Organize Your Tack Room In 5 Easy Steps
I don’t know about you, but during the winter I don’t spend a lot of time in my tack room. It’s cold out there. So I spend a lot of time sitting in front of my computer, perusing Pinterest and drooling over photos of beautiful and organized tack rooms. And then I think about my own tack room.
Have you ever walked into your tack room with a blank stare at everything lying around? I know I have. For whatever reason, horse enthusiasts seem to accumulate a lot of stuff. And that stuff can pile up quickly, especially in the off season when we may not be riding as much as we do during the summer.
Let’s Get Organized!
Clearing out your tack room mess and turning it into an organized dream is possible. And it can be very satisfying to declutter and give everything a home. This way you can spend less time looking for that one thing you need to ride and actually get riding. But you have to go into this with the right attitude. You are going into your tack room to really get it organized. This means you will be downsizing your tack and equipment. And you have to be ok with that. It might not be easy, but it will be worth it. While you are doing this, it will be a lot like cleaning out your own closet. Plan on dedicating a good amount of time to really getting this done. It also helps to have 3 bins. One is for keep, one is for unsure, and one is for sell/donate.
And now that we have established our plan, lets get organizing! If you stick to these 5 tips, you will be able to clear out your tack room, and keep it clean, and organized for when the weather is more suitable for riding.
1. Clear Out The Outdated
Have you been keeping the blanket your horse tore up 3 winter’s ago? In case you might need it, it gets pushed into a corner, or put onto a shelf. Or even your grooming kit, how many grooming kits do you have? Currently, I have 4. Do I need 4 grooming kits? No, no I don’t. So I start this process by going through everything, and determining what I use all the time, what I seldom use, and what I never use. I don’t need all this stuff. By going through everything, I can determine what I use, and what I don’t.
2. Ask Yourself Two Question’s
As you are going through all your stuff, ask yourself one very important question, do I really need this? And then ask yourself another question, do I ever use this? If the answer is no to both questions, toss it. You will be freeing up valuable space in your tack room. If you don’t use it, and it is in usable condition, make a pile or fill a box with your ‘NO’ items. You can sell them or donate them to someone else who will find use with your hand me downs.
3. Out With The Old In With The New
I know how hard it can be to get rid of certain items. They may hold sentimental value to you, and you just can’t part with it. If this is the case for you decide on one thing you will keep and be willing to get rid of the rest. If you have something that is so sentimental, but you have no use for it take a picture of it and turn that photo into a piece of art you can hang on a wall in your tack room, or your home. Then get rid of it!
Another thing you can do is replace the item with a newer version. And you may be able to do this at no cost. By selling off the stuff you don’t really need, you may have enough money to replace that one super sentimental item with something you can use now. But, don’t just buy something and keep the older item. A good rule of thumb is every time you buy something new, two things need to leave. If you put this into practice, your tack room will stay organized, and you will not accumulate so much extra stuff.
4. Focus On The Basics
What are the things you truly need to ride your horse? These are the items we use day in and day out, every time we ride or care for our horses. The rest of the stuff may get used once or twice and forgotten about. By focusing on the basics, you can down size your tack collection. We don’t need everything we have. You know what I’m talking about. How many bridles do you have for your one horse? Right now, I have 7. Do I need 7 bridles? No, I don’t. I will be taking 4 of those bridles and selling them. The excess equipment and tack that I have is still in very good condition. And by selling it, I can save that money for something I do need, even though I don’t know what that may be at the moment.
By focusing on what I truly need to ride my horse will help me to stay focused and purge the gear I really don’t use.
5. Everything Has A Home
By getting minimal with your tack and equipment, you will probably have a pretty bare tack room, and that’s a good thing in my opinion. And now that you have scaled down to what you truly need to enjoy your horse it’s time to put it away. Sweep the floors and dust the shelving units. And put your remaining gear away. Give it a home, and this is where it will live, always.
And you may need somewhere to store some of your more needed items. Do you have a horse boot hanger? It is nice to have, and it doesn’t take a lot of valuable space. And you have quick access to the boots you use every time you ride your horse. And what about your first aid kit? You do have a first aid kit in your barn, right? If not, I have a few articles I have written about the importance of a first aid kit in the barn. My favorite one is The top 10 items you need in your barn first aid kit. And you can find lots of other DIY organizational projects on my blog, The Budget Equestrian.
What To Do With All The Extra Stuff
And all the remaining stuff, clean it up and take it to a consignment tack store, or sell it on eBay. The point is to get rid of it. Don’t keep it in a storage bin in your garage for someday. Get rid of it now. And the big takeaway here is to not let your tack room get that way again. Every time you feel the need to buy the latest horse related gadget stick to your newly organized habits! For every new thing you bring in, 2 things need to leave the tack room. And think back to this, and how long it took you to clean out the tack room, do you want to have to do that again? I know I don’t!
By keeping your tack room neat and organized, you will be able to spend more time with your horse. Looking at a disorganized mess is no fun but looking at a beautifully organized tack room will bring you joy, and your brain will be happy. Our brains aren’t happy with clutter. So declutter your tack room, and you will be happier, and the extra time you would have been searching through stuff can now be spent with your horse!