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Every fall, Wiregrass garages go through the same shuffle. The cooler, the fishing rods and the box fan that sat by the door all summer suddenly have to move, because the stuff for the next few months needs that spot. If you’ve been stepping over all of it to get to the car, you already know it’s time.
Fall in southeast Alabama doesn’t arrive all at once. October can feel a lot like August, and a warm, sticky stretch can hang around well into November. Most folks wait for the first real cool snap, or the shorter evenings after the clocks fall back. That’s usually when the summer stuff finally gets put away and the fall and winter stuff comes out.
A good place to start is the gear you won’t touch again until spring. Pool floats, beach chairs and the box fan can go first. Lawn mowers and trimmers get used less as the grass slows down, and it’s worth checking your owner’s manual on how to store them over the winter. Some people run them dry and others add a fuel stabilizer, so go with what the manufacturer recommends.
Then there’s what’s coming out. Hunting season brings its own pile, and hunters already know the drill. Stands, feeders, blinds and the camo that’s been in a closet since last winter all need a place to land. Not long after that, the holiday boxes come down from the attic, and plenty of families end up hosting somebody before the year is out.
The trouble is that it all has to go somewhere at the same time. For households that have run out of garage, a storage unit can hold the off-season gear until it’s needed again. In south Dothan, Iron Storage has a facility on Hartford Highway, about five minutes west of Ross Clark Circle, with drive-up units you can back a truck or trailer right up to. It also has outdoor parking spaces and larger units for boats and RVs that won’t see the water or the road again until spring. One tip if you go that route: put the things you’ll want first, like holiday decorations, near the door and push the summer gear to the back.
A boat you’re parking for the winter deserves a little attention first. Flush the engine, top off or stabilize the fuel, and pull the drain plug and any wet gear so nothing sits damp for months. A cover helps too.
None of it has to happen in one weekend. Pick one corner of the garage, take an hour, and see how far you get. Then do it again in the spring, in reverse, when the boat comes back out and the hunting gear goes in. Twice a year beats once every five.
