What To Pack When You Go Camping with the Family - Travel Eat Cleaner, Everyday

What To Pack When You Go Camping with the Family - Travel Eat Cleaner, Everyday

It was a major accomplishment, and it took me over 40 years to achieve it. I conquered Camping. Not to be confused with Glamping. Camping is where you DIY it all. Pitch a tent, sleep in a a sleeping bag on the hard ground, in the open, where you bring all your own food and utensils and whatever you need to survive without having to get in a car. No RV’s or vehicles, friends. For this city girl, that was quite an achievement – and in Sequoia National Park in 102 degree heat, despite the bear warnings, no less. It was just me and my two kids and boy, did we learn a lot about ourselves and life.

 

I’m no seasoned expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ll tell you, those 3 days taught me a bucketload about what to do, what to avoid and importantly, what to pack to make your experience fun and enjoyable. I feel like a camp graduate with a girl scout badge and everything! Being able to enjoy the outdoors and sleep under a blanket of stars is an extraordinary feeling, and I want you to enjoy it to the fullest. I managed to do a few things right for a virgin camper, but you better believe I will make some major changes for the next go-around.
What I managed to bring that was spot on…
One of your must-pack items? Eat Cleaner 32-ct. Food Grade Wipes. They were a lifesaver!
  1. A big tent. There were three of us, and we had a 6-person tent. I thought to myself, how the heck would we fit 3 more people? If you like a little room in between and don’t want to be kicked all night, make sure you set it up in your living room and test it out.
  2. Lots of Eat Cleaner Wipes. They saves us on so many things! We used them to clean utensils, pots and pans, the top of the picnic table, bear lockers, etc. – not to mention our hands and feet, all the time. When you’re camped out on dirt, you’re gonna’ get dirty in places you didn’t know you had. The Wipes are gently, earth-friendly and totally food-grade.
  3. Instant coffee, almond milk and liquid stevia. Every morning, I’d get up around 6 and have my little Starbucks Via instant coffee and fix it up just the way I like it at home. I stored everything in a big reusable container so I could just take my ‘coffee kit’ out and go to town. It was one of my favorite parts of the day.
  4. A cooking stove with two propane tanks. Being a foodie, I was not going to rely on peanut butter and jelly for sustenance. Also, some campsites won’t let you use a charcoal grill so make sure you’ve got something to cook on that runs on propane. Mine cooked like a dream!
  5. Aluminum foil. I lined every pan with foil to cook in and it made clean-up soooo much easier, not to mention using it to wrap up food. The foil keeps heat and cold in better than plastic.
  6. A mess kit and tongs. They’re light, easy to carry pans and they stack up inside of each other. Genius! Plus, I could use the tongs for everything from cooking eggs to flipping turkey burgers.
  7. A pot holder. Those mess kit pans don’t have handles on them! Make sure you’ve got something you can use to hold the hot pans.
  8. Tons o’ snacks. Dry, easy to carry snacks like jerky, dried fruit, trail mix, nuts, nut butter – and things that don’t melt – are necessities for camping life.
  9. A 2 1/2 gallon water dispenser. We used this for cooking, to fill water bottles and to clean the occasional item. The dispenser at the bottom was a real winner.
  10. Plenty of paper plates and paper towels. Easy for clean up, used for everything.
What I’ll bring next time…
  1. Bug repellants. The bugs and flying things are ev-ery-where…and lots of bees too. Citronella candles can do the trick if you’re not into pouring bug spray all over you. Some people suggest pouring a thimble full of vinegar into a glass as a natural bee-be-goner. I wish I would’ve known about this one before I went!
  2. A screened tent. Back to the bug thing…did I mention they’re ev-ery-where? If would be a really great idea if you could eat and enjoy your meal instead of swatting every 2 seconds. Bring a screened tent that you can put over your picnic table that’s just for eating and be militant about keeping it closed up.
  3. Thick sleeping pads. Even though your sleeping bag may seem really fluffy, that ground is rock hard and your back is going to feel it. I had a flimsy little thing under me and every morning I’d wake up like I’d aged 30 years.
  4. More ice than I think I need. Anything cold becomes a huge commodity, especially if you’re in the elements for a few days. Bring a cooler dedicated to just ice and ice packs so you have plenty for drinking and keeping things chilled.
  5. A battery powered fan. A little personal sized fan would help with keeping you cool in that screaming heat and keeping those bugs away. Are you seeing a theme here?
You’ll notice I say, next time I go, and we will go again. It was one of the most enriching experiences we’ve ever had together. No TV. No iPads. No phone calls. Just us in a beautiful place enjoying each other with some really good food. Now that’s what I call living it up.

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