I just got back from a 4 day camping trip and oh my goodness, did we have fun! I have camped all my life although we have not done it as often as I would have liked for the last couple of years. As it turns out, it’s easy to forget what you are doing when you take a break from it! I discovered that while I thought I was thoroughly prepared, I was not. I forgot some items that made it difficult to camp with ease.
I guess I should first acknowledge that while I do love to camp, I also like to have some amenities and things to make outdoor life a little bit easier. For example, I like to have a camp stove because cooking over a campfire is sometimes a pain, plus, I was camping in Oregon which means that many places have campfire bans right now anyway. So, back to the lesson at hand, here are the no food items to bring camping that will make your camping trip easier!
Camping 101: Non Food Items to Bring
Paper Towels / Washcloths, etc
I brought nice, fluffy towels for each member of our family. I did not, however, bring paper towels or washcloths of any kind to wash dishes or dry hands. Yeah, that was a real pain for me.
Pots / Pans / Cooking Utensils / Knives
This was actually our second camping trip of the season. Our first one was an absolute disaster and I forgot everything. Yes, this included the pots and pans for cooking with. I didn’t even bring a knife to cut the potatoes and veggies with. Yeah, we ran into town and bought food a lot that trip. It was ridiculous. (I was only about 2 weeks out of surgery though, so I’m blaming that).
Trash Bags / Plastic Storage Bags
Things are going to get dirty or wet or both and you don’t want to just toss them in your duffel bag or in your car, right? Make sure to bring along plastic trash bags as well as smaller plastic bags to store these things in until you get home.
Soap
For the love of all things, don’t forget to bring soap. While I did remember hand soap and body soap. I totally forgot to bring dish soap or laundry soap. Why laundry soap, you ask? Well, I have a toddler that wet the bed while we were camping and that sleeping bag simply needed to be washed. We couldn’t wait 3 more days. Luckily the campground we stayed in had a laundromat, but I had to scrounge around my car until I found enough quarters to pay for the soap in the dispenser.
