Garage storage and Florida weather
 

I have a question about storing things in Florida weather... Sorry -- New Yorker here, and as many times as I've been to Florida, I haven''t spent a summer there.

Thinking about storage since it doesn't seem like we would have space inside the home for an owner's closet. So -- How safe is it to utilize space in garages with locked wardrobes to store your clothes and personal belongings if we were to rent the house for a few months a year?

Do I need to worry about mold? Insects? Critters? Is this a safe option?

Thanks!

Depends, winter is warm and dry, the summer months are hot and very humid. I would say ok for winter, but the summer maybe not.

Bugs shouldn't be an issue if the homeowner has a bug company to manage them. Mold and fungus might be an issue when the humidity and dew point are high. Other than that critters/robberies aren't much of an issue here, but like everywhere else anything is possible.

I bought a locking metal cabinet at Lowe’s and it has worked well for several years now..

We rent out our home when we are not there.
As we are Brits we have not been able to visit for over a year.
The person who looks after our place recently checked the cupboards (simple Home Depot product). All seemed ok. We have several of these along the walls of the garage. We put roach pellets in the cupboards as the first time we found a few traces of roach poo. Since then nothing.
We do seal more fragile items in bags or plastic boxes.
The booze bottles do not seem to attract ants. But we do clean them before storage. The spirits do not seem to suffer from the changeable conditions. We keep our wine in a locked wine cooler in the house.
One thing we did notice was that some fabrics crease if they are not hung.
Hope that helps.

If storing clothes that are important to you choose a/c storage. Anything that’s important furniture or other always choose a/c storage in Florida. Summer heat is really tough for storage w/o air conditioning.

I don't recommend storing ANY personal items in someone else's garage or closet. Leave those precise items with family only! Otherwise you may never get them back!

This is the OP’s own house they are considering renting out for a few months and want to store their items /clothing out of reach of a tenant

On my January trip to the Villages I purchased a new vehicle which will stay in Florida when we are back in RI. Before leaving, I did the usual things not so much related to the heat (trickle charger, fill gas tank, over-inflate tires, etc.). In regards to the high summer heat and humidity, I recently read an article that a circulating fan with a timer is a good idea for use in the garage during hot summer afternoons to prevent mold while keeping the auto windows open 6 inches or so. A ceiling fan or a dehumidifier would also work.

Be careful what you store your things in as palmetto bugs love cardboard

Storage
 

We are full-time residents and we use a small, interior, climate-controlled storage facility near The Villages for seasonal and other items. Our attic was entirely too hot in the summer as was the garage. You might be happier if these items were off-site and not taking up room in your garage. Then you don't have to worry about heat, pests, unauthorized access, etc. It might be worth the peace of mind.

Thanks, everyone. Very helpful advice!

I managed a self storage climate controlled facility in North Georgia and will tell you not to store in any place that is NOT climate controlled. I heard so many horror stories from people who stored in non climate controlled. Of course make sure they have a regular pest control service but a good place will be clean and you should be able to tell it’s secure and clean.

Us vacationers like the garage to keep our cars/trucks out of the Florida sun. A garage screen is as treasured as a pool, when weather permits.

Garages here can get very hot in the summer. I would only store items impervious to heat and humidity there and nothing at all in the attic. Use only metal enclosures in the garage, nothing made of particle board that invariably warps, molds and attracts bugs. Clothing, electronics, photographs and art supplies should be kept in an air conditioned space, perhaps locked in a coat closet, pantry cabinet or walled off half of a bedroom closet. Toss in a couple of borax type roach traps. Regardless of what you store here while away, take all true valuables and vital documents with you.

rent an airconditioned 5 x 10 storage space at FT Knox self storage or a different self storage. just make sure it is climate controlled(air conditioned)

We have rented out our house for 4-5 years. We have a ‘coat’ closet in our house; we got a ‘key’ lock for it and store some of our pantry food and cleaning supplies and paper products. My husband put 3-4 shelves which worked very good. we store heavy things in plastic containers on floor.
Another couple, bought a storage thingy and put a padlock on it and stored it in their garage with no problem.
We also got a new NEST thermostat installed and I can use my IPhone anywhere to turn up/down temperature. The nest is a little tricky but I’ve gotten use to it. (On our contract, with renters, we pay $150 for electric; if they go over that amount, they pay. We usually deduct it from security deposit.)

We stored our personal items in the guest hall closet. Changed out the door handle to one with a key. Used plastic totes and space saving storage bags for extra space, simple solution. We also used a few cabinets in laundry room and used a slide lock. Never an issue. It helps if you are a packing genie 😁.

Using a dessicant like Damp Rid will help keep moisture down in a small space. We also have the plug-in ultrasonic bug repellents. Just two more ideas.

We use one of the bedrooms, we have a 3 bedroom, to store our personal things. Put a heavy duty deadbolt lock on it and have never had a problem renting or with someone trying to get into our locked room. We're on a golf course, rent it out the winter months as a 2 bedroom. Consider using an interior bedroom or a closet with a good lock.

I wonder why anyone would rent here for the summer, but if they do I wouldn't use the garage for storage, I would use a closet in the house or a climate controlled storage unit.

Den or 3rd bedroom storage
 

I know people who put all personal belonings in a locked den or 3rd bedroom.

You might want to look into renting storage many are temperature controlled. As to critters, it is simply amazing what they can and do get into. Ex New yorker-us too.
A mouse can squeeze through a less than 1/4 inch crack. Here perhaps less that that.
Lizards, they seem to go through walls with no cracks required.

Anything is possible! Storage of your items out of your sight OP, tenant or otherwise is a risk. Trust me!

We had this same issue...luckily the master has 2 large closets, we took one and put a key lock in the handle, so renters only get one very large closet per room.

Summer rental
 

We plan on renting this summer (July, August & maybe September). We will be house hunting with plans to be living in TV before winter.

We just did this: If you have a coat closet in the front hall, replace the door handle with a locking handle that matches the rest of the house. On the upper shelf store your wine, spirits, etc... Clothes that need to hang can go where the coats would go. Store the clothes that don't need to be hung in bins that are not too wide and stackable. Golf clubs can also fit in that closet. For yard stuff and tools, buy a locking metal cabinet for the garage like a Gladiator.

I would only rent to friends. They can use anything I have.