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I feel like a get an eye roll every time I talk about “camping”. It seems there is a spectrum for camping and our summer vacations fall somewhere in the middle. Those of you who backpack or go on primitive camping adventures think that we may as well be staying in a four star hotel. And for those of you who are accustomed to condo life and a jetted tub, our idea of roughing it probably sounds detestable. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, I’m guessing it’s hard for you to imagine exactly how it all goes down. I thought I’d share some details about what we take with us, how we pack our camper and how I keep us as organized as possible when we travel.
Let me tell you that I grew up camping in a tent. We had a box fan and an air mattress, but everything else we carried got to stay in the car! Having 32 feet of storage in our home on the road feels like a luxury compared to that!
On the outside of the trailer, we have an 18 foot awning. In a perfect world, it would stay open for the entire stay, but our favorite campsite is on the water and sometimes the wind from Lake Shelby and summer storms mean we have to roll it down. Fortunately, this year I mastered opening and closing it by myself, so it could be open as often and for as long as I like. The only downside to that is having to rehang my lights. This year, I bought string lights with Edison bulbs (similar) and I adore them. I used binder clips to hang them on our awning which made them easy to take down and put up.
Growing up, we always packed our clothes in laundry baskets. Since they stayed in the trunk of my mom’s car, it was an easy way to transport them, everyone’s things were separated and they were much easier to look through than suitcases. Similarly, we pack clothes in Rubbermaid tubs and keep them under the trailer right near the front door. Josh and I each have our own and the girls share a larger tub a little farther down. They are water tight (and being under the awning helps) and keep everything organized and out of the way. I find that trying to dig through drawers and cabinets while someone is sleeping never quite works and this way we have more storage space inside for other things.
Most of the underneath storage compartments hold things we need for making camp (think hosepipes, extension cords and tools), but we do store bubbles, sidewalk chalk and beach toys in the compartment all the way to the right. Bicycles, beach chairs, wagons and any other outdoor toys are corralled near the hitch, between the trailer and Josh’s truck. It stays parked for most of the week unless we’re trekking to the beach.
The smartest thing I did this year was to invest in the white, metal cart sitting near the door. It could be used for so many things (we used it in November as kitchen island and extra serving space when my parents camped with us), but this summer I parked it outside to organize beach and pool bags, our cooler, extra water bottles and art supplies.
Here is a different angle of our campsite. You can see that Josh hung my clothesline between two trees at the back of our site. I have a small bag with plastic clothespins and we hang bath towels and rags here to dry. Sometimes shirts or bathing suits find their way here, too, but I have a few other places to dry as we make our way through camp.
Another necessity outside? A comfy rug. We used to have an outdoor carpet that we rolled up and stored in the trailer, but it held water and never seemed clean. This polypropylene one works so much better. Sand and water drain properly and it was easy to sweep or shake, when necessary.
The campground provides a wooden picnic table and although most everyone else seems to enjoy theirs further from their front door, I like mine right underneath the awning. We eat outside and the girls love a big place to stretch out with board games and coloring books. After a day at the beach or pool, it also doubles nicely as a towel drying rack.
One thing I’m determined to work on for next summer is shoe storage! For the most part, we leave shoes outside to keep the floors inside from getting too grubby. We have a small mat right inside the door where everyone leaves a pair of flip flops when coming or going, but most of the shoes accumulate right outside the door! I’m thinking of taking a rubber bucket next time to keep all of our shoes in one place. I can’t tell you how many times I tripped over this pile!
Once inside, our room is on the right. It has sliding doors if we want some privacy, but most of the time we leave it open to the rest of the trailer (click here for a full tour of our trailer). Not only do we sleep here, but there is a closet for hang up clothes and overhead cabinets where we keep all of our extra linens. You know those giant blue bags from IKEA? Yeah, we keep a good stash of those in the cabinet, too. They are perfect for hauling laundry and keeping things corralled in the car and trailer during travel.
I sleep on the side of the bed with the little table. Here I keep a stash of books, my laptop and iPad, a reading lamp and phone chargers. Josh doesn’t have an electrical outlet on his side of the bed, so we have a mini surge protector here and run a short extension cord to his side of the bed.
