Spring Cleaning: Ways To Store Sporting Equipment

It’s springtime.  Every springtime mothers in my neighbourhood groan about what a pain it is to pack away the winter sporting equipment and retrieve the soccer, baseball, tennis, golf and basketball paraphernalia.  The switch-over isn’t what causes fits of swearing, it’s the storage of said items, or more accurately the lack thereof.

If you’re reading this and rolling your eyes about “first world problems”, I couldn’t agree with you more.

Now, onto solving my dilemma.

Thankfully, I do not have to contend with hockey equipment like my friend, Nathalie, but I do have skis and toboggans and some skates that need storing and a plethora of balls of all types, racquets – badminton, tennis and squash for every member of the family, golf clubs galore, soccer nets, scooters, bikes and trikes, helmets, bubble machines, “lawn mowers”, sprinklers, bases and cleats that need to be at the ready.  My God, the cleats!

I grew up in the suburbs were space was never an issue.   Everyone had ample room in their garages for two cars AND all of their stuff but now I live in the city where space is at a premium. My friends drool over closet space like it’s porn.

I have been researching all sorts of storage ideas and basically, unless you have cash to burn or LOTS of space to start with, many of these ideas are useless.   You can see my feeble attempt at solving this problem on our Pinterest board, click here.

Most likely I will resort to the method that is tried and true: the clear plastic bin.

Please share!  What are your equipment storing tips?

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The Great Spring Purge

Spring has officially arrived but the unusually mild winter and early taste of summer has buffered me from my annual winter blahs.  Nonetheless, I am eager to count down the days for when I can put away the heavy coats and mittens.  Any Canadian worth their salt will tell you that it’s foolish to act too quickly.  There is always a “sprinter” storm to send winter on its way with good riddance.

There is something intoxicating about the heady spring air.  Windows open, people smile, patios overflow, and children play outside.  After the long winter people, like hibernating bears, come out from their dens.  And people really are everywhere!

“So that neighbour was pregnant!”

“Wow, the kids across the street have really sprouted!”

“The new neighbour isn’t as much as a curmudgeon as I thought!”

While most people take to the outdoors to welcome spring, I see it as a different kind of rebirth:  one of purging and organizing.

I am a regular purger and an obsessive sorter.  In the office the books are shelved according to colour and I have a system to keep paper clutter at bay that would make Peter Walsh proud.  In the playroom, the toy bins are separated into categories and neatly labeled.  Each boy has their own cubby and hook in the mudroom for mittens, hats, shoes and coats.  Getting them to follow the system is a bit more of a challenge.  Read: a giant pain in the ass that involves lots of lecturing (from me) and eyeball rolling (from them).

However, the kitchen always seems to get away from me.  With the steady traffic of kids, friends and family in our kitchen (which also doubles as our family room) the cupboards and drawers quickly become cluttered catch-alls.  It doesn’t help that the 18 month old is a compulsive drawer/cupboard emptier.  Therefore, most of the contents of our lower cupboards and drawers have been relocated to the upper “bunk”.

Top on the list is to tackle the cutlery drawer that I am embarrassed to share.  Any suggestions?

Organizing the Bookshelf

See, I’m not the only one who organizes bookshelves by colour.  These people just happen to do so with much greater style. And a better soundtrack: