What Do You Store in Your Garage?

Although designed as a covered area for vehicles, most people do not store their car in the garage. In fact, many use their garage as a storage area for a range of other items. Some even use it as a workshop where they keep all their tools and where they carry out certain DIY jobs. So, what can be kept in a garage, and what is best not stored there?

DIY Tools

Most DIY tools and equipment can be safely stored in your garage, say the good folk at Devour Tools. As well as power tools such as circular saws and angle grinders, you can even store metal blades in your garage, provided of course that your garage is well insulated and free from damp.

Some people house their tool box or large tool chest in the garage, while others will utilize a section to create a dedicated tool area in which they will use shelving and pegboards to keep their precious tools, ready for easy access as and when they need them.

Yard Furniture and Tools

During the colder months when outdoor socializing is non-existent, the garage can become the perfect storage area for outdoor furniture. Instead of leaving the furniture covered up outside, you can move it inside the garage where it will be protected from the elements.

Gardening tools can also be kept in the garage. You might store your lawnmower, rake, deck brush, and power hose there, but you can also keep heavy bags of compost and spare flower pots, too.

Holiday Decorations

A common place to store holiday decorations such as those used at Christmas and Halloween is the garage because it is easy to get them out when they are needed. Decorations can be stored in plastic bins or trash bags on shelves to prevent them from getting too dusty.

Gym Equipment

If you like working out from home, the garage is the perfect place to do it. Indeed, if you have a big enough space, you can put things like weights and even a treadmill in there.

What Not to Store in Your Garage

There are certain things that you should avoid storing in the garage unless it is fully insulated and secure. For example, storing valuable items in a garage with an easy-to-open door is not a good idea. Below are some more items to avoid storing in your garage:

Food

Whether you are storing spare food items as emergency supplies or bulk pet food, the garage is probably not the best place to do so. This is because the garage can be easily accessed by pests such as mice and the smell of food can attract them. Mice and rats have no problem chewing through paper packaging, so if you must store food in the garage, be sure to keep it in airtight, sealed containers.

Hazardous Materials

Hazardous materials such as propane tanks should never be stored in a garage because there is a risk of leakage. The possible fluctuating of temperatures in the garage is never ideal for hazardous materials, and even a small spark such as switching a light on could cause an explosive situation is something has leaked.

Paint

Most people will store tins of paint in their garage for touch-ups, etc. However, this is a bad idea. The garage can get very hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter (depending on where you live, obviously), which can affect the quality of the paint. You should store paint according to the manufacturer’s guidelines, which will probably mean in a dark place inside the house.