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 Restoring
Order to Your Home
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CBN.com –
Summer brings popsicles, suntans, and, of course,
those cherished family camping trips. Mom and Dad
load up the family car with the tent, the kids,
the dog, and all their stuff and set up their
home-away-from-home in the wilderness.
Below are some tips from your organizing expert
to make packing for camping a cinch. These tips
are not an exhaustive list of items to bring
camping, but a guide to maximize the ease and
enjoyment of your camping adventure. Happy
camping!
Preparation Tips
- You’ll need to call well in advance if you
plan to rent a trailer or RV if you’ve chosen a
popular camping weekend.
- Find out beforehand if there are facilities
on the grounds, or whether you’ll need to bring
your own T.P.!
- Sometime before the day you leave, put all
bags, coolers, and camping supplies in the
middle of your garage or driveway to see if what
you plan to take will reasonably fit in the car.
(You don’t have to have the coolers loaded at
this time.) If your gear won’t fit, you must
either pare down or get a haul-behind trailer or
roof-top storage.
- Bring a camera to record your trip.
Loading Tips
- Assign only one person to load the car. When
multiple people are tossing things in, space is
not conserved, and a plan cannot be followed.
- When loading the car, put food and other
items that will not be needed right away at the
back or bottom.
Content Tips
- Limit toys, books, and games to that which
can fit in one backpack per child. Otherwise,
these items will overtake your car. Remember,
you’re going camping to get away from the daily
routine and have new experiences!
- Avoid using cardboard boxes, cloth bags, or
any storage containers that aren’t waterproof.
For keeping things fresh and safe, plastic
rules.
- Shrinkable is good. Inflatable bed mats use
less room than foam cushions. Sleeping bags that
stuff into a bag take less room than layered
cotton roll-up bags. Fold-down tables and chairs
are now available at any outdoor store.
Safety Tips
- If you plan on obscuring the windows by
packing up to the ceiling, set your side mirrors
for maximum visibility before leaving your
driveway.
- Bring a cell phone (charge beforehand) in
case of emergency.
- Carry a first aid kit. Don’t forget any
current medications, allergy relief, and
sunscreen.
- Hand-held radios are a great way to keep
track of each other in a large campground. Agree
on a time to check in with each other if you’ve
split up. Keep tabs on kids.
Clothing Tips
- Plan outfits in advance of trip. Remember:
you can wear clothes more than once. It will
mean less laundry when you get home!
- Roll clothes inside bags to save space.
- Pack lots of extra plastic bags to separate
dirty laundry, wet clothes, or dirty shoes.
- Don’t leave home without your sunglasses and
hats.
Campsite Tips
- Invest in a pop-up shade. Don’t forget rope
and stakes. You’ll be glad to wait out a shower
under the shade, rather than huddle in your tent
with wet boots. If the weather is nice, you can
leave it in your car.
- A ground tarp will limit seepage into the
tent. Bring hammer and stakes for tent assembly.
- Tables that fold out make a great
cooking/staging area for your stove, food prep
area, and clean up area.
- A gas or electric lantern (or two) will shed
needed light on your site. Don’t forget extra
fuel, matches or lighter, mantles, batteries,
and bulbs. Fit lantern and supplies inside a
plastic tool box for safe transporting.
- Bring one flashlight per person (and extra
batteries).
- Find out before you go whether firewood will
be available for purchase, or whether you will
need to bring your own. Plastic water-tight bins
work well for wood. One bin of wood will only
last a few hours, so pack accordingly, or bring
cash to purchase available firewood.
- Rope and string seem to come in handy when
camping. From clothes lines to tie-downs, you’ll
find many necessary uses.
Order & Cleanliness Tips
- Pump soap and hand sanitizer go a long way
to keeping campers clean.
- Baby wipes or moist towelettes are so handy!
A thousand uses--from wiping hands to quick
clean-ups, to mini baths, wipes are one of my
favorite essentials.
- Use a floor mat in front of the tent for
wiping feet (faux grass works well).
- A whisk broom or battery-powered hand vacuum
will rid the tent of needles, grass, and dirt
that is carried in on shoes.
- Dishwashing soap, scrub brush, towels, and
paper towels are a must for cleaning up dishes
and pans. Some seasoned campers even use a dish
rack (if you have room) to air dry dishes to
eliminate drying.
Food & Cooking Tips
- Call ahead to find out if there are
barbeques available, or if you’ll need to
provide your own. If you bring a grill, clean it
out before packing, and bring large plastic
garbage bags to cover it on the ride home.
- Store non-perishable dry food in big plastic
storage bins with air-tight seals. If you use
clear plastic, you can see what is in each one.
This way, food can be left outside, even if it
rains.
- Block ice lasts longer than shaved ice. Pack
each cooler with one block, and nestle food
around the block.
- Bring water jugs if it is not readily
available. Each person needs at least a half
gallon of water per day. Bringing personal-size
bottled water is also useful. You will use more
than you think, especially if it is hot.
- Plastic zippered bags of all sizes are great
for snacks, leftovers, collected treasures, and
so much more.
I hope these organizing tips for camping make
your summer adventures incident-free and put you
on the road to fun!
~Vicki Norris
About the Author: Vicki
Norris is an expert organizer, business owner,
speaker, television personality, and author who
inspires people to live out their priorities. She
is author of Restoring Order™ © 2006 by Vicki
Norris (available now at
www.RestoringOrder.com and in July 2007as
Reclaim Your Life™ © 2007) and of Restoring
Order™ to Your Home, © 2007, a room-by-room
household organizing guide, both published by
Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR. Norris is a
regular on HGTV’s nationally syndicated Mission:
Organization, and is a recurrent source and
contributor to national lifestyle publications
including Quick & Simple magazine, Better Homes &
Gardens, and Real Simple magazine. |
