Give These Items More Life By Keeping Them Out Of Your Attic

Your attic may seem like the perfect place to store lots of stuff, but there are some things that will do better in a more controlled climate. Attics are stuffy places that we generally don't spend a lot of time in — they aren't connected to the home's heating or cooling systems unless they've been updated for living purposes. Most often, on a hot day, your attic will be smoldering, and on a cold day, it will feel like an ice chest. Those definitely aren't the greatest conditions for any items that need to either stay cool, warm, or somewhere in between.

Attics tend to not be the cleanliest places either –- leaving your precious heirlooms and collectibles to potentially be covered in dust and mold. You may have grandma's hand-sewn linens in storage for eternity then decide you want to use them — if they've been in the attic they may be a stinky, musty, moldy, gross mess that may or may not be salvageable. So, before you put anything up in the out-of-the-way attic space, consider some of the items that you shouldn't store up there if you want them to have a long life.

Ah, the tomes that teach us and take us to new worlds -– what will the attic do to those? Whether you're a fan of a specific author, refuse to let go of your college books, or are saving your favorite children's books to hand off to your grandchildren, there isn't always enough bookshelf space for your entire collection of books. It's common to keep some for nostalgia's sake and prefer to put them out of sight, leaving room on the shelves for the books we've yet to read. That out-of-sight spot shouldn't be the attic.

Books need a dry environment, which means one that isn't likely to get a lot of humidity. They should also be somewhere that is cool, a room or space that doesn't get too hot in the summer or from the furnace in the winter. Unless your attic is temperature controlled, it does not meet the requirements. Neither does your basement. Not only does the wrong environment cause yellowing of your books' pages, but it can make them brittle too. Moisture could also attract bugs that will make a home and nest of your books. Again skip storing them in cardboard boxes. Instead, consider packing them in a wood crate or plastic storage bin and keep them in a closet.

Whether it's a vintage piece that's been in your family a while or something new, the atmosphere of an attic is the perfect place to destroy anything leather — but we can't always fit all of our furniture in our living spaces. You want to keep your leather furniture in an area that doesn't struggle with humidity, which can cause mold to grow. 

On the other hand, you don't want it to be in a space that is too dry too often, which can also damage your leather. So, where can you put your leather heirlooms to safely store them? Well, your best bet for leather furniture storage is wrapping it in something soft (no plastic) and keeping it in a temperature-controlled storage unit.

For some, a vision of an old attic always comes with a wood storage chest full of family heirlooms like your great-grandmother's wedding dress or those linens we just spoke about -– but attics are not safe for wood furniture and other things made of wood unless you prepare them for safekeeping. You may be better off storing your wood furniture in a spare room where the temperature is stable, or in a climate-controlled storage unit.

If you have to keep them in the attic, it's probably a better choice than the basement. However, that muggy attic can damage wood that hasn't been sealed or well taken care of. And, if it's too dry, just like with leather furniture, the dry air can also dry out the wood. If you have to store something wood in the attic, be sure to safely wrap it in cloth or plastic to protect it. You may also want to invest in a humidifier if your attic leans on the dry side or a dehumidifier for muggier months.

Cardboard boxes can also add to the fire risk, since they're essentially just kindling. If there are some items you need to store in the attic, you're better off using plastic storage bins (which will better help keep bugs and other pests out). Cardboard also absorbs moisture, so a muggy attic will quickly lead to soggy and musty boxes. The boxes will also start to degrade over time and you could find yourself hauling a box down the attic stairs that falls apart and dumps all the contents everywhere.

Even if you're only storing empty storage boxes in the attic, it's still a bad idea. If you're planning a move and want to save boxes, store them in the garage. Boxes attract bugs, especially spiders, so unless you want more bugs moving in, you'll want to keep the boxes elsewhere.

Electronics have no place in the attic, or the basement for that matter (unless they're remodeled as living spaces with proper heating and air conditioning). The ever-changing temperatures of the attic, especially the heat, will damage electronics enough to make them never work again. The biggest culprit: condensation. Rapid changes in temperature and humidity can cause a buildup of moisture inside the equipment, eventually ruining it completely.

Storage units are an OK choice for storing these items, if you opt for the temperature-controlled version. Your electronics need to be in an area where humidity is not going to be an issue. It's also best to store electronics in their original packaging and to remove any removable cords from them to help protect wiring. If you don't have the original boxes anymore, be sure to safely package items by packing them securely in plastic bins.

There's nothing wrong with stocking up on candles, whether you need them for power outages, love the ambiance, or you have some spells to cast! However, you need to be careful of where you're keeping those melty wax wonders if you don't want them to become a mess. Cold spaces are great for candles, where they can stay nice and firm. In fact, in candlemaking, putting the wax molds in the freezer once they're filled helps harden the candles faster.

While attics can sometimes be chilly places, during the winter months anyway, they are most often hotter spaces the rest of the year, and candles are meant to melt in extreme heat. If you have old wax figurine candles that you've been collecting, the attic is also a bad place for them. Luckily, candles can be easily stored in a spare drawer somewhere away from any furnace vents in other parts of your home and can often fare well in the basement.