The garage is hardly and ideal place for storing food, but if you’ve run out of space in the kitchen and don’t have a basement, you will need to make due. To make the most of your storage space, in spite of moisture and temperature problems, you’ll have to make a few adjustments. Here are some tips for storing food in the garage.
Invest in a garage storage system. You can pay anywhere from $200.00 for a single freestanding pantry closet to $1500.00 for heavy duty steel garage cabinets. (You may even already have some installed.) Food stored in the garage must be put in cabinets to keep it free from pests and temperature swings.
Get a used refrigerator. Get an inexpensive, used refrigerator (or multiple used refrigerators) to store food items from your pantry. Store pantry foods in a refrigerator with the temperature turned all the way up. It will keep the food cool, but not not too cold. This is the safest environment for long term storage.
Only put foods in cans and jars in the garage unless they are inside of airtight plastic or metal containers. Even then, you still need to put these items inside of your cabinets. Better yet, store items in paper or plastic containers in the house.
Do your best to keep your garage pest free. Make sure the garage is sealed to keep out pests so that your stored food does not attract extra critters.
Take steps to keep your garage pest pest-free. Food stored in your garage can attract all kinds of critters. Before adding a food pantry to your garage, make sure your garage is sealed to keep pests out and to reduce temperature fluctuations as much as possible.
Keep food items away from gasoline, insecticides, and any other chemicals that you may store in the garage. These items are stored in porous containers and the fumes can seep into your food. They should be stored in their own separate cabinet as far away from the food storage cabinets as possible.