What Should You NOT Store in a Shed?
For most people, the purpose of building a shed is to gain storage. However, to get the best possible performance from your shed, it’s important to know which of your belongings can be kept in this type of building and what items should be placed elsewhere. Many items can live comfortably in your shed all year long, but that’s not the case for everything you own. Read on to learn what you should not store in a shed!
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The Difference Between Your Home and Your Shed
If your shed has four walls, a roof, and a locking door, it might seem like it could serve as suitable storage for anything that you own. However, there is a major difference between your home and your shed: climate control.
In your house, you likely have a furnace to keep you warm in the winter and air conditioning to keep you cool in the summer. Those systems not only keep people comfortable, but they make your house a more suitable environment for storing your belongings, as well.
Without climate control in your shed, some items may suffer. Specifically, anything that is going to be harmed by temperature and humidity swings should probably stay away from the shed. Also, even if you take great care of your shed, small critters and bugs may be more prevalent here than in your house. So, it’s best to think strategically about what should stay in the shed and what should stay inside the house itself.
Don’t Store Food
Perhaps one of the worst items you could store in your shed would be food. Sure, it would be nice to open up some room in your house by storing food out in the shed, but this is a bad idea for a variety of reasons. The temperature swings we already talked about would wreak havoc on the condition of your food items, and you would be asking for trouble from any animals in the area. Not only should you keep your human food inside the house, but that’s also a good idea for pet food. Don’t invite spoilage or critter invasion by leaving food items out in your shed.
Paint Can Be Ruined
This one is tricky because cans of paint might seem like something you would want to store in a shed. Unfortunately, those temperature control issues may ruin your paint over the long run. Specifically, the problem is high summer temperatures, although bitter winter cold can be an issue, as well. If you have an attached garage or a basement, one of those locations would likely serve your paint better than a detached shed.
Documents and Other Paper Items
Because of the potential for moisture, it’s best to keep anything paper-based inside the house. This goes for belongings like pictures and important personal documents, as well as supplies like printer paper. If there is even a modest amount of moisture in your shed, that moisture can invade the paper and ruin it in short order.
Electronics are a No-Go
While electronics and paper goods don’t seem to have much in common, they do share a dislike for moisture. When paper gets wet, it can fall apart, and mold can grow. For electronics, the problem is rust developing on internal components. If you have electronic equipment like stereo gear or extra TVs, those should find a place to live inside the house rather than in the shed.
Extra Clothing Should Stay Inside
Don’t turn to the shed as a storage option for clothes that you aren’t currently using. Again, moisture is to blame here, as you don’t want the fabrics getting soggy and sitting for months at a time. Also, bugs and other critters might find those clothes to be an attractive place to create a home. Even if the garments aren’t badly damaged, you could still end up with items that have an unpleasant smell that doesn’t easily come out in the wash.
Order from Carport Kingdom Today!
While this article focuses on the items that you should not store in your shed, the list of items that can live in a shed is much, much longer. Sheds are versatile, useful buildings that can serve you and your family for years when ordered from a trustworthy supplier like Carport Kingdom. We look forward to working with you on this project!