How to Organize Your Tack Trunk

If you’re an avid horse rider, you should have a tack trunk. With the virtually endless gauntlet of riding gear out there, it’s easy for your trunk to become unorganized. However, tackling your tack trunk doesn’t have to be as difficult as it seems on the surface. Let’s take a look at a few tried and tested ways to stay organized.

Empty out your trunk

The first step is to empty out the contents of your tack trunk. If your trunk is big enough, as they often tend to be, you’ll find the floor of your stable littered with dozens of items both big and small. When the runk has been completely emptied, use a broom and dustpan and start sweeping up the dirt and grass that has inevitably gathered at the bottom of the trunk.

Using your hose to give your tack trunk a good rinsing is certainly an option, but if you’re only dealing with dry grass clippings and bits of dirt left over by your equipment, a handheld broom and dustpan should get the job done. Keep in mind your tack trunk doesn’t have to be immaculate. It just needs to be fairly clean so that it’ll be that much easier when you move on to organizing.

Clean your equipment

Look for items that can be washed, such as towels and clothing. Set that to the side to be laundered later on. Leather should be cleaned and oiled and if you have a bridle, give it a good scrubbing. Check your medication for expiration dates and proper storage temperatures. Polish metal items such as spurs. Wipe down the rest of your items to get rid of dust and grass clippings.

During the cleaning phase, you’ll find that your toothbrush will be your best friend. You’ll be able to really scrub down smaller items such as spurs and bits. You’ll also be able to clean the nooks and crannies of your larger equipment.

Next, take a good look at your cleaning supplies. If you have old sponges and wash clothes that are caked in dust, it’s time to throw them out and find replacements. Scrub out any buckets until they’re clean.

Sort out your items

Typically, there are three types of items in your tack trunk — items you frequently use, items you use sometimes, and items you never use. It’s inevitable you’ll gather a bit of everything in your tack trunk as time goes on, so sit down and begin sorting out your gear into the appropriate categories.

Categorizing your tack trunk should look a little bit like this:

• Items used daily
• Cleaning supplies
• Medications
• Rider supplies
• Back up items

Once you’ve sorted everything into their respective piles, consider giving away or selling the items in your “never use” pile. After all, there’s a reason your trunk is so messy in the first place! There’s only so much room in your tack trunk, so use the space wisely and eliminate the items that are simply taking up space.

You can take it one step further and begin removing the non-seasonal gear from your trunk. For example, if it’s summertime remove items such as hand warmers and heavy blankets. On the flip side, when winter rolls around you can remove gear such as fly masks and scrim sheets.

Use pouches and containers to organize your items

After you’ve gotten rid of the miscellaneous items from your tack trunk, you can now organize the remaining gear and supplies into pouches and containers. To make your organization more orderly, place like items with like so you’ll know exactly where everything is.

If you want to take your organization to the next level, you can label the containers and pouches. Therefore, you’ll know exactly where everything is at all times. With that being said, there are multiple ways to go about labeling your items. You can use packing labels, markers, label markers and more.

 

Save money on storage solutions

If you’re strapped for cash (and even if you’re not), you don’t have to go out and buy fancy containers to organize your tack trunk. There’s a good chance your house is chalk full of unused containers that include Tupperware, aluminum cookie containers, coffee tins and the like. You can even use Ziploc bags for your smaller equipment. Your storage options are only limited by your creativity.

If you decide to spend money on nicer containers and pouches, ensure you’re aware of the dimensions of your tack trunk. You don’t want to buy numerous containers to only turn around and return them because they take up too much space.

Repack your trunk

At this point, all that’s left is to repack your tack trunk with your newly labeled containers and pouches. During this process place the rarely used items near the bottom. Your commonly used items should sit as close to the top as possible. If you have an item that you use every day, use a container that doesn’t have a top for easy access!

There you go! Though the work has its tedious moments, once you’ve organized your tack trunk you’ll definitely thank yourself down the line. Remember, you don’t have to tackle the job all at once. Take bite-sized chunks until the entire trunk has been cleaned and organized. Who knows, by the time you’re finished you might even find an item or two that you thought was long lost.

In Post Image Credit: Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay