The Gear Room

  When I moved to Colorado and began apartment shopping, I had a few things in mind. I needed dog friendly, clean and cozy, preferred a nice view and some storage space. If the price was right, I thought a 2^nd bedroom would be nice but not entirely for the reason you might think. Sure, now that I found my place, it has been great to have a room for guests (as I see quite a few of these now that I live in a destination location), but what I REALLY love about my apartment is the guest bedroom’s closet. For this large, walk-in closet has become my gear closet. We all have a way we like to organize and I admit to organizing more than the average person, but I thought showing one way to sort your outdoor equipment might prove useful if the time ever comes to wrangle your own. 

 Hanging your sleeping bags is an easy way to keep your insulation from getting too compressed and, therefore not working to it's labelled rating. No sleeping bag should be stored compressed but synthetics will tolerate it more than down. Another option is to store them in a large trash bag, pillowcase etc.

 I just installed this awesome hook for my heavy packs. Previously they were stored on plastic coat hangers, but the weight of each pack was too much and I kept breaking the hangers. This contraption cost $8 at ACE Hardware and installed in 2 minutes (screws came with it). It also provided me an excuse to wield my drill. Holler!

 2 additional small hooks for satchels and day packs and all bags are off the floor!

 Please don't judge me. Keep in mind I used to manage a gear shop. I sort by style...vests, fleece, rain wear, winter etc. As a tip, tucking the sleeves keeps the jackets from invading your walkway.

                                   Okay, I might have a problem when it comes to puffy vests.

 The odds and ends are easily wrangled in these stacking storage bins. A little duct tape to label and I no longer lose the snow baskets to my trekking poles or extra batteries.

 In organizing, make your categories fit what you have. I had a lot of extra "Bags" (stuff sacks, rain-covers etc) so that merited a drawer. I also have drawers for "Stoves and Fuel," "Misc. Cooking" (sporks, spatulas), "Shades (sunglasses)/Manuals," "Lights/Navigation/Personal" (headlamps, compasses, micro-fiber towels, pee funnels- this one is about ready to be re-sorted to 2 drawers with the addition of my new wilderness medical gear), and "Gear Care/Repair and Security" (holds locks/keys, Tech Washes, Camelback Cleaner)

I'm still working on a proper shoe solution to get those muddy things off the carpet. This does not nearly display all of my footwear. Up top, I keep tents, closed-cell pads, my snowshoes, weights, and a file of maps. Barely visible on the wall are all of my hats and trekking poles. Not shown is a ginormous Rubbermaid to the left (under the jackets) that holds all of my climbing equipment, travel pillows, sleep sacks and bigger cookware. You can see that all of my leg layers are stacked on top of the drawer units for easy access. One exception is that I hang my rain pants with my fav. rain jacket so they're ready to pack as part of my 10 essentials.

This systems has worked pretty well for me. I try hard to keep this closet for GEAR ONLY, which is not an easy feat.

Any methods you use to organize your gear? How about those of you who can't dedicate an entire room/closet to it? Any suggestions to manage footwear? Please share and I'll add any tips/pics to the blog as we continue the conversation.