Any tips for fitting everything into a small area of a tack room?

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3BayGeldings

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I share a tackroom about 3m x 3m (size of average stable) with two others. I have a corner of this, a shelf and a rug rack outside my stable. I've got quite a lot of stuff and am really struggling to fit everything in! Has anyone got any genius space saving ideas? Like how can I replace my feed bins with something smaller but that you can still fit 20kg of feed in :cool: And where to put nummnahs and all those extra things. I have a set of 4 shelves from b&q which are chokka with grooming tools/sprays/clippers/ etc. I have bags of things left over - nummnahs, boots, extra tack, pessoa, fly masks, the list is endless..

Any help welcome!
 
I hade this problem - got a chest freezer so I can fit in my 3 bags of feed, treats, supplements, and it fits in my numnah's in a rug bag! Then put a saddle rack over the top of it and a few odd hooks, and hung a couple of hat bags from my saddle rack for hats and grooming kit - alternatively could you build a corner box in your stable? One the whole height with lots of shelves in but no sharp corners. I did this at an old yard when we didn't have a tack room and it worked brilliantly!
 
We had someone throw an old kitchen out one year when we had our bonfire. I nicked two corner units off the pile and put them in the corner of the stable I use as a feedroom. They're really deep shelves, store all my lotions and potions, plaitting stuff, trimming stuff, first aid stuff.

A chest freezer is great, but I like my dustbins for feed so that each one can be brushed out before being refilled. Don't you get lots of bits in the bottom of the chest going musty otherwise? Even if the stuff is stored in bags inside it. Someone would make a fortune if they made square plastic dustbins that fitted together better!

Put your rugs in those hoover bags - you don't have to hoover them, the air pushes out and they go much smaller. Means much less space taken up from rugs..

I agree with the "have a clearout" advice. How much room can a grooming kit take up?
 
My feed all tends to run out about the same time (not sure if it's a good thing or bad thing!) and then have a dustpan and brush with a long handle to give it a quick sweep out! I'm sure in one of my horsey catalogues I saw a metal feedbin with different compartments for each bag that was lockable? Trying to remember where though!
 
we have individual tackrooms about 1m wide by 2.5m deep and I had way too much stuff! I put like greenhouse shelving at the back. On there Ive got my first aid stuff, some storage boxes with bandages, etc and rugs in and odd bits and pieces. Then spare buckets go on the bottom. In front of that I have my sugar beet bin and a saddle rack next to it. then in front of that I have the stuff I use all the time. so my chaff, a bucket for beet, feed bucket, treats, grooming box etc. Then i have hooks on the door with bridles and anything that can hang up. I do like the idea of the hoover bags. means when i dig rugs out i dont have to throw them out of the door to get spiders out from inside!!!!
 
could you get a single rug rack that would normally be on a door and screw that to the wall for numnahs ect? doesnt take up any floor space and could go above your bins?

i have a couple of tug trugs under my saddle that are handy for bits and pieces and mum has some stackable boxes in her corner for numnahs, bridle parts ect
 
Cheap tall shelves (garage or metal office ones). Floor level you can put your feed bins on bottom shelf. Or keep directly in front. Cheap storage boxes on the shelves, you can pile more in. Hooks on the side for odd bits of tack, headcollars etc. Those cheap plastic drawers are handy too. Or an old filing cabinet. Things like rugs not in use, or anything rarely used can go in storage boxes on top of shelves.
 
Here is a photo of the corner of my stable. We put these lockers into each stable when our tackroom was robbed a few years ago. These lockers hold tack, grooming kits riding hats and boots plus a few other bits and bobs. The only issue we have had with them is with sweet itchers, who rub on the corners. The stables are 14x12, so they sit at the front where the bed doesn't cover. I was a bit worried about having them in the stable, but have had no problems at all. The rug rail folds flat, and is just used for rugs in use. In the eaves of the over hang of the roof I store clean rugs - the ones on view are not in hoover bags, but even still, there are about 12 rugs stored in each stable.

If this were your storage room. you could have bins underneath the rug rail, shelves above it, and stack storage boxes on top of the locker. We used to have one livery who put those stacking plastic boxes in her stable too! In the stable that I use for feed and bits and bobs I also have one of those hanging bridle hooks, which is great for coats, hats that need drying, fluro stuff, and bits of tack..

