You may be storing your belongings in convenient places, but have you ever considered the consequences your choices may have? Storage mistakes like leaving something in the kitchen instead of the hall closet can lead to your belongings getting ruined faster.
When storing things, it is important to consider how the storage location could affect your stuff. Some storage mistakes can be avoided easily, like not storing your clothes close to your children’s art supplies, others are easy to overlook.
Here are some of the most common storage mistakes that could ruin your belongings:
Storage Mistakes to Avoid:
1. Storing Towels in the Bathroom
Did you know that one of the most common storage mistakes is leaving towels in the bathroom to dry? The bathroom is the most humid place in the house, making it a problematic place to store towels.
You should never store wet or spare towels in the bathroom. This is the bathroom will expose them to humidity, leaving your towels semi-damp at all times. Eventually, this could lead to mold or mildew issues as bacteria start to build up around the dampness.
Instead, store clean towels outside the bathroom. This could be in a linen closet or even in your drawers. After using a towel, hang it in a well-ventilated area, such as your balcony or drying room.
2. Storing Beauty Products on the Counter
Many people store beauty products on their dressing for aesthetic purposes. However, your room has varying temperatures and is a brightly lit space. Bathroom counters are extremely humid. It must be kept in mind that skincare products need to be stored in a cool, dark place.
Here are some complications that could occur if you do not store your beauty products correctly:
- Heat could cause the ingredients to separate in sun blocks and products with SPF.
- Head could cause the pigments to fade in pigmented powders, like blush and eyeshadow.
- Heat could affect the shelf-life of liquid foundations.
- Heat could cause the ingredients to separate in nail polishes.
- Direct exposure to sunlight could cause the scent of fragrances to change.
- When stored in the open, makeup brushes and sponges could attract bacteria.
To ensure that you do not fall prey to these storage mistakes, you should store beauty products in a cabinet or drawer when they are not in use.
3. Storing Pantry Products in the Packaging Box
The idea behind storing food items is to keep them fresh. However, you should never use the boxes and bags that come with these products for storage purposes. They have easy entry and exit spaces for insects that could contaminate your food.
To avoid making any storage mistakes, you should store pantry products in airtight containers as soon as you come home from your grocery haul. You will be able to mark the difference in freshness instantly. Moreover, food containers are eco-friendly, which means you can use them multiple times.
4. Storing Nonstick Pans on Top of Each Other
Anyone who spends most of their time in the kitchen knows how fragile the finish on nonstick pans is. This means that if you stack the pans on top of each other, the finishing will get scratched up fast.
To ensure that you do not mess up your pans, slip in a paper towel or paper plate between each pan when stacking them. All you need is a thin layer to separate one pan from the other, and you do not have to worry about future scratches!
5. Storing Documents in a Filing Cabinet
You should never store important documents in random drawers because you will never be able to find them in a crisis. However, storing them in a filing cabinet is not the smartest thing to do either. In case of a flood, fire, or disaster, a filing cabinet will not be able to save those documents.
A smarter alternative is to store important documents, like passwords, birth certificates, wills, and social security information in a storage bag that is fireproof. Keep the bag in a location where you can easily find it and run if you ever have an emergency.
6. Storing Photos in an Old Shoe Box
Storing photos in an old show box is an idea straight out of the movies. However, the truth is that cardboard is not great for storing photos. In fact, it can cause the photos to fade and become yellow over time.
As an alternative, you can pick your favorite photos and place them in an acid-free photo album. If you have lots of pictures, you can also store them in an acid-free storage box for safekeeping.
7. Storing Medicines and Pills in the Medicine Cabinet
You may have thought that storing your medication in a medicine cabinet is a great idea. However, you may have to reconsider your decision. Earlier in this article, we mentioned how humid a bathroom environment can be. This means that if you leave medications in the bathroom cabinet, you are exposing them to higher temperatures.
Medicines and pills have a higher chance of losing potency and going bad faster if you store them in a humid, moist place. You can store medicines and pills in a big storage box and keep the box in your room or any area not exposed to direct sunlight or humidity.
Conclusion
Storing things can be stressful. You may want to get rid of the clutter as soon as possible and may not even consider the environment in which you are storing your belongings.
However, it is crucial to understand storage mistakes and avoid them in the future. After all, you wouldn’t want to waste unnecessary money and resources. Learning and unlearning behavior patterns to stay away from harm is a healthy practice. Good luck!
