12 Items to Avoid Storing in Your Garage This Winter

Lisa Rivera • Sep 28, 2021

Your custom garage can sometimes be a catch-all for storage. But has it become a vast abyss where you aren’t even sure what’s in there? Before winter hits, it is important to go through your garage to make sure everything is stored properly and safely. For many items, the frigid temperatures can cause damage, or even become a safety issue for you, your home, and your family.

This winter, make sure you aren't storing these items in your garage:

Photographs
Paint
Important Documents
Propane Tanks
Clothes
Firewood
Electronics
Food & Wine
Appliances
Delicate Clothing

Storing items in your garage might be convenient, but it could become an expensive disaster. Extreme temperatures can pose a great risk to a lot of things you might be storing outside of your home. Read on to avoid a potentially dangerous & expensive catastrophe.

Organize Everything First

Before you dive into clearing out items that won’t store well in your garage this winter, you might need to declutter first. If you don’t want it or need an item, get rid of it. You could even have a garage sale before the weather gets too nippy!

Once you have cleared out your space, try to visualize ways to break up the room into sections for all of your things. Creating different zones, along with a comprehensive plan, will help the rest of the organization process run more smoothly.

Now that you've cleared out the clutter and have your mind set on how you’re going to organize everything, what items need to be rehomed permanently? HGTV offers three rules to guide all garage organization:

"Don’t store items that could be damaged by extreme or fluctuating temperatures."
Anything that could become damaged by "moisture or humidity."
Dangerous chemicals

As tempting as it might be, do not store these items in your garage:

Photographs

All those beautifully captured memories from over the years are not meant to withstand the extreme fluctuating temperatures from season to season. Moisture especially can ruin them. Play it safe & store them in a temperature-controlled space, whether that be a closet, cabinet, or even under your bed.

Paint

Are you ready to work on upgrading some rooms or furniture in your house? Maybe you bought a couple of gallons of paint with that intention, but it never happened. Now what? Regardless, paint does not belong in your garage! Don’t store it in your garage as the temperatures can ruin it.

According to Readers Digest, winter temperatures, especially, can cause paint to separate and/or solidify. Store paint and stains indoors to keep the "temperature controlled."

Important Documents

If you run out of room in your office, the best place to store important documents is not your garage. The extreme cold can ruin them for good. Bring everything inside and consider investing in a "fireproof box" to store them in.

Propane Tanks

You shouldn’t store propane tanks in your garage, in cold or hot temperatures. The tanks could leak gas and cause a possible explosion.

Off-Season Clothes

Instead of keeping spare clothes in your garage, store them in a temperature-controlled environment like an indoor closet. Avoid the use of sealed storage containers as your clothes could be at risk of mold growth if placed there long-term.

Firewood

When the temperature drops, you’ll want to have firewood handy. But storing it in a chilly garage can cause the wood to freeze. Bugs and insects are looking for a warm place too this winter!

Electronics

You might be in the process of getting rid of your old DVD player or radio but storing them in the garage will likely mean throwing them out instead of selling or giving them away. Cold temperatures can cause rusting, cracking, and more.

Food & Wine

While it’s tempting to use your garage as an extra cooler in the frigid temperatures of winter, the fluctuations throughout the day can cause food and wine to go bad. With wine, it can alter the taste.

Appliances

Similar to old electronics, appliances can also be damaged by extreme temperatures. However, it could be the perfect excuse to shop for a new mixer or griddle down the road.

Delicate Clothing

Are you looking for a place to store your wedding dress? Or maybe hand-me-downs from your in-laws for your children to grow into? The garage is not the safest place for them as the cold temperatures can ruin the fabrics. In the winter, when rodents are looking for a warm place to stay, these items will be their first choice too.

Caulking Materials

Compounds used for wall patching or caulking will freeze when stored in your garage - becoming useless and taking up space. While they might eventually thaw, you won't be able to use them for your next DIY project.

Pet Food

Just like the freezing temperatures don't bode well for human food, your furry loved ones can't eat anything stored there either. Again, food attracts pests & pests attract a major problem!

Conclusion

Your garage has always been the go-to place to store items that might not fit elsewhere. Once you take the time to get everything organized, see if you can swap out items that should have been stored indoors or placed away from your home in the first place.