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Post by rachelsdad on Apr 15, 2020 1:02:51 GMT -8
We're moving! Yay...er...maybe yay, what a PITA. 61 years old and being the typical contrarian...moving into a larger OLD house which needs, shall we say, a bit of work. No relaxing patio home for us.
I have had, and will continue to have, the luxury of a good amount of storage space but I've developed some sloppy habits over the years as well as having amassed way too much stuff...so given the opportunity, I'm looking to rethink the whole gear closet set up.
90% of gear is BP related, other is paddling accessories, (paddles are with boat in garage).
I've kept my sleeping bags in the garage for years...but I always felt like they absorb humidity...as well as tents, pads and back packs. All other accessories (smaller stuff), are in house.
I'd like to keep all together and there is a huge room that houses the laundry with old wood shelving that goes 11' high...yup 11' ceiling height in basement. Wife has given me blessing to keep all there. 9 "compartments" of racking. Nice dry room. Doubt I'll use 1/4 of the space...and I have a lot of stuff!
I've kept my down bags in their storage sacks but have wondered about hanging. The first set of shelves are about 5.5' above the floor. Thoughts of hanging under the shelf vs. just placing on shelf in sack...and if hanging what would be used for hangers? I've seen special ones at EMS and LL Bean.
I've always had a covered plastic tub filled with my most often used base gear but everything else is just kind of...there.
What I would really appreciate would be pix of your gear storage solutions plus ideas for "sectioning" or organizing.
As an aside, while sorting through I see I have a 4 screw on canister stoves, (fun how they got smaller over the years), 1 Optimus Stella canister stove, (wow been using that over 15 years!), 2 white gas and probably 163 alkys, (mostly home made), not to mention 4 full cooksets, (2 MSR Blacklights...why??), Stainless set, etc, 2 titanium pots, (darned Steep N Cheep) 7 sporks, plastic, titanium, aluminum coffee pots, Lexan French presses, coffee cones..too much stuff to think about. Probably be listing some for sale!
Thanks in advance
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Apr 15, 2020 5:04:40 GMT -8
No pics, but I try to keep my most used gear in the same storage crate. Boat gear separate from BP gear. Any overlap is with the BP gear. Years ago, a local brick and mortar was going out of business. I bought a sleeping bag hanger from them. It looks like a wide, inverted, U. Probably 1" pipe with a pivoting hook, but it could be constructed with a fixed hook for the rod under your shelving. Not so sure 5.5' is enough for a sleeping bag to be above the floor by at least 6". I always liked the room under the bags just in case of water or something. Do you have access to the floor joists above? A simple nail in a joist would provide a place to hang a storage sack.
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Post by BorderCollieMike on Apr 15, 2020 5:59:56 GMT -8
In a former life a cabinet maker. Still have the shop & tools. The shelves extend left & right beyond the doors. Floor: Bear canister, maps, stuff sacks, shoes Shelf 1: food Shelf 2: Water, purification, hammock gear Shelf 3: Stoves & kitchen Shelf 4: Kits: FAK, Repair, Misc, Toiletries Shelf 5: eGear, Sleeping accessories, notebooks Shelf 6: Trail clothing, ziplocks, chocolate raisins Tents & shelters out of picture on the left Canisters, fishing gear, cameras out of pic on right It's a log cabin, so quilts & bags hang from hooks on the wall. Same for backpacks  |
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Apr 15, 2020 6:41:25 GMT -8
No pic because mine is an awful mess too. The one thing I've learned, though, like zeke , is to keep my (currently) most often used gear in a single, see-through plastic crate. Makes prepping for a trip and restocking afterward 100x simpler. Of course the crate only holds the smaller stuff--big things like sleeping bags and packs get randomly shoved carefully returned to a place on a shelf. |
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Apr 15, 2020 7:12:08 GMT -8
It's more like a room, 12x30 or so in the basement, but it has backpacking gear, exercise gear, and photography gear. On the other hand, photography gear is scattered in two other rooms upstairs as well.
It was a bedroom/rec room/sleepover room when the kids were younger, but they're long since grown and gone.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Apr 15, 2020 8:04:58 GMT -8
Be 100% sure that the basement is dry and doesn’t have any mildew issues. Pretty much everything that was stored in our Daly City basement has mildew smells and some things had to be tossed.
That said, I’m unclear on if there’s an advantage to hanging a sleeping bag vs. using the cotton storage sack.
