I'm certain there are many good ways to organize your camping gear. My organization used to be, for lack of a better term, dispersed. Sleeping bags were in a closet. Tents were on a shelf in the garage, dry bags were stored with the paddling stuff, and so on. It took me way too long to pack for a trip.
A few years ago as flat screen TVs swept large-tube TVs out of the modern home, Craigslist was awash in entertainment armoires offered for resale, and there are still plenty being listed. I bought two. One went into the workshop where today it houses my hand-held power tools. The second was converted to house my camping gear. The armoire sits 3' from an exterior door, 15' from where I can load my truck, and makes it pretty easy to select the gear that's gonna go on a trip and load it up. It still takes me too long to pack, but at least I don't get winded running around the house!
Over the weekend I was preparing to paint the room in which the camping armoire sits. That beast is heavy. It was already heavy before I added a cabinet carcas to the TV compartment. The armoire was equipped with doors that opened and then slid inside the armoire, which were incompatible with mounting shelves and drawers to inner sides of the cabinet. I used 3/4" plywood for the inner carcas, not a light-weight option. I built drawers of half-inch plywood and 3/4" walnut. There's a shelf made from an old section of kitchen counter. The weight adds up, and even empty, the thing is a monster to move.
So, there's one way to tidy up camp gear storage. But if I ever have to move, I might just take a chain saw to it. That thing might hurt somebody.
Tents, tarps and sleeping pad fit in one drawer. Packs and drybags go in another. The open area was intended as a space where sleeping bags could be stored, loosely furled. Looking at it now, five years later, I wish I put a 3/4" square band of walnut over the exposed edges of plywood, something I considered unnecessary "gold plating" at the time.
Camp kitchen and smaller gear go into the smaller drawers and bins underneath.
A few years ago as flat screen TVs swept large-tube TVs out of the modern home, Craigslist was awash in entertainment armoires offered for resale, and there are still plenty being listed. I bought two. One went into the workshop where today it houses my hand-held power tools. The second was converted to house my camping gear. The armoire sits 3' from an exterior door, 15' from where I can load my truck, and makes it pretty easy to select the gear that's gonna go on a trip and load it up. It still takes me too long to pack, but at least I don't get winded running around the house!
Over the weekend I was preparing to paint the room in which the camping armoire sits. That beast is heavy. It was already heavy before I added a cabinet carcas to the TV compartment. The armoire was equipped with doors that opened and then slid inside the armoire, which were incompatible with mounting shelves and drawers to inner sides of the cabinet. I used 3/4" plywood for the inner carcas, not a light-weight option. I built drawers of half-inch plywood and 3/4" walnut. There's a shelf made from an old section of kitchen counter. The weight adds up, and even empty, the thing is a monster to move.
So, there's one way to tidy up camp gear storage. But if I ever have to move, I might just take a chain saw to it. That thing might hurt somebody.
Tents, tarps and sleeping pad fit in one drawer. Packs and drybags go in another. The open area was intended as a space where sleeping bags could be stored, loosely furled. Looking at it now, five years later, I wish I put a 3/4" square band of walnut over the exposed edges of plywood, something I considered unnecessary "gold plating" at the time.
Camp kitchen and smaller gear go into the smaller drawers and bins underneath.
