5 tent organization tips for thriving at Burning Man

Your tent is your home while you’re at Burning Man. Organize it as such and it will serve you well. Here are 5 tent organization tips and simple things you can do so that your tent will feel and function more like a home.

1. Bring shelves – ULTRA pro tip

Shelves provide surface areas to put things. And while I could wax on about this, I’ll just say: bring shelfs. You’ll appreciate them tremendously once there.

2. A small trashcan (rather than simply using a bag)

Your camp may well have a camp trash can and recycling bins. You still need a place to deal with trash inside your tent, even though you may put your trash bags into the camp’s trash can.
It’s helpful (order-making) to have a small trashcan in your tent, not a plastic bag, but an actual trash can. It needn’t be big. Line it with used plastic shopping bags.

3. A chair or folding stool to sit on

Many people bring folding chairs. If you’re flying in, a chair is a hard thing to bring, though a relatively inexpensive item to purchase. If you’re driving in, it’s an easy enough item to pack in a car. It’s likely your camp may have plenty of folding chairs already. (They tend to accumulate.) Ask around.

You know this tip, right? Always tightly tie the cloth chair bag to a leg of the chair so that during packdown you can put the chair bag into the right bag.

4. Extra cloth to cover your suitcases and open items (to protect them from dust)

Bring some extra cloth to cover your suitcases and bins when not accessing them. You probably won’t be zipping suitcases perfectly closed after getting one item out of your case, or shutting all bins with a complete seal, plus stuff gets strewn around a bit. Release false hopes of dust-free clothes and gear. Though the extra layer of cloth protection over your suitcases and bins helps make things a bit less dusty.

5. Tackle box (or container for your hardware and misc)

This came as a suggestion from someone who saw my Surviving (and Thriving at) Burning Man packing list. I’ve been using a gym bag with dozen-plus small bags of miscellaneous supplies inside of it, though I rather like the idea of a tackle box and will probably use it in the future. Make sure you get a tackle box that closes really, really well.

I’ve been using a gym bag with lots of ziplock bags and containers in it. Essentially, you need your own hardware/admin/small supplies place for cable ties, markers, safety pins, extra gaffers tape…whatever you see fit to bring.

Playa tent tips from Burning Tribe

Here are some playa tent tips from Burning Tribe.

A note on yurts

Yurts may be sturdier (usually) but, boy, are they a commitment! Some people love them and swear by them, often building camps made of yurts. There’s a whole community of DIY-ers and information sharing happening among yurt fans. Start with The Hexayurt Project if you want to explore this option.