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Get a filing cabinet for feed. One drawer = one bag of mix or 2/3 bag of chaff (although I can squeeze a bag of mollichaff into one cabinet!). Stores the feed vertically instead of loads of bins, taking up the space of one bin, plus you have a shelf on the top!
 
Attach an old type pulley to the roof for rugs, numnah's etc. Easy made as well. Would free up space for your feed etc. You can get lots of stacking type boxes from Ikea as well. Clear ones let you see where all your lotions and potions are.
 
I use plastic recycling boxes from IKEA for feed. They fit a whole bag of feed in and stack on top of each other :) I only have a small corner to store my stuff in too. I have a locker with my tack, grooming kit, hat and 2 boxes of bits and bobs in it; my feed boxes sit beside this and on top of the locker I have 2 more storage boxes for numnahs/boots/spare tack etc. Would love a bit more space but it's definitely do-able :)
 
Do you know anyone who is handy with a bit of DIY? I had the same problem at my last yard (and some of my stuff was stolen too) so I talked my boyfriend into making me a tall tack locker out of ply wood. I fitted it up with saddle racks, bridle holders, shelves and drawers inside and it holds a surprising amount of stuff. I then bought a vertical hanging rug rack and I stack the rest of his things on top of the locker in trunks, it also has the added benefit of being secure and keeps everything clean :) I would post a picture but I am not sure how to on here but you can get some good ideas from google.
 
I bought a load of little rails from Ikea that you can fix baskets to. They're about a metre long and you can put loads of em on the walls giving you room to move about and keep all your stuff in. I have them pretty much floor to ceiling in my tackroom now! They don't rust and you can just unhook the baskets when you need to.

You can also hook little plastic pots on them (I keep plaiting bands and stuff in them) and plastic hooks. I hang snaffles off em, feed spoons, the dustpan and brush, allsorts! They're long enough to hang saddle cloths on, and if you buy the metal hooks you can even hang your bridles and headcollars off em.

I also got my dad to fix some long disabled hand rails to my stable walls to drape my rugs over. I've used old bannisters as well before now.

Link to ikea baskets: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90072648/

You can see em on the left hand wall and on the floor to the right;

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kellybee said:
Yardgeek - Your grandfather is a genius!
Click to expand...

:D He is rather amazing! I'm a very lucky girl as I can now fit everthing from my 3 sets of draws AND my tack all into the one trunk, which is lockable and on 3" castors so get get it onto lorry/trailer for shows!

(I also have a matching blanket/rug trunk which I keep at home to store all the clean rugs)
 
Ooh! Well, if he does, I honestly think he's in business there! Me for one! And I bet there are plenty of others who'd pay decent money for one :)
 
We too have to share a tack room. We have an area that is about 6'6'' x 4' and hay/bedding is in a separate loft. I found the main problem was lack of wall space for hooks and shelves etc. We bought a small garden shed 6' x 4' and after several revamps have now got it arranged to be as effective as possible. It is a bit cramped but there is ample room for 2 saddle racks/bridle racks. 2 feed bins. 4 large storage boxes / odd tubs /buckets and some shelving. Hooks on one wall and back of door for hats/spare coats/head collars etc. Also put a 'kerb' on the roof so have some rugs /travel boots in bags stored on the top and the 'kerbs' stop them sliding off. Added advantage is that I can lock it so never have to worry about people 'borrowing' anything. (Happy to lend anything to anyone as long as I know about it and get it back).
 
Ikea!!! Storage spirilla for houses, know a fw people who use them for feed and you can stack different heights on top of each other, all still with lids opening!!
 
OP, I have a similar sized tack room to you (but used to have even smaller cow stall) and I use a regular bin for my chaff but use the small Eukenuba dog food bins for my balancer and speedibeet. They don't take up much room at all. You can usually pick them up on EBay. I also used to have a huge office cabinet that I stored all my rugs, supplements, coats and tack. It was drilled to the wall and locked to be safe.
 
this is so interesting to read :) and interesting that most people do suffer with a lack of space! I've got a kitchen cupboard which is great as loads of inside space as well as worktop. I've got a big rug box and use dust bins for feed. I do like a nice reorganise every now and again as my biggest hate is having things stacked up as it's always the bottom box you need to get into lol good thing is we have a separate tack room which is fairly big and has shelves above for extra storage.
 
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