Imagine your first camping trip of 2015. You've already booked your favorite site at American River
Resort. Winter is finally gone, and the kids are all excited to go camping. A few days ahead, you start
pulling out the camping gear to check it and make inventory.
But wait! What's that smell? And is that mold growing on the air mattress? Why is there a leg missing
from the camp stove? No way is that a hole chewed by mice in the sleeping bag!
Family camping is too much fun to be bogged down by hassles from not storing gear properly. So here's
a list of smart tips for putting your equipment to bed for winter.
1. Two Words: Clean and Dry
This is our #1 tip because it makes the biggest difference. Seems obvious right? Clean the mud, dirt,
sand, etc. off everything and let it have enough to time to dry and air out before you pack it away.
Sleeping bags, tents, tarps, raingear need special attention. Before storing, hang or drape them over a
fence or something outside in the sun for a while. When storing, a few dryer sheets thrown in with tent
and sleeping bags keeps things smelling fresh. As for cooking equipment, run it all through the
dishwasher before storing.
2. Think Storage that Transports
Store camp equipment inside containers that not only protect from moisture, critters and bugs, but that
conveniently transport everything to and from camp. This means plastic with tight lids or heavy
impenetrable canvas or nylon bags with good zippers and handles. The idea is that your camping
equipment spends the winter inside the very containers you’re going to grab, come Spring, and throw
into your vehicle. To make this work to your best advantage, follow tip #3.
3. Small Containers Inside Large Containers, Labelled
When it comes to camp equipment, especially items smaller than tent and camping stove, etc.,
organization is your best friend. Plastic zipper bags, small to large, make this easy. Don’t skimp. Buy
good heavy-duty bags.
Zip like items together in a bag sized to fit, and nest smaller bags of items into a larger bag. For example,
bag playing cards together inside a larger bag with other games. Bag mosquito repellent, cintronella
candles and anti-itch cream together. With a marker write “for mosquitos” on the bag. This could go
inside a larger bag or container with first-aid type items, also bagged and labeled. Now, you not only
have what you need in one place but you also have a place holder for returning those items to. A-hah.
Now you’re getting the picture!
Eventually, all bags go into a large container that stores and transports. Stick to this system for items
that don’t get stored, but are gathered a day or two in advance of camping. (Using those empty labelled
bags from last year also serves as a checklist of what to take.) Once at camp, you’ll never have to
rummage through boxes or bags of loose items at camp looking for that bottle opener you know “is
somewhere in one of these boxes.” This may all seem to be making the storage of camp gear more
complicated. But once your system is in place, it actually serves to simplify the process. Try it and you’ll
see.
4. Storage Space
Where’s the best place in your house to store stuff you use only a few times a year? If you lack enough
dedicated storage space inside your house, the answer is usually in the garage, out of the way on a high
shelf in the corner. That’s probably okay, keeping in mind that temperature swings will not hurt most
equipment, but that anything combustible such as matches, propane tanks, or such things as candles
and aerosol cans should not be stored in the heat. Some campers prefer storing sleeping bags indoors,
under beds (unrolled and lying flat actually helps preserve the “fluffiness” of the stuffing.)
Wherever you find space, if you’ve followed tips 1-3, your equipment with be safe from moisture and
critters, which are the biggest threats. Or are they?
5. Take Your Camping Gear Camping
Actually the biggest threat to camping equipment is not using it. Take it camping for goodness sake!
You’ll know its condition, what needs replacing, what items are practical and most useful, what has
faired well in storage, and what can be stored better next time.
If you take good care of it, store it smartly, and take it camping often, your gear will fulfill its whole
purpose for being. Camping means fun times with loved ones, lasting memories, and keeping traditions
alive. Your equipment becomes your tools to support and make these possible.
Invest in good equipment and good methods of maintenance and storage. Keep it simple, keep it
practical, keep it fun!