Living in the mountains means weathering two main sports seasons, but it’s easy to get tired of throwing out the snowboard to make room for the mountain bike every year when the snow starts to melt a little. Instead, there are some ways to store and minimize the gear you do have, to at least try to make room for it all.

Do you really need that jacket?

Just because JT Holmes might have touched your thinnest down puffy once does not mean you should keep it. Think about the past two winter seasons: What did you use the most? Keep only that. Winters can vary, but in general you want two types of gear. Keep a good, waterproof, heavier jacket for cold days, and a lighter one for warmer days in spring. You can plan to wear layers underneath to supplement them, but when it comes to outerwear, you don’t need a ton of options. The same goes for gloves, pants, etc.

Pack down the soft winter stuff

Softgoods (like the above-mentioned clothing) can take up a lot of room in the closet when hung up, but pack down easily when stored. When transitioning from winter to summer, buy a couple of plastic storage bins or some vacuum bags. Tightly pack your winter jackets, pants, gloves, and ski socks away and move them to the basement. Buying bins of the same brand or size ensures they will stack well. Then, think about what you plan to wear in summer. Re-organizing clothes in a way that the long-sleeved shirts and pants are now at the back of your shelves, will make the warm-weather clothes easier to access.

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Utilize vertical space

Summer gear is especially bulky. Once you pull your mountain bike out of storage, consider hanging it from a hook on the ceiling to save space. Plus, when you have friends over you’ll look like you ride every day, even if it hangs there all season. Do the same with a paddleboard. Find a sturdy corner of the house that’s not in direct sunlight and stand it up. If you’re putting away snowboards or skis, you can stand up the skis in a corner as well. Taking the bindings off snowboards makes it easier to stack together multiple boards, and the bindings can go into their own collective storage bin. If you have an old board with a cool graphic, you can even mount it to some L-shaped brackets and, voilà! Wall shelf.