Effects on scrapbooking supplies in a storage unit?

Personally, I would not put any of my supplies in a non-climate controlled storage unit. Could you find a family member or a friend to store it?

Think about how much money you have invested in your stash.

I don't even like to store my supplies in our garage. I know the fluctuation in temperatures is not good for most of it.

But your stuff isn't stacked to the ceiling wall to wall which would only magnify the moisture and heat.  Even without A/C, there is airflow that would be lacking in a storage unit.

I've had my entire craft room packed in a climate controlled storage area for years. When I retrieve supplies, the only thing I've had problems with are rub-ons that don't work and clear acrylic embellishments that have yellowed, but I suspect those are more age related than storage issues.

Strangely enough, it's the albums and completed pages that I stored in a friend's basement that got damaged because they had mice move in over the winter. I thought things would be safer in someone's home, but I was mistaken.

When I was a military wife with my first husband, I moved overseas & all of my stuff was loaded onto a boat, shipped across the ocean, & stored for several months in a non climate controlled storage unit.

Everything was okay!

And three years later,it was packed back up & sent over the ocean again, & again into storage.

My best advice is to pack everything in Ziploc bags whenever you can.

And keep like with like.

Oh someone mentioned bugs. Yes, I would be concerned about bugs in the storage units. We had to store some stuff once when we were moving. The stuff was only in there for a month. A couple of the boxes had bugs in them when we opened them up. This was in a non-climate controlled unit.

Could you put some of those silica gel packs, you know that come with shoes and such? in with the paper to help absorb moisture/humidity?

I had some of my stuff in a non-climate controlled storage unit for a year. At times the heat was extreme but it wasn't a humid area. Things were dusty and a bit musty smelling but everything was OK. The musty smell went away after being aired out and dusted.

Frazzled Mom, that so stinks. Sorry.

nicolep, looks like lots of good advice and concerns have already been listed. Even if everything is in plastic totes, still get them off the floor. Are you moving?

When we moved, I had to store all my scrapping paper, embellishments, tools, and everything but one small bag. We stored my stash and nearly everything else we owned in a PackRat container, which was parked outside on our NON-climate controlled driveway pad in Virginia for about two or three months prior to being taken to a climate controlled warehouse. The unit stayed there until we moved, at which point the unit was shipped on a big truck, parked outside our new home, and unloaded as we had time. Some boxes got accidentally stored in the garage for about 4 to 6 months. However, the way they were stored may have made a difference.

I stored everything in moving boxes, not plastic bins. The paper was tightly packed into the boxes, and I do mean tightly. It did not warp. None of it. Nothing was hurt or damaged as far as I could tell. Both Virginia and Texas are humid areas.

If there is any chance that water or humidity could get in, or chewed on by mice, cardboard moving boxes would be at risk. Mine were stacked in so tight that I don't think there was any chance of that, but it was a risk. I just had no other good alternative at the time.

Good luck with this, whatever you decide!