Camping is a great summer pastime, but in the winter months your equipment can take up a huge amount of space within your home. In order to reclaim storage space within your home, you should consider moving all of your camping gear into a self storage unit until the warm weather returns. However, before you do so, you need to make sure that your camping gear is completely prepared for a long period of storage so that it is not damaged when you pull it out next year right before your big trip.

Dishes

Though you should be doing this for all of your camping gear anyway, it's a good idea to run all your dishes through the dishwasher before packing them up in a box, wrapping individual dishes in towels, for storage. For cast iron dishes, however, you should always wash them by hand and then dry them thoroughly. This prevents them from sitting in the dishwasher and being exposed to a great deal of moisture. Once dry, you should wrap them in a fabric bag (like an old pillowcase) to help protect against moisture while in storage. This is to prevent rust from developing on the iron, which can quickly eat away at the structural integrity of the dish.

Sleeping Bags

The most important thing that you should do with your sleeping bags when putting them into a storage unit is unroll them. While this may seem counterintuitive and like it will take up more space, rolled sleeping bags will gradually lose their form and support, and can leave you with a misshapen bag the next time that you head out into the wild. It may also be a good idea to wash your sleeping bags in the washing machine beforehand to remove any odors that may linger.

Tents

Check your tents' labels and tags, and if possible, run them through the washing machine. This will remove any mold spores and stains that may have stuck onto the fabric. However, before you put your tent into a storage unit, you will need to unroll the entire canvas and let it air dry completely. This is because canvas is a breeding ground for mold and mildew, and any sort of moisture that is allowed to remain on the surface of your tent while it is in storage can allow mold to quickly bloom and spread not only all over your tent, but your other soft camping equipment as well.

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