Camping is a great fair-weather activity, but in the off-season the equipment can take up a lot of space in your home. If you have a great deal of camping equipment, or just want more closet space, you may want to consider putting your camping gear into a self-storage unit. However, before doing so, you need to ensure that your camping equipment is adequately prepared so that it does not become damaged or unusable while not being used.

Cleaning

The first and arguably most important thing that you should do before you put your camping gear into storage is to properly clean and disinfect it. There's nothing worse than pulling out sleeping bags and tents that are covered in mold and weird growths – beyond the simple odor, growing plants on equipment can be a health hazard and eat away at the structure of the gear itself. Wipe everything down with a commercial cleaner and be sure to let all of your items dry completely before packing them up. This goes double for any cooking utensils you may be packing away.

Packing

When properly packing your camping stuff up, you need to make sure that you stay organized. Keep smaller items together in a single bag or box. For larger items, especially specialized and expensive pieces of equipment like rock climbing gear, it's a good idea to purchase a bag that is made just for that type of gear. This helps prevent anything from breaking while in storage, and often specialized bags come with specific compartments for accessories and related items. For sleeping bags in particular, unroll them when putting them in storage and either hang them up or leave them flattened horizontally. This is because the insulation in them will begin to clump together if they are tightly wound, reducing their ability to keep you warm once you take them out of storage.

Batteries

For any items like caving lights or GPS units, you should remove the batteries before you put them into storage. This is because not only will the battery slowly drain over a long period of disuse, it can also begin to leak battery acid which can cause physical damage to the items they are installed in and spread to other pieces of equipment. You can leave the batteries in a plastic bag in the storage unit if you want, as they won't be at risk if they aren't plugged in.

For more information, contact a business such as Empire Self Storage.