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mommabird_gw

4 seasons = lots of sports equipment to store

mommabird
13 years ago

I live in Ohio - we have 4 seasons and that means my family has lots of sports equipment to store. We ski in the winter, swim in the summer, soccer spring and fall, baseball in the spring, basketball in the winter, golf 3 seasons, tennis 3 seasons, and lacross in the spring.

Right now there is equipment strewen around my breezeway, garage and basement. I need to find a real solution to contain this equipment. Right now I have shelves and plastic bins in both the breezeway and garage, shelves in the basement but no bins, and a big plywood box for balls on the breezeway. The problem is, all the different sports tend to get mixed up in the containers. And the ski eqiupment is just not easy to store anywhere! It has to be easy enough for teen boys/middle aged man to follow (and their ever hopeful mom!).

The skis, boots and poles are all stored in ski and boot bags, I just need a solution to "stack" the bags or another way to go vertical with storage for them. The soccer, baseball, and tennis stuff are all in appropriate bags, too but the bags don't stack easily on shelves. Everything looks like a mess but we use this equipment a lot so I want it to be easy to reach.

Does anyone have a solution that works for storing sports equipment? What has worked for you?

Comments (6)

  • oilpainter
    13 years ago

    We store skis in a rack(of sorts) hung from the rafters in the unfinished part of the basement. My husband screwed 2-2x4s across the rafters and the skis rest on them in the space between the rafters. Prehaps you can find a place you can do the same.

    Shelves don't work for some things. Look into a hanging system for one wall of your garage. You could even use hooks for hanging garden tools. I found some large double hooks at Dollarama that we have all along our shed wall for holding garden tools and things. They would work for holding rackets and anything you can hang.

    Every sport does not have to be accessible year round. If each sport had it's own bin or bins--clearly labelled--it would simply be a matter of exchanging bins when the season is over and another has begun.

  • larke
    13 years ago

    One way to deal with skis is to put two fat dowels (an inch across the tops) horizontally (about 2/3 of the way up the length of the skis) into a nailed in small (but fat) board on the wall - in other words the dowels stick out ... 6"? into the room and hold the skis upright (as they would in the ski shacks where you rent them).
    Designate one room, or floor, etc. for summer sports and winter ones or else have a place for small items (balls, etc.) and another (big shelves or closets) for large ones. Don't over complicate as you acknowledge people won't use them that way, but do get tough at first about their needing to bother.

  • lazy_gardens
    13 years ago

    I just need a solution to "stack" the bags or another way to go vertical with storage for them. The soccer, baseball, and tennis stuff are all in appropriate bags, too but the bags don't stack easily on shelves.

    Install shallower shelving? Toss several bags into a bin?

  • mommabird
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thank you all! Is it OK to store skiis "flat?" I usually see them standing up. Does it matter in the long run? I cold put some dowels across the studs in the garage & slid them in standing up, then some hooks for the boot bags beside the skiis.

    I'm thinking of getting the heavy duty shelving I got for my basement for the breezeway & garage and putting laundry baskets on the shelves. A basket for each sport - tennis basket, baseball basket, etc. I could even have a basket for cleats. I keep all cleats until my youngest son grows out of them so I have A LOT of cleats not currently being used, that they will use in the near future (baseball, soccer, fooball, track).

    I spent about $200 for this sytem in the basement and it's worked GREAT for almost a year. I think it's time to spend some $$ for the garage and breezeway.

  • lazy_gardens
    13 years ago

    DO NOT store skis or boots in garages or attics. They deteriorate in the heat. We used to keep skis tucked behind a bunk bed during the summer. Now with fewer skiers, they are standing in one end of a closet, edges to the wall, with two spring-loaded curtain rods to keep them from falling over.

    Laundry baskets or those storage totes work well corralling sports stuff. We have duffels for each person, and a tote with stray ski clothing in case of guests.

    http://ana-white.com/ has a lot of easy to make cubbyhole plans.

  • mommabird
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I didn't know that about ski equipment - THANKS! I will move them from the garage into the house. Since we have 5 of everything, the equipment has a large "footprint." I guess they will have to go into the laundry room in the basement.

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