Organizing your Sports Equipment #OrganizedBloggers

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I have a sporty spice in my house.  She has always loved sports and when she was 10 years old, she wanted something more competitive than house leagues.  At 16 years old,  she plays volleyball and soccer on teams that compete on a provincial and national level.  The dedication to sports does not stop there, she also works out with a trainer twice a week as well as participating in her high school volleyball and soccer teams.  If she had her way, she would also do cross country, track and badminton.  This year, badminton may be the only sport that she can do ‘for fun’.  All of these sports make for  A LOT of laundry and a fair amount of sports equipment to store.  I have to say, I am grateful that the only things I have to contend with are sports bags and the occasional volley or soccer ball.  There are no baseball bats, basketballs,  hockey sticks, hockey skates or goalie pads.  I realize that I  have it easy but I am not the only one that has to deal with sports equipment, many other families also have to deal with the mess (and the stink… don’t even get me started on the stink).

Our daughter has to keep her sports bag in her room.  You would think that is counterintuitive to keeping a teenage girls room smelling nice but it is a necessity as we have a limited amount of space in the mudroom and garage.  In the summer she can leave her sports bag airing in the garage, during the winter that is really not an option.  I know many families that have entire rooms in the basement or at least the cold storage where they keep hockey equipment and hockey bags.  Those are important to air but it can be over whelming.

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I decided to go to pinterest this week to show you some pins that I found useful for organizing equipment.  All pins are linked to the original pin or to the website where possible.

Bikes and Scooters

• Bikes are best stored vertically when not in use
• Store bike helmets close by so that your kids USE THEM (you too mom & dad)
• Keep tire pump close by in case one of the tire needs air
• We have our bikes hanging from the rafters during the winter and they stand in front of my car (because there is a bit of room) during the summer

Lockers and Cubbies

• If you have the room having individual cubbies for each member of the family is the best way to promote organizing
• having both wicker and metal baskets have different benefits:
  • wicker = hides the stuff but still breathes
  • metal = see through and sturdy
• large baskets may hold many thing but may be harder for small children to open

General Purpose

• consider how many sports you have to account for
• rotate items that are seasonal: bikes away in the winter, skates out
• metal baskets can be more sturdy and see-through
• ensure easy access to the items
• sort items together (balls, bats, hockey sticks)

Balls

• take into consideration both large and small balls
• temperature may affect the air in the balls have a pump with the right needle to blow them up
• have smaller containers for tennis, baseball/softballs or golf balls

   

Hockey

• Because hockey and football players have layers padding and equipment you need to air this all out
• hang items to dry and be sure to buy some deodorizers
• try to hang skates to keep blades away from surfaces that will dull the blades

Golf

• Golf clubs are an expensive investment – keep them safe inside in these cubbies
• If you choose the garage, consider securing them with bungee cord to the unit
• ensure that practice balls or bucket of golf balls are kept close by for easy access

Other Sports

• My daughter never met a sports bottle that she didn’t like (lots to store away)
• Out site out of mind is not an issue with this shoe holder-come-sports bottle holder
• innovate solutions to keeping your fishing rod separate and safely put away
• hanging the shelves from the roof is a good use of vertical space
• surf boards standing vertically are a lot easier to access and take up less room than stacking them one on top of the other
• creating custom solutions (as in the baseball balls and bat holder can be both useful and a nice way to display special items
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