Organize your Tailgate in one Weekend
Tailgate season: it’s upon us, guys. From college to pro football games, polo matches to horse racing, and everything in between. We decided it was about time for us to get serious when it comes to organizing our tailgate supplies.
Since we pull together tailgates for so many different types of events, we decided to start with three large plastic bins. We designated one for college football (my husband’s, primarily), one for professional football/general sports, and one for equestrian events (we have two coming up in the next few weeks).
We also pulled together a tailgate first aid kit to float between the three boxes, which includes items like hand sanitizer, tissues, alcohol pads, band-aids, etc.
Being organized when it comes to entertaining is a much easier habit to develop if you can ensure that everything has its place. We have a decent amount of storage in our house and I have a plastic bin dedicated to each holiday. I’m always telling you guys that I often shop off-season for entertaining goods for Halloween, Easter, Christmas, etc. It’s a great way to snag things for less and give you an excuse to buy the things you couldn’t justify at full price – like a $119 skeleton salad bowl. Knowing that I can head upstairs with a newfound treasure and pop it into the plastic bin rather than have it sit in a bag in a closet for months is a game changer to say the least. Life gets hectic, so the easier you can make prepping for changing out holidays and seasons, the better.
After assessing what gaps we had, we headed to the stores. I wanted to find a few basics before the fall that would help add height and interest to our tailgate tabletops. I gathered up a bunch of galvanized metal containers that I found at Michael’s, like these (so inexpensive and they’re decent quality) and these, which are great basics that can go from football game to football game. I wouldn’t plan on putting a flower arrangement directly into any of these since they likely aren’t sealed to keep in liquids. If I use one for a flower arrangement, I’ll pull in a small glass vase and fit it inside the container, using it to house my blooms. Adding something inside these containers is a good way to weigh them down, too, in case it’s a windy day.
These penalty and challenge flags were such fun finds last year. They went into our general football bin knowing that we’d be pulling from that one for any college football game tailgates as well. I stocked up on these football field disposable cups – probably the item I’m most excited about this tailgate season. They’re too fun! We also picked up this disposable trash can to give it a try since we always end up struggling with garbage bags – and who wants to tie a plastic garbage bag to your car?
For our equestrian events, I thought these crates flipped over on their sides would be a fun way to add height. They also stay in-theme while still letting me mix in our silver (which might be tough with galvanized metal). I also grabbed a few of these cotton picks, which I thought would be fun to stick into arrangements or on their own with a few pheasant feathers.
We’re off to a good start to the fall, and I’m sure we’ll be adding to all of our tailgating bins as the weeks progress. Spend some time this weekend going through your items – we promise it’ll be a Saturday or Sunday well-spent!
This post contains some affiliate links, but all are tried and true Magnolia Stripes favorites.
