I would avoid extreme heat or cold on any sewing machine - new or old. As far as the fabric, should be OK for a short time - but, speaking from experience, get plastic totes that are not too big as fabric is very heavy. Also, get plastic totes with lids that latch on instead of just snap on. Made the mistake of buying some huge plastic totes with lids that just snapped on and my poor DH just about ruined his back by picking up the very heavy totes full of fabric and then the lids popped off. So, I had to unload all of the fabric, takes the totes back to WalMart and buy smaller ones with the lids that locked on instead of just snapped on. Clear plastic was perfect as you can see what is inside. HTH