Patio Furniture Winter Storage in Lawton

Oklahoma winters bring ice storms, freezing rain, and wind that ruins outdoor cushions and umbrellas. A drive-up unit gets the soft stuff inside until spring — and gets your patio back to looking like one.

You don't need to move the whole patio set indoors every November. The hard frames — metal tables, plastic chairs, fire pits — survive outside under a cover just fine. The stuff that suffers is the soft side: cushions, umbrellas, fabric covers, throw pillows, outdoor rugs. That's the stuff that fades from sun, mildews from rain, and turns into a wet mess after an ice storm. A 5×10 drive-up unit handles all of it.

What to bring inside and what to leave outside

Goes in the unit

• All seat cushions and back pillows
• Outdoor throw pillows
• Umbrellas (including the bases, if removable)
• Outdoor rugs
• Patio fire pit covers and grill covers (when not in use)
• Decorative items — lanterns, string lights, planters
• Patio heaters (drain propane first)

Stays outside under a cover

• Hard frame tables and chairs
• Plastic Adirondack chairs
• Built-in or fixed fire pits
• Heavy concrete or stone pieces

One-trip loading

This is the kind of storage where drive-up is perfect. You back the truck up to the door, throw everything in over one afternoon, and you don't see the unit again until April. Hauling cushions and umbrellas through a hallway and an elevator is exactly the kind of friction that makes folks just leave everything outside instead — and then they're shopping for new cushions in April.

How to pack soft items so they don't get crushed

• Vacuum-seal cushion bags save a lot of space and keep moisture out
• Vented totes for items you'd rather not vacuum down — cushions stay shaped and dust-free
• Don't stack heavy items on cushions. Stack cushions on top of solid stuff, not under it.
• Umbrellas vertical or wrapped. A free umbrella thrown sideways gets bent ribs.
• Outdoor rugs rolled, not folded. Folded rugs develop creases that don't come out.

Beyond patio furniture

Once you've got a unit for the cushions, lots of folks add other seasonal stuff over time — bicycles you don't ride in winter, garden tools, the holiday inflatables that won't fit in the garage anymore. A 5×10 holds way more than people expect when it's stacked properly.

Common questions