The 8 Best Sports Gear Organizing Hacks I Learned from Parents on TikTok
Spring welcomes so many exciting things: flowers, warmer weather, longer days, BBQ season, and, for many parents, the start of outdoor sports season. Whether it’s baseball, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, or another field or court sport, so many of us will be spending evenings toting kids to practice and weekend mornings watching them run their hearts out with their teammates. If this sounds familiar, you may also be looking for a better way to store your kids’ sports gear. That’s where we (and, ahem, TikTok) come in.
To avoid the inevitable garage pile-up of balls, cleats, helmets, and who-knows-what, we set out to find simple tricks and products that make sports parents’ lives easier. We scoured TikTok (so you don’t have to) for the best ways to store kids’ racquets, gloves, face masks, and more, and learned some pretty smart tricks along the way.
1. Keep your car’s trunk tidy with collapsible bins.
Using sturdy, foldable bins is a great way to keep the trunk of your car from becoming total chaos. While the one this mom highlights is sold out on Amazon, below is a similar option that even comes with its own insulated cooler bag, perfect for game-day treats and drinks. What’s more? They’re great for keeping groceries upright, too.
2. Avoid drawer disaster by keeping like items together.
When it comes to organizing kids’ sports clothes and supplies, don’t count dressers out. Whether it’s in your kids’ rooms, or it’s the designated garage dresser, these wooden organizers keep everything in place. Separate jerseys from practice gear from cups from ribbons to cut down on game-day madness.
3. Utilize vertical storage to keep floors clear.
If you’ve got an open wall, it’s a great opportunity to hang balls, bats, gloves, hockey sticks, and even bags. Bulky gear can often take up lots of floor space, and with balls or wheels, you run the risk of them going every which way. This rack keeps items in place, and you can install it lower to the ground so it’s more accessible for small kids.
4. Create a designated space for balls.
This DIY ball storage hack is such a smart way to keep balls from rolling all over the place, but still keeping them within reach. Wrap a bungee cord (or jump rope) around any storage rack, then tie it in place. Because it’s stretchy, it keeps balls in the storage compartment, but also lets them out with a little bit of effort. You can also hang a stretchy laundry bag or sturdy storage bag on your wall and toss the balls in that way.
5. Hang bags for more shelf and floor space.
Long S-hooks do wonders for storing bigger bags and helmets if you already own a storage rack to hang them on. Find them at your local discount store, as mentioned in this mom’s TikTok, or order this 30-pack here.
6. Use pegboards to hang bikes and helmets.
Storing bikes, skateboards, scooters, and helmets just got easier! With a larger pegboard and dowels, wheeled gear (and their accessories) can fit right into each designated slot, without taking up floor space.
7. Mount wall hooks for heavy bins.
If your children’s sports gear doesn’t necessarily require an entire rack, these hooks are great for hanging bins and other containers filled with balls, padding, jerseys, and more.
8. Stop balls from rolling with DIY stands.
Keep soccer balls, basketballs, volleyballs, and tennis balls from escaping with these smart DIY stands cut from a PVC pipe, which you can order on Amazon or pick up from your local hardware store. You could also likely use an old roll of tape or round plastic takeout containers.
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