The following is a guest post from my newest regular contributor, Katie at Organizing Moms. Welcome Katie!
Are you trying to get into the habit of exercising first thing in the morning? When I first started getting up early to do a morning run, one of my biggest stumbling blocks was being able to find what I needed to wear and bring with me on the run.
For a while, I tried setting out a running outfit the night before, but as a busy mom I often forgot about doing it before I crashed into bed at night. When I woke up in the morning, I would have to search for everything before I could get dressed and out the door.
Often, I’d give up on my idea of going for a morning run because it took too long for me to get everything together. It was much more tempting to go back to bed when faced with the prospect of having to spend 20 minutes going through the dryer and different drawers to find everything I needed.
To cut down on the time and energy it took me to get ready for exercising, I decided to set up an exercise gear station. I wanted to have all of my gear in one place, and I wanted to have running outfits easily accessible so I didn’t have to make decisions about what to wear early in the morning. Here’s how you can make an exercise gear station too:
How to Set Up an Exercise Gear Station Using a Shoe Organizer
1. Put together 3-4 complete exercise outfits. Remember to include socks and sports bras (if needed). If you don’t have this many outfits, just put together as many as you can. I have a few outfits for colder weather, and some for warmer weather. When the weather changes, I rotate the appropriate outfits in and out.
2. Try on your exercise outfits. I had saved running shorts and t-shirts from the last decade, and they just don’t fit (or perform) like they used to. Trying on my clothes while putting together my exercise station saved me the aggravation of trying on and taking off too-tight shorts at 5 am.
3. Hang a basic shoe organizer in your closet. I like using a shoe organizer for an exercise gear station because it doesn’t take up a lot of space, it’s easy to get to, and it helps me keep my outfits together.
4. Roll up your clothing and put each outfit into a compartment in your shoe organizer.
5. Add your shoes to the bottom compartments.
6. If you have room, store smaller items in one of the compartments. Because I have small children, I store some of my smaller items in a bin above my exercise gear station. I keep things like earbuds, a small flashlight, and pepper spray in my bin. I keep my sunglasses and phone armband in the organizer because they are part of my outfits.
7. Hang bulkier exercise items, like coats or vests, right next to your shoe organizer.
8. After washing your exercise clothing, put it directly back into its compartment in the shoe organizer. I like to roll up my exercise clothes as I take them out of the dryer so I can see that they should go into the organizer instead of a drawer.
I use my organizer for the things I need for running, but this method could easily be adapted for other types of exercise as well. If you have bulkier items, like yoga mats, weights, or a bike helmet, you could store them in a box or bin underneath your shoe organizer.
Taking the time to organize exercise clothing by setting up an exercise gear station has helped me be more consistent with my morning exercise routine. It’s also helped me to declutter the old exercise gear I was hanging onto because I thought it was “still good.” With an exercise gear organizer, you can easily find all of the things you need in one spot.
Katie is a loving wife and stay-at-home mom to busy twin boys. She is passionate about making life at home more manageable through simple organizing solutions. Her love for organizing has spilled over into her popular blog, organizingmoms.com, where she shares realistic organizing solutions for busy moms. In addition to her love for all things organized, she also enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her family.
Cheryl Strachan says
Love this idea!! Thanks for sharing, I’m going to try this.