As the weather turns colder, you’re probably ready to pause your camping activity until spring rolls around.
My friend Sam is a pretty die-hard camper and doesn’t mind some pretty cold week ends, but even Sam gives it up eventually for the winter.
Sam has accumulated a lot of camping gear over the years. He doesn’t mind that his camping gear takes up so much space in his one-car garage that he has to park his car in the driveway during the warm weather. But he wants to keep his car in the garage over the winter.
That presents a bit of a problem. For the past years, he reorganized all the camping gear along the garage walls so that his car could fit in the garage – just barely.
This year, he decided to make things easier on himself. He rented a small self-storage unit so that he wouldn’t have to squeeze between his car and the storage boxes filled with camping gear.
We can help you choose a storage unit for your camping gear at Browning Park Mini Storage in Benton, AR.
Here’s how Sam did it.
Large Plastic Boxes
He already had a few large plastic boxes that he’d used over the years both when out camping and when storing the items.
His plastic boxes are sturdy so that he can move them frequently. After all, he goes camping just about every week end and takes the boxes with him.
His boxes are also waterproof and watertight so they protect the items inside when the boxes sit outside at the camp site during rainfall.
These boxes will stack very nicely in the small storage unit that he’s already rented.
Tent Cleaning and Storage
After every camping week end, Sam cleans his tent with a damp cloth and mild soap, but before putting it away for the winter, he set it up and hosed it down. He let it air dry and then went over it with a cloth again.
He also wiped down all the tent poles to get rid of excess dirt.
Common advice is that tents should be stored loosely in an open area. Sam put his loosely in one of the big plastic boxes and left the box open.
Hiking Gear
Sam brushed all the dirt off his hiking boots, paying special attention to the grooves in the soles.
He took the insoles out and stored the boots and insoles on a sturdy shelving unit that he’d already put inside his storage unit.
Before storing his backpack and other hiking gear on the shelving unit, he checked all of it for dirt and mold. He also set it outdoors on a sunny day to make sure it was all perfectly dry.
A Couple Big Empty Plastic Boxes
Sam put two empty plastic boxes in the storage unit. That might seem strange, but he’s expecting to find some gear on sale over the winter and thinks he won’t be able to resist a few purchases. Besides that, he’s put some camping gear on his Christmas list and is hoping to get some camping presents for Christmas.
As you can see, Sam hopes to fill these empty plastic boxes before camping starts in the spring.
It’s not worth cluttering up your house or your garage with your camping gear over the winter. Come on over to Browning Park Mini Storage in Benton, AR, to pick out a self-storage unit to keep your camping gear safe and out of your way.