Once summer’s leisurely pool weekends, beach weekends and vacations have ended, your weekends have more time for a home fall refresh. The garage is the most common go-to catchall for miscellaneous home items, but there are some items to keep away from the garage. If you’re cleaning out the garage this autumn, ensure these items are removed from this space and stored safely elsewhere in your home.
Pet food
Bags of pet food can be large and cumbersome and take up a lot of room. Keeping these bags in the garage can be an easy way to save space indoors. However, it can also attract rodents and other pests. The scent of the food can invite them into the garage, increasing the risk of them entering your home and contaminating the food.
Packaged food
Like pet food, snacks or any other dry goods you may store in your garage can attract rodents and pests. Keep all food inside your home, even if it means going on fewer Costco runs.
Clothing
Whether you’re storing clothes in your garage or have bags of clothing or linens you are preparing to donate, soft textiles can be a home for moths, mildew, or rodents. Storing your out-of-season textiles indoors and promptly donating your items will help prevent pests from eating and nesting in these soft materials.
Art
Art you’ve collected over the years and you’re not currently displaying should be stored in a humidity and moisture-free, temperature-controlled space. Since the temperature in a garage can drastically vary over a year, you risk mold, mildew and humidity damaging your collection.
Paper documents, books and photographs
Like art, paper documents should be kept out of the garage because of the risk of moisture. Humidity and even flooding can damage essential papers. Additionally, rodents and pests may be able to access and shred them to make nests. If you’re an avid reader, you may have an overflow of books from your collection. These are also important to keep out of the garage so the pages and spine of the book aren’t susceptible to moisture and humidity damage. Treasured photographs don’t stand up to moisture either. The pictures could stick together, which can be impossible to detach.
Propane tanks
A spare propane tank can help you feel prepared during grilling season. However, these tanks are hazardous to keep in your garage, as they can be a fire hazard. Propane tanks should be stored in a well-ventilated area, not in or adjacent to a structure.
Paint
Extra paint often accumulates in the garage, in case you need it for touch-ups, and also because it can be inconvenient to dispose of. Extreme temperatures can ruin the consistency of paint, which means you won’t be able to use it. Storing the paint indoors or disposing of it after the project is complete will save valuable garage space.
Firewood
Keeping firewood in your garage is sending an open invitation to pests. They often live in wood, can quickly take over your garage and make their way indoors.
