Friday Five: Five Ways to Organize Your Running Gear

I’m excited to link-up with DC area bloggers Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia at You Signed Up for What?!, and Mar at Mar on the Run again today! This week’s theme is 5 ways to organize your running gear.

I currently live in Washington, D.C. — a place where space (especially closet space) is hard to come by. I usually have trouble finding room for my too many pair of pants, let alone my running gear! And of course, as my love for running has grown, my once small collection of sports bras, shorts and tees has grown to include compression socks, leggings, nutrition, hand-held water bottles, headphones, shoe inserts…you name it. Thankfully, as the heat rises, I’ve been able to tuck away my gloves, ear warmers, Yaktrax and hats because I’m a little overwhelmed.  While I dream of bigger closets and more bedroom space for an extra dresser, here’s how I’ve been keeping my running gear organized:

1. Keep the gear together: My most obvious piece of advice is to keep all running-related things (especially the clothes) together. Right now I have a running/workout-specific drawer in my dresser, and it’s organized into piles: sports bras, bottoms, tops, and half/zips or light rain jackets. Compression socks and regular running socks have a spot near the wall of the dresser, and this “pile” is usually topped with my water bottle and headphones — the last things I grab before leaving for a run. This system also makes it really easy to keep stock of what is running out and how bad do I need to do laundry? When everything is mixed into a heap, it’s easy for me to try and get dressed and realize I ran out of clean socks. Whoops.
2. Utilize extra organization containers: As much as I try to keep the aforementioned piles organized, and stop them from spilling into each other, I could use a little help. Enter: little plastic bins! Find them at Ikea, Target, etc. and make them one-item specific, like one for gu, Garmin accessories or even hair ties. Then insert these containers into your drawer or in your closet to keep the little things from getting lost. I usually have one on top of my dresser as a catch-all for keys, last-minute bobby pins and my Garmin.
3. Don’t forget the little (important things): As we head into summer, I have added a can of waterproof sunscreen and bug spray in to my drawer. This means that anytime I open it to grab my headphones or whatever I forgot, I’m reminded to put it on and I don’t have to search the bathroom or closet for fifteen minutes looking for these frequently misplaced items.
4. Lay out your clothes before a workout: Obviously we’ve moved on to how to keep organized for your next workout rolls around. I’m really trying to get into the habit of early morning runs, and the only way they happen is if I’ve already laid out the shorts I’m going to stick my legs in half-asleep. It really works. As long as I’ve got everything on my body that I set out the night before, I can make my way out the door without much trouble. I even pre-stick my house keys in the pockets, charge my Garmin and stick a hairy-tie in the pile for a quick ponytail.
5. Organize for your run: I’m still playing around with this one — specifically how to organize all my things on the run. I talked a bit about this yesterday, but as my itty bitty runs get longer and the heat cranks up in the city, I’m trying to juggle the right handheld water bottle and figure out how to lug around an iPhone 6 when I want a podcast. My only tip right now is experiment and see what works best for you 🙂

How do you keep your gear organized with minimal space?