Ok, let me preface this post by saying we aren't seasoned campers by any means. We've probably headed out camping with our three young boys 5-6 times now and have learned with each adventure, what we need to make things a little more comfortable and practical.
We seem to have this uncanny ability to bring rain with us on every camping trip. Not just a little rain either, we like to have mass dumpings (common unit of measurement) of water and have to do our best to create rivers and valleys around our camping site to minimise how much swimming we have to partake in to make it into our tent.
Even with the rain, we love being outdoors and enjoying slower paced days with our boys, who countdown weeks out as the excitement builds for another camping adventure.
Before our camping trip in September 2022 we decided to invest in a 'builders trailer'. This is basically our storage unit on wheels. It is where we store all our camping stuff in big black tubs purchased from Costco (one of my favourite camping and shed purchases!). We have plans to build shelves, drawers and a slide out 'kitchen' at some stage, but for now it's the tubs. It might not be pretty but it keeps everything organised, dust/bug free and means all we need to do is add in clothes, food and an esky full of drinks before getting on the road.
So we don't have to check what exactly we have in the trailer before each trip, we have numbered each box and I have a Note on my iPhone with very detailed lists of what each tub contains. We find this set-up makes it simple to know what we still need to add (I also have a Note with this list) and makes pack-up a more orderly process. I plan on simplifying this process again and have a printed out list laminated and attached to each box. As the boys get older, this will also enable them to easily assist with the pack-down process.
Now for a look into my craziness and the detailed list of what each tub contains...hopefully you might be inspired to create a similar system or use this to help pack for your next camping adventure!
Click to see our camping pack list
One of my favourite organisational additions to our camping kit has been the collapsible storage cubes purchased from Kmart (see here). I use these inside the tent, one for each of my boy's clothing so they can be unpacked from the one bag and separated so they are easy to find. I also use another cube for everyone's boots when we go to bed as I'm overly paranoid about leaving them outside the tent and spiders setting up home inside them - growing up in the 'outback' has me hyper aware of creepy crawlies... Another is used for all the random bits and pieces floating around, keys, wallets, lip balm, torches etc. Then the collapsible washing basket is my most recent addition and at least double the size of a storage cube ensure we can put everyone's dirty laundry inside, keeping the inside of the tent as organised as possible.
I am someone who is always keen to find new ways to simplify my life even when camping. Being a wife, mum of 3 and a business owner, I crave anything that lowers the level of chaos in my life.🤪 In saying that, I would love to hear your ideas and suggestions to make life simpler when camping or even life on the road, as we hope to do a 'big lap' in the next couple of years.
Big love & happy travels!
Steph x
