How to Store Your Tailgating Gear: 5 Tips From the Experts

KEY TAKEAWAYS

▸ Always clean, disinfect, and dry all gear thoroughly before storing to prevent pests, rust, mold, and mildew.

▸ Use stackable plastic bins to protect gear from moisture and pests while maximizing space in your car, garage, or storage unit.

▸ Tape an inventory list to each bin so you can quickly identify contents and restock depleted supplies before game day.

▸ Never store propane tanks indoors–keep them upright, outside, and away from heat, and remove batteries from all electronics before storage.

▸ Prioritize climate-controlled storage facilities for sensitive gear, storage facilities with 24-hour access, and drive-up storage units so you can grab or drop off gear at any hour without rushing.

Tailgating is more than just a pre-game ritual. It’s an iconic American pastime.

Maybe you’re gearing up for college football Saturdays or electrifying NFL seasons. Or maybe your ideal tailgate ideas include more concerts, festivals, or any other outdoor event with a large parking lot.

Regardless, any tailgating party requires more than just food and spirit. A successful lunch, dinner, or brunch tailgate needs thorough preparation and intelligent organization. And that’s where smart tailgating storage ideas are a necessity.

We all know the feeling of having the excitement of game day dampened by the chaos of disorganized gear. Setup, cooking, and teardown can become chores rather than part of the fun.

From bulky camping chairs and portable grills to delicate serving dishes and essential cleaning supplies, managing your tailgating essentials in a confined parking lot space requires a strategic approach.

This helpful guide explores 6 tailgating storage ideas tested and suggested by experienced tailgating experts. We’ll cover how to store tailgating gear in a way that transforms your tailgate setup from to a controlled cooking environment, ensuring your tailgating experience is as smooth and easy as it is spirited and robust.

We’ll also reveal how to use our SpareFoot storage search tool to help you find the ideal storage unit for keeping your tailgating supplies in between events.

1. Clean Everything Before You Put It in Storage

Whether you’re packing up for six months or just a few weeks, the most important storage advice is to thoroughly clean, disinfect, and dry all your gear. 

You want to pay special attention to stuff that might contain food residue or was exposed to the elements during your tailgating party.

Leftover grease in your portable grills, crumbs on your folding picnic table, or even a stray condiment bottle can become an unwelcome invitation for pests and accelerate the development of rust, mildew, and mold.

If you’re putting your grill into long-term storage, consider pressure-washing it to make sure it’s free of food and grime, said professional tailgater Joe Cahn, who runs Tailgating.com.

You’ll want to double-check that fabric tailgating accessories like tablecloths and the fabric on your portable chairs or folding chairs are clean and completely dry before you put them in storage.

2. Pack Items in Plastic Bins

Investing in durable plastic bins is an effective tailgating storage idea for managing the diverse array of tailgating essentials. Plastic storage containers are ideal for corralling smaller items like serving utensils, disposable tableware, cocktail mixers, and smaller entertainment items that might otherwise get lost or damaged.

Unlike cardboard boxes, plastic bins guard your precious tailgating gear against moisture, dust, and pests while they’re in storage. 

Storing your tailgating accessories in a climate-controlled storage space is ideal, but plastic bins can help make garage or shed storage less sketchy by offering protection against weather and pests.

We suggest using stackable plastic containers. Stacking these bins not only maximizes your tailgating space, but also your car trunk, garage, or self storage unit.

You can also organize your supplies into separate bins, keeping your cooking utensils separate from your sports equipment. This can help you avoid overfilling bins.

“My first time out of the gate, I put everything in a gigantic bin, and I couldn’t lift it,” recalled longtime tailgater Cate Bogue, who blogs at Tailgating Guru. Try to evenly distribute the weight of your items and avoid over-packing, especially with bins that contain heavy cooking tools.

Beyond just containing your gear, the right storage solutions enhance the entire tailgating experience. 

