Understanding condition degredation

[cullam]

I've been playing The Long Dark for about 6 months now, and there are still a lot of things I don't understand about condition deterioration. These aren't complaints, merely me trying to figure out what I should and shouldn't do. 

Do clothes and tools degrade while not being used? If so, do they degrade faster when left on a shelf vs when left in a locker? 

Does canned food degrade faster when left on a shelf than when left in storage? 

Does meat last longer when stored outdoors (I've seen a few people mentioning that they keep their steaks outside)? Does it need to be outside in a container, or can you literally leave them on your doorstep? I've up 'till now been in the habit of shoving everything in lockers, but I'd like to start keep my supplies out where I can more easily see them and access them. I just want to make sure that I'm not hamstringing myself by doing so! 

[obsidian_eclipse]

I leave raw meat outside on the floor and it you can go along time (weeks). Indoors, in back pack or in a cupboard and it's rancid after a few days. I'm not sure about other stuff, I literally drop all food outdoors when I find find it. Oddly enough meat outdoors seems to last longer than the canned goods indoors. You'd think a tin of soup or jar of peanut butter would last years.

I think clothes only degrade when worn and depends on severity of weather or so it seems that way. I take off my outer clothes whilst sleeping or spending a deal of time indoors or whilst near a really hot fire (be  careful and don't freeze if it gets cold so keep an eye on it).

Something I've noticed about crafted clothing is it doesn't seem to degrade for ages, in fact I thought it was immune, then all of a sudden it was dropping upto 10% a day whilst worn in harsh conditions and so I really had to start hunting/curing again to get the hides to repair them.