In our little kitchen, we store plenty of paper products (plates, bowls, napkins, paper towels, ziploc baggies, trash bags and grocery sacks). We also have silverware and serving pieces, a coffee pot, crockpot, iron and cleaning supplies. While we use the microwave and sink frequently, our stove has never been fired up. I keep a solid surface stove cover on top and use that area as an extra bit of counter space for drying dishes or making lunches.
Although we have a tub / shower combo in our little bathroom, I never use it for the intended purpose. I think my mom bathed Sophie there all summer last year, but I find it easier to have them walk with us to the bathhouse across the street. Instead, I use the shower stall for storage! We each have a basket or bucket with our bathroom supplies and it’s big enough to add pajamas and a bath towel. Each person is responsible for their own basket (making sure it’s fully stocked and getting it to and from the bathhouse) and they live in the tub when not in use.
In addition to using the shower curtain rod as an extra towel rack, I hung a second rod across the bathroom width-wise and use this closet organizer for extra towels, hair bows and other supplies. On the back of the bathroom door we have a coat rack for winter camping, that we use to hang grocery totes and laundry baskets during the summer. They can get in the way when they are full, but it keeps the kids from squirreling laundry away in their beds.
Each of the girls has two bunks on their side of the back room. Ella’s are twin-sized and Sophie’s are slightly smaller. They both sleep on the bottom bunk and use the top bunk to store all of their things or sometimes to hang out and play games. I’ve considered taking the top mattresses out and adding a few sets of plastic drawers, but I’m always worried someone extra will need a bed!
Also, on the top bunk, I keep two small laundry baskets for the girls. While it’s easy to keep their nicer clothes and extra shoes outside in a bin, little girls need access to swimsuits, pajamas and undies more frequently than we do and I got tired of making extra trips. These baskets contain all of those things, along with a few sets of soft, play clothes that they can get to without any help.
Now, since we aren’t just a walk away from the beach or just above the pool, I thought I’d share how I keep our supplies organized for those outings, too. I’ve tried every beach bag known to man and this year’s was my favorite. I picked up this Donna Dixon bag and matching cosmetic case at TJMaxx (similar) a few weeks before we left. It’s machine washable, has interior pockets and the rope handles are soft and comfortable to carry.
I keep it loaded with books & magazines, hats, sunblock, a beach sheet, my camera and two beach towels per person. It’s like Mary Poppins’ carpet bag — it holds everything and then some.
In the cosmetic case, I keep sunglasses, cash for ice cream treats, chapstick, hair ties and pain reliever. You never know when you’ll need those things and I hate having to dig for things in the bottom of my bag. I also zipped my phone inside while we were in the water to protect against water, sand and grubby hands!
I have also been on the hunt for a new cooler for this summer. We have a huge one that we used to keep stocked with drinks outside, before we had a full-size fridge in the trailer. We don’t need it anymore and it’s way too big and bulky for the beach. I picked up this insulated bag instead and it is the PERFECT size to carry back and forth.
It comes with nylon handles or in a market-basket frame and both are roomy and easy to carry! Keep an eye out at your local TJMaxx because I picked this one up for less than twenty bones and there were several colors and patterns.
My last piece of advice comes in the form of beach gear. Our campsite is less than a mile from our favorite beach, but it is definitely NOT within walking distance when you factor in the amount of stuff you need to keep a family of four comfortable in the sun. We have this canvas folding cart and use it to hold our cooler, beach bag, beach chairs, collapsible trashcan, beach mats, toys and shoes. Seriously, it holds everything and I can pull it myself. We can sit it in the back of Josh’s truck, completely packed, and make the drive back and forth. We carry a lightweight, 10×10 tailgate tent to provide us with some shade and a few umbrellas if the kids want to hang out closer to shore.
I know that camping isn’t for everyone, but I think it agrees with us just perfectly. In fact, we might be headed south again in a few weeks to bid farewell to summer and say hello to our next year of school.
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