• For example, Euhomy 53-quart coolers or similar large-capacity units are essential for keeping food and beverages at their optimal storage temperatures with the help of efficient ice packs.
• These large coolers often come with sturdy handles or wheels, but their sheer size requires a larger storage space. 
• And despite their mobility, other portable items, such as pop-up tents and folding chairs, are still quite bulky.
• For those looking to create a dedicated tailgating bar, modular storage cabinets or even custom-built solutions can keep bottles, glassware, and mixers neatly arranged. 

The goal is to have your tailgating essentials readily accessible, minimizing setup time and maximizing hangout time so you can actually enjoy your own tailgating party. 

Organizing your tailgating setup into plastic containers makes it easier to store and transport, and to find what you need on game day. 

3. Keep an Inventory

Now that you’ve got your bins organized, we can employ our next tailgating storage idea. An often-overlooked aspect of efficient tailgating storage ideas is maintaining a detailed inventory. 

As you pack away your gear after a tailgate party, take a few moments to itemize the contents of each storage bin or container. 

Taping a detailed list to the outside of the bin makes it easy to see what’s inside without having to unpack everything before the next event or game day. And being proactive about your inventory can really come in handy at the end of the tailgating season. 

Poring over these lists before restocking allows you to identify any items that are running low, like paper towels or fuel canisters, and replenish them before they’re completely empty. 

An organized food inventory system prevents last-minute shopping trips and guarantees that all your cold tailgating essentials are ready to go. 

For example, if your list indicates you used a significant amount of ground beef for your burger bar, you’ll know to stock up for the next event.

4. Make a Tailgating Checklist

Your tailgating checklist should include the inventory sheet you made in the previous step. That way, you can stop by your storage unit, run down the list, grab what you need, and go.

Your tailgating checklist should also include a step-by-step guide, starting with some prep you can run through the night before, but also including your game day workflow. Here’s an example:

At Home Before The Game

• Prep Food Ahead of Time: Prep as many of your tailgating food ideas ahead of time as you can. Cut your veggies and marinate meats, and store them in food storage containers that can withstand the cooler. One of our favorite tailgating food ideas is to cook your meats ahead of time. Then, on game day, you just fire up the grill, pull out your food storage containers, and heat the meat up to temp.
• Pack Your Cooler: Tailgating food safety is key. If your cooler keeps ice frozen for a long time, you can pack your cooler the night before. If not, you may have to refresh your ice in the morning, or wait until then to knock this step out. You may want to bring an extra cooler full of ice for beverages.
• Pack Supplies: Have everything packed, staged, and ready to go. For food service.
  • Grill
  • Cooking Tools
  • Food Service Ware: We suggest chafers, dishes, and sterno candles to keep food warm.
  • Eating Utensils
  • Cleaning Supplies: We all know the annoying feeling that ensues after forgetting the paper towels or all-purpose cleaner and having to pack a dirty table. 
• Pack a Beverage Tub, Table, and Chairs: Don’t forget a place to lounge and eat!

On Game Day

• Unpack Your Grill and Food Utensils: Get everything set up to cool as soon as you arrive.
• Fire up The Grill: Burn your coals, get your propane up to temp, ot fire up your electric heat. The priority here is to get the grill ready to cook your food!
• Fill Beverage Tub: While the grill warms up, fill a beverage tub with ice and canned/bottled beverages.
• Start Cooking: shortly after you’re done setting up yourdrink tub, the grill should be up to temp! Throw your meat and veggies on.
• Set the Table and Chairs: While the meat starts to cook, set up your table and chair lounge. If you’ve got your buddies or family with you, this is a great task to delegate to them while you tend to the grill.
• Serve the Food: When the food’s ready, set it in your serveware self-service style so the crew can make themselves a plate when they get hungry. You can use hot boxes or chafer and sterno combos to keep stuff warm while you chill. Or you can reheat stuff as needed by keeping the grill on low.
• Crack a Cold Beverage and Enjoy the Event: Now that you’ve set up your space and cooked all your food, all that’s left to do is sit back and enjoy the game, concert, or festival from the comfort of your tailgate!

