Cases and Bags - What to do with Them?

VegasGeorge

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:confused: I have over 70 Ukes now. The expensive ones came with a hard case, so I have maybe 20 of those. Then a lot of the midrange Ukes came with a gig bag, so I have perhaps 40 of those. Then, I'm embarrassed to admit, I've bought a few extra nice gig bags for actually using when I take a Uke out for a stroll. So, figure something like 70 cases and bags.

Now, that's a small mountain of cases and bags! I display my Ukes in my music room, I don't keep them in their cases or bags. So, it's a real challenge to figure out what to do with them. In my last house, I had them all thrown up into the overhead (attic type) space accessed in the garage. That was a mess up there, and not easily accessible.

We're in an apartment right now, waiting for a new home to be built. Most of our stuff is in storage. I have a few Ukes here with me, and I'm adding some, all with their own bags. There's no display area here, so they're all in their bags. But, when we move into the new place, I'm going to be back in the same situation I was in the last house. How am I going to store all those bags and cases?

Have any of y'all faced this quandary, and come up with a good solution? I'd like to have something worked out before we move into the new place. I want something organized and accessible. Any ideas?
 
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What about building or buying a storage shed for them? It would cost, but you would have easy access and they would not be in the way. If you build one yourself you could design it for keeping the cases.:eek:ld: For having so many ukes ... :worship::bowdown:
 
I would say just sell them but sounds like you aren't that type :p
 
Jim, you know, I'd never thought of selling them. I guess I couldn't sell the hard cases for the expensive Ukes. That would be ..... well just not right. Who would keep a Kamaka, but sell the case it came in? And then there are the gig bags that came special with a certain Uke. As long as I have that Uke, I should probably keep the bag it came in. And, of course, the extra nice ones that I bought special, like Reunion Blues, etc. should be kept. So, that only leaves the really cheap little bags some dealers throw into a deal in order to sell a Uke "with a bag." They really aren't worth the trouble to sell. And, there you are. I'm right back where I started. :confused:
 
About 25 years back we had an addition built onto the back of our house. Maggie told the builder that one of the things she required was storage space for instruments.
The builder came back with what I thought was a great idea. He said, "You have this huge empty wall. We could put hangers on it and display your instruments as works of art."
Maggie immediately said, "NO!"
We both said, "Why not?"
She said, "Empty cases take up just as much room as full ones."
Neither of us had thought of that.
 
I'm with Jim Hanks, sell, give, or donate them if storage is an issue.
Otherwise, is there a closet that you aren't using? You can stack a lot of cases inside a closet.
 
She said, "Empty cases take up just as much room as full ones."
Neither of us had thought of that.

But, empty cases don't need the high attention and care as filled cases.
 
It doesn't help for hard cases or better gig bags, but lesser gig-bags compress well in vacuum storage bags. That can then store in one of the hard cases. Good luck remembering which one.
 
You're on your own for stashing the hard cases, but here's what I would do with the bags:
Go to Home Depot, or anyplace that sells moving boxes. Get four size "small". They'll be about 12" x 12" x 18".
You should be able to fit ten uke bags into each, easy, except maybe baris. You don't have ten or more cheap baritones, do you? Label the boxes as needed. Stack them up in a closet.

At some point I might notice that I was always digging out the same bag for every, say, concert uke I took out of the house. Is closet space more important than extra gig bags?

Dave
 
A few thoughts: Any local schools, community centers, or nursing homes have a ukulele program?

Maybe a local music shop will want them as freebies?

Drop a brick in the bottom of each gig bag and fill with crumpled newpapers. Paint. Art exhibit for your front lawn when the house is done.
 
A few thoughts: Any local schools, community centers, or nursing homes have a ukulele program?

Maybe a local music shop will want them as freebies?

Drop a brick in the bottom of each gig bag and fill with crumpled newpapers. Paint. Art exhibit for your front lawn when the house is done.

Now this, this is why this forum needs a Like button.

Dave
 
But, empty cases don't need the high attention and care as filled cases.

Actually, the insides of your cases will dry out over time if kept in a low humidity area. The wood, padding and fabric get dry. So, if you put a humidifier in it, it will suck up the moisture.

So, perhaps a climate-controlled storage locker? Wall of cases in your family room? Giant mobile sculpture installation?
 
If it were me (but clearly, it isn’t, as I get a panicky claustrophobic feeling thinking about so many ukes and cases cluttering up my house) I would try to find a place to give away the cases that aren’t worth keeping. I wouldn’t even worry about what came with a particular uke if I had purchased a better case to use with it. I would ask at schools and libraries with uke lending first, maybe post on Facebook that I had them to give away, and anything I couldn’t get rid of that way would go to goodwill, though I suppose it might be worth trying to sell a bundle of cases on eBay. Minimal effort on your part that way. I don’t know how cheap the cases you’re talking about are - if there are any super cheap dust covers without padding I might toss those.

I agree that storing soft cases in other soft cases would be the way to go, and maybe having separate bins or areas for each size of case that you keep.
 
Now, I'm thinking about garage overhead storage racks. I think all of the cases and bags would fit on one rack, but they would be piled up on each other. I'm wondering about some sort of pidgeon hole arrangement to keep the bags organized.
 
Hmmm perhaps store each uke in it’s own case for protection and longevity . Then consider full wall shelving in your music room in the new house ??
 
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