hitch a ride into your home. We learned of a home that was inundated with fleas after the homeowner moved firewood into the basement, which harbored unhatched fleas. (Fleas can wait inside their cocoons to hatch for five months until they sense a potential host may be near!)  
    
   Also, if a fire breaks out in your home, a stack of indoor firewood adds fuel to the fire...literally.
    
   Instead, stack firewood outside or in an open-sided shed well away from your house. Bring in only the amount you need for your evening fire. 
    

What NOT to store in your garage or basement 

•  Food. Food stored in your garage attracts rodents and can go bad quickly from exposure to uncontrolled humidity and temperatures. Even canned food should be stored in a cool, dry place (up to 70 degrees) to prevent rust from forming on lids. If you must store pet food or birdseed in the garage, put the bags in clean metal garbage cans with lids to keep rodents out. 
   
  Unfinished basements aren’t a much better choice, since semi-perishable foods like rice, cereal, pasta, and bags of pet food can draw moisture and spoil.  

• Books, photographs, artwork, or important documents. Humid, poorly ventilated environments degrade paper, leading to mold, mildew, fading, and pages sticking together. An added “ick factor?” Insects. They’re attracted to paper, including cardboard storage boxes, as a cozy home and food source. And even reliably dry basements can fall victim to burst pipes that ruin whatever lies below them.  
  
  Instead, store them in a closet or under a bed, inside a waterproof plastic container. 

• Electronics. Fluctuating temperatures and humidity can damage sensitive electrical components, meaning that even if they look fine on the outside, rust inside may ruin your stored game system, spare microwave or TV, or small kitchen appliances. Move them to a closet indoors.  
   
  If that’s not practical, consider donating them to charity or recycling with help from E-Cycle Washington and Oregon E-Cycles. 

• Paint. This one’s a surprise! Temperature and humidity extremes in garages can cause unused paint to degrade quickly and congeal. Paint cans left on damp basement floors can rust. Plus, oil-based paints and enamels are flammable.
   

Storage ideas for the love of prevention    

 For all other items that you store in the garage or basement, keep as much as possible off the floor and on shelves in plastic rather than cardboard boxes. Pull shelves far enough from the wall to allow good air circulation, and periodically check to make sure insects or rodents haven’t taken up a cozy home behind them. 

Good candidates for garage or basement storage are things like:

• empty canning jars
• warehouse store staples (like plastic-wrapped towels and toilet paper)
• off-season clothes (stored in vacuum-sealed bags)
• off-season patio furniture
• sports equipment
• holiday displays (batteries removed)

If you’re short of storage, it may be time to reclaim some space with a strategic garage decluttering or (surprisingly therapeutic) spring cleaning. And if there’s still no way to fit all your stuff – most importantly, your car – into the garage? It might be time to consider a climate-controlled self-storage unit, and we have tips to help you find the right one.  

 We’re all in on prevention because we’re all in on you    

Prevention is about more than just avoiding the hassle of an insurance claim. It’s about keeping you and your family safe, which frees you to worry less and live more. Want more prevention tips now? Check out the PEMCO Blog. It’s loaded with articles to help you prevent the preventable, at home and on the road.