5. Tailgating Storage Ideas for Hazardous Materials

When preparing your tailgating setup for storage, pay special attention to any hazardous materials. Items like propane tanks for portable grills, lighter fluid, and other flammable substances pose significant safety risks when they’re not stored properly, especially in enclosed spaces like a self storage unit or your garage.

• For example, you never want to store propane tanks indoors. Instead, they should be kept outdoors, upright, and away from heat sources.
• For flammable liquids, it’s often recommended to start fresh each season by purchasing new supplies rather than storing old ones, which degrade over time.
• Always remove batteries from electronics such as portable speakers, lights, and other battery-operated tailgating accessories. Leaking batteries can corrode and damage your valuable gear, rendering it unusable.

You can find out more about handling and storing hazardous materials in our helpful guide.

6. Make Your Tailgating Storage Accessible

One of our most important tailgate ideas to consider is accessible storage. For the true tailgating enthusiast, the tailgating experience isn’t confined to football season. It’s a year-round affair. 

With events ranging from sports games to festivals and outdoor concerts, you often need to grab your tailgating gear on the fly. If you use your tailgating accessories often, consider taking advantage of some of the storage unit accessibility features.

Punch your zip code into our SpareFoot storage search tool to find units that are close to you. We’ll also help you isolate your search results by size. You can take a peek at our storage unit size guide to help you decide the exact size and layout you need.

Another wise tailgating storage idea is to prioritize facilities offering 24-hour access or extended hours, including weekends. This allows you to easily pick up your tailgating supplies early in the morning for an impromptu tailgate party. Or to drop them off late at night, after an event, without having to rush to accommodate business hours. 

You might also want to consider drive-up storage, which lets you pull your truck up to your unit, load it, and head to the event.

But how do you find the ideal storage space for your tailgating supplies? That’s where SpareFoot comes in.

Ready To Put These Tailgating Storage Ideas Into Action? SpareFoot Can Help

Whether you’re a seasoned tailgater or just getting started, a few smart habits can make all the difference between a smooth game day setup and a chaotic scramble in the parking lot. Before you pack anything away, make sure every piece of gear is thoroughly cleaned, dried, and free of food residue. Leftover grease and crumbs are an open invitation for pests, mold, and rust to wreck your equipment before the next season kicks off. 

From there, ditch the cardboard boxes and invest in stackable plastic bins, which protect your tailgating essentials from moisture and pests while maximizing space in your trunk, garage, or storage unit. Once your bins are packed, tape a detailed inventory list to the outside of each one so you can grab exactly what you need without unpacking everything on game day. 

And when it comes to hazardous materials, remember that propane tanks always stay outdoors and away from heat, and batteries should always be pulled from your portable speakers and electronics before storage. A little precaution now saves you from having to find corroded gear when tailgating season rolls back around. 

And last but not least, if tailgating is a year-round passion for you, prioritize a storage facility with 24-hour drive-up access so you can load up and hit the parking lot on your own schedule, no rushing required.

A climate-controlled storage unit is another great tailgating storage option, so you don’t have to worry about humidity and extreme temperature cshifts daaging any sensitive equipment. 

But how do you find the ideal storage unit size that has all the amenities you need and is also located conveniently between your house and the event site? That’s where we come in. 

SpareFoot lets you browse and compare self-storage units using special amenity filters that isolate the storage facilities in your area with all the ideal storage features your storage unit needs.  

Just punch your zip code into our signature SpareFoot Storage Search Tool, and you’ll see what we mean. 

In fact, we also have a special search tool you can punch your zip code into to find facilities in your neck of the woods that offer the first month of storage for free!

SpareFoot gives you access to the largest marketplace for storage facilities of all types. Our storage search tool makes finding ideal storage facilities for your tailgating accessories as easy as entering your zip code, filtering the results, and scrolling through them until you find exactly what you need.

Anne Wynter