What food items can I store in my garage?

[cruisnfamily]

I'm doing the grocery game(see this thread http://130.94.75.33/showthread.php?t=869489&page=1&pp=15) and I'm now running out of room to store things in my kitchen. I'm going to clean off some shelves in my garage and I was thinking about what would be ok to put out there. We're in FL so the garage does get HOT.
I know I could store:
paper products
laundry soap
canned goods
beverages
foil/saran wrap

but I'm wondering about
pkgs of cookies
dinner kits(think old elpaso type of thing)
pasta
baking mixes
cereal


Anyhow, any wisdom you have on this subject, please share!
peanut butter

 

[HappyChickie]

My parents always stored canned goods, pasta.. ok.. they stored everything that was non-perishable in the garage pantry.

I would do the same, except I would stick anything in cardboard (pasta) in a ziploc bag to keep the weevels out.

 

[CajunDixie]

I would do the same, except I would stick anything in cardboard (pasta) in a ziploc bag to keep the weevels out.

My mom always freezes flour for a few days then stores it in a 2 gallon size Ziploc on her shelf in the basement.
For our scouts we keep our items in cardboard boxes (like pancake mix) in old coolers. Another idea is to store them in plastic tubs. This keeps them dust, bug and rodent free. A few years ago when I moved my aunt she had many items in gallon size jars that she labeled such as corn meal, cocoa powder, all 3 kinds of sugars, flour (with a stick of spearmint gum), dried beans, and pastas.
I don't think it's the heat itself that would hurt the items but other variables that may be in your garage. Although most homes in FL have A/C not all do.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We store our bottled water (hurricane supply ).....haven't put much thought into storying anything else.

I know that soda will react to extreme heat--so that shouldn't be kept in the garage. During the hottest summer months (like about July/August--but rest of year should be okay).

Anything susceptible to moisture should not be kept there unless protected.

 

[lbgraves]

I wouldn't store canned goods out in the garage if you live in the southern have of the east coast. I have found out the hard way that liquid dish soap will expand & leak out at some point so now I empty out about an inch worth into another container before I put it on the shelf. I only store beverages in the garage fall - spring but not the summer, again due to the heat. I have a big shelf for chips & snacks that are in sealed bags out there. I don't see why cereals wouldn't be fine in the heat as well. The baking mixes should be ok as long as there is a sealed bag inside with the mix and it isn't just in the cardboard. I wouldn't keep pasta in the garage. You can stick that in the freezer too to kill anything that might be in the box.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I wouldn't store canned goods out in the garage if you live in the southern have of the east coast.

Why?

And also, by "chips and snacks", what do you mean by snacks? What about pkgs of cookies, dinner kits, etc?

 

[DizzKneeLand]

I saw you said peanut butter - it will probably go rancid if kept in extreme heat (ie the garage)

DizzKnee

 

[lbgraves]

I am thinking that most canned goods have liquid & the heat might heat the liquid too much & spoil them? Not sure, but that is just what I have done. By snacks I mean chips, pretzles, nachos, etc. If the dinner kits have seperate sealed bags inside the cardboard, then yes I would store them outside. I wouldn't put any kind of cookie that could melt out there. I do have teddy grahams on the shelf but that is all. No candy either...too sticky of a mess with the heat.

 

[NotUrsula]

Dry goods (flour, pasta, etc.) should be fine, but store them in glass jars with airtight seals. Roaches will get to anything in thin plastic or cardboard; they will simply eat through the packaging. They will also get into paper goods at times; be careful about moving those things into the house after storage outside.

 

[Chicago526]

Or you can do what I did and buy a house with a lot of closets! My new house has so many closets that it will take years to fill them all. And then there's the basement!

Seriously, I've never had trouble storing pop out in the garage, even in the summer (I live outside of Chicago and it can get VERY hot here in the summer) and paper products are fine too. I never thought about storing pasta and baking supplies like flour, but those are great ideas. Definatly the pasta, and the other baking supplies would be okay too once you get them into sturdy containers.

 

[Laurajean1014]

I'm doing the grocery game(see this thread http://130.94.75.33/showthread.php?t=869489&page=1&pp=15) and I'm now running out of room to store things in my kitchen. I'm going to clean off some shelves in my garage and I was thinking about what would be ok to put out there. We're in FL so the garage does get HOT.
I know I could store:
paper products
laundry soap
canned goods
beverages
foil/saran wrap

but I'm wondering about
pkgs of cookies - no. They will get those meely bugs that turn into moths.
dinner kits(think old elpaso type of thing) - the tortilla will get bugs.
pasta - for a short time, maybe a few weeks.
baking mixes - no way! Bug city....
cereal - for a short time only


Anyhow, any wisdom you have on this subject, please share!
peanut butter - You could

Remember: anything with yeast and flour will create bugs and some of those bugs turn into moths...............yuck.

Be careful with potatoes, noodles. Oddly, I have saved mayonaise for a while in the summer in my gargage. It was fine.

In the heat, even some sodas explode.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

we had some cans of soda blow up one summer. So if it's hot, don't put cans of soda in your garage. It was more of a sticky mess than anything else.

 

[mum of two pirates]

We store almost all our extra food in the basement but the bags of chips seemed to get smashed a lot, so now I leave them in the store bag, two bags of chips per bag. And I put little hooks in the roof rafters and just hang the store bag on it and no more smashed chips and then the kids can't get to them as easy eather. Mum of

 

[chamonix]

I would suggest finding other sites in your home for food. I store cases of canned goods like broth and beans under our beds. Soda would be a good one for under beds too.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I store cases of canned goods like broth and beans under our beds. Soda would be a good one for under beds too.

We have a waterbed so no under the bed storage is available.

Thanks for the replies. I will be storing some stuff in the garage but nothing that I consider perishable. I'm still confused as to not storing canned goods out there. I think they'd be fine but some of you have said no. Wonder if there is a place to get a definitive answer on that one.

Our house is neither big nor small, suits us just right but we really don't have a lot of spare space. I do have a coat closet that might provide a little storage. I'll figure it out. Just looking for ideas.

Keep 'em coming!

 

[snowwhitesmom]

....where I live, putting food in your garage is an open invitation to bears....I use my hall closet as a pantry and use a coat tree when I need to!

 

[Taja]

Most dry goods stored in air-tight, water-tight containers that would repel rodents and insects should be fine in nearly any garage.

Extreme heat and cold can be an issue with canned good, particularly anything carbonated. That is the voice of experience in the extreme heat venue! Carbonated beverages will explode, and canned goods will not hold up long-term. Haven't lived in a cold climate since age 3, so have no practical experience there!

 

[marthachick]

Squirrels can chew through plastic tubs. DS was camping with scouts this summer & the squirrels chewed through his Rubbermaid tub to get to his chocolate chip cookies. If you have a problem with squirrels in your area, you might want to keep this in mind.

 

[Nite0wl71]

We have tons of Capri Sun's in the garage. We also keep water.

I don't know about laundry detergent but I do know for a fact Downey will freeze and even when it thaws it just isn't the same.

 

[Gillian]

The stuff we store in the garage is on an interior wall and our insulation isn't so great so it stays fairly stable in temperature. I haven't had a problem with canned goods, but I only buy things that we eat fairly often and I make sure to rotate stock. I would be worried about critters getting into things, mostly.

I just moved our paper goods to clear plastic storage tubs out there.

Our house is small and with the NJ housing market we have little chance of moving up any time soon. I found some extra space in my litle laundry room by changing to a front loading washer with a matching, stackable dryer. It made space for an easy to access shelving unit.

Friends of ours with the same model house turned their coat closet into a pantry and put up coat hooks in the hallway.