It's hot, I'm injured; 2 reasons to stay home and organize

     Summer in Arkansas is nasty. No kidding. Fayetteville resides in a curious climate zone. In the winter, it is said that we have a "Continental Temperate" climate. Which makes for lots of outdoor fun if you can handle a bit of a chill. Summer, though is more likely to leave a guy like me on the side of the trail. Our climate is called "Subtropical Humid" by many online sources. Which means 90 degrees plus, with humidity sometimes 90% plus. Nasty. The water sources begin drying as early as mid-June. The rivers run, but the trails go through the hills. Snakes and Poison Ivy abound. In short, I'm too wuss to do anything overly strenuous after mid-June.
     In addition to that, I took a bit of a fall while descending a pond bank over Memorial Day weekend. Extreme Dislocation to my left shoulder with a list of damages. Mainly, I partially tore the Labrum. Although it shouldn't require surgery to heal, I'm in a sling for 6-7 weeks. Which will keep me from any backpacking or serious dayhikes. All I can say is that I'm glad it didn't happen in my prime outdoor season.
     This did give me some much needed time to get organized. Also to begin playing with some MYOG ideas. As far as organization goes, I am going to spend some time adding all of my gear to a spreadsheet so I can stay on top of which weights I want to carry and which need to be donated to the Scouts or sold. Furthermore, the conversion of a work bench to a packing bench had been postponed for a long time.
     The packing bench isn't complete yet, but all of the camping, hiking, and backpacking gear has made it's home there. Sleeping bags and clothing still in the closet though. Here's a picture of the bench, with pegs, my shelving area, and my "seldom used gear box". Meaning, gear that is seldomly used, not the box being seldomly used.

     The pegs on the bench accommodate all but my largest packs, along with trekking poles, stuff sacks, etc. The shelf sitting atop the bench has room for other items like stoves, fuel canisters, tp, bag liners, and such. All of my boots, knick-knacks, and even MYOG supplies reside on the shelves. Car camping gear is in the big feed box below.
     By sorting my gear like this, I can pack in my garage now. All of the gear is in one place, easy to find. What I really like about it is that after packing, I can look over the area remembering any forgotten items. Which makes for a more relaxed packing environment. Being able to pack this efficiently allows for more spur-of-the-moment trips. Which allows for me to be a "very happy camper".
     I hope you all can find a way to stay organized, at least to the point of having a stressless planning/packing for all of your trips. It leads to arriving at your trailhead in a calm mood. Not wasting the first several miles of the hike unwinding. Now, go get to work in your garage!