Oh, and our gear closet is the same large walk-in closet as for the rest of our clothes, and I really really don’t have a grip yet on how to organize it well. I broke things out by type of stuff (kitchen, etc.), but I’m pretty sure it would be (a lot) better to do the “one bin to rule them all” approach, and that’s another great idea for procrastinating about editing the novel. Gee, thanks, guys.
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Apr 15, 2020 9:17:12 GMT -8
I have a dehumidifier set at 55% (mold grows at 60% and above) that drains into the sump pump well.
I hang my bags, and leave tents scattered around out of their sacs.
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Post by cweston on Apr 15, 2020 13:06:51 GMT -8
We have an outbuilding shop with a small room that I use for gear storage, so I have a fairly luxurious amount of space to hang bags, tents, etc.
I definitely agree with the philosophy of keeping the most frequently-used core gear together. I keep the most essential BP gear for a solo trip in the backpack that I use most. Among that cache of gear is information reminding me where to find items that are stored somewhere else.
The gear that a second hiker would need typically goes inside another pack, and so on. Car camping gear is in car-camping specific boxes.
The fall that I lived in Stehekin, WA, I took this strategy to extremes and tried to have my pack more-or-less packed at all times. Good weather? Cool--I'm going BPing.
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Apr 15, 2020 14:41:01 GMT -8
I keep the most essential BP gear for a solo trip in the backpack that I use most. I've never found that to work for me because it's too hard to look in the pack to see if stuff is really there. See-through crates are much easier. YMMV. |
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Apr 15, 2020 15:47:46 GMT -8
I've never found that to work for me because it's too hard to look in the pack to see if stuff is really there. I read that as he just stored it there, not that he never dumped it all out the night before a trip to make sure everything was there. I've done the total repack even when I just packed it that afternoon. |
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Post by cweston on Apr 15, 2020 16:21:59 GMT -8
I've never found that to work for me because it's too hard to look in the pack to see if stuff is really there. I read that as he just stored it there, not that he never dumped it all out the night before a trip to make sure everything was there. I've done the total repack even when I just packed it that afternoon. Exactly—still dump everything out and go through an anal-retentive check list. |
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Post by hikerjer on Apr 15, 2020 19:34:30 GMT -8
An organized gear closet is evidence of a sick mind. Apparently, my mind is very healthy. :D
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Apr 16, 2020 4:12:24 GMT -8
I've down-sized quite a bit and it's all in a small closet, about 5' by 5'. I figured if I'm going to brag about a sub-12 pound base weight, the stuff shouldn't take up an entire room. With the exception of big items like coolers, all my car-camping gear is in there too. Also skis, snorkel/dive stuff, drybags for kayaking, etc. Sleeping bags are hanging in their storage sacks. I don't like hanging them like they do in stores; I think it stresses the stitches and baffles. (JMO) Behind the door are tall things, like skis, and more hooks with packs, hiking poles, etc. and a high shelf with misc stuff.  |
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Post by rachelsdad on Apr 21, 2020 1:57:33 GMT -8
Sorry all, been away from the electronics for a few days.
Great ideas all. Looks like I'm not alone struggling ..or fretting..about it.
Frankly, I really have accumulated way too much redundant gear, which is ok but I've also included a lot of weird stuff: P-38 can opener..never used..odd screw top jars, plastic wine cups...wood swizzle sticks, (hey good tinder), a large spool of candle wick from a defunct 150 year old candle factory in my hometown, probably 8 Siggs, odds and ends I've intended to press into service....never used. No value really, just taking up space.
I think best solution for me for the sleeping bags will be to screw in some good hooks and hang the stuff sacks like Jazzmom above.
Speaking of bags: I was looking at them yesterday. I remember biting the bullet and splurging for a Marmot Helium and a MH Phantom 32 about 10 years...or more... ago. I was certainly helped as there was a thread here on the older forums about some on line retailer giving massive savings on great gear including Western Mountaineering. (I bought a WM Ultra lite 20...ultimately sold it here under my old name, bcolucci). Ended up buying the Helium as I liked (like), Marmots hood design better.
Anyway....I'm sure the Helium and Phantom 32 are square wheel technology and "heavy" now but boy I can't think of a reason to attempt to replace or upgrade them. Sure was money well spent.
Assuming it is ok to do so I'm probably going to list some hardly used bags and stuff.
Thanks all for the input
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Apr 21, 2020 3:53:28 GMT -8
Assuming it is ok to do so I'm probably going to list some hardly used bags and stuff. Certainly is OK. At the top of this Gear section, you'll find a pinned FS thread that was put there to help others see how to list gear, and then mark it sold when it is over. |
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