Family Camping Tips and Hacks: Part 1
Camping Hack: Clothes Packing System
Camping season is right around the corner, which means I get to geek out over aaaallllll the organization that goes into camping. Yep, I’m that person. I love to review all our best family camping tips and hacks as I begin to plan and prepare for the camping season. One of my favorite camping hacks is our clothes packing system because it follows one of my favorite momhood principles: Decide Once.
The fewer decisions you have to make in life, the better. It’s called the “Decide Once” principle. Think Steve Jobs and his one classic outfit. Sounds silly, but by deciding once, you clear up time and mental space for the more important parts of life, as in FAMILY CAMPING!
Where I've used the Decide Once Principle:
- Family dinners: Tuesday night is taco night
- Kids Clothing Brand: Cat & Jack at Target
- Running shoe brand: Brooks
You get the idea. Decide Once is one of the best family camping tips and hacks I’ve adopted. The whole point of family camping is to be present and enjoy each other, not be stressing over decisions. So when it comes to camping season, I decide once what clothes will be packed using this clothes packing system.
Clothes Packing System Camping Hack
- STEP 1: Right before camping season, go through each kid's drawers and pull out all the items that are nearing the end of their shelf life. This could be because they have rips in the knees, are starting to look like high-water pants, or your kid has just decided he has a new favorite t-shirt. Find at least one more than days out camping of pants, shorts, t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts.
- STEP 2: Two options here: if your kid already has lots of undies and socks, again grab at least one more than days out camping. If not, buy a package of socks and undies that will strictly be for camping. Do the same for jammies and a sweatshirt.
- STEP 3: Look around your house for mesh laundry bags or packing cubes. If you don’t have any laying around the house, you can get mesh laundry bags fairly inexpensively here.
- STEP 4: Label one mesh bag for each family member. I tie a ribbon around each bag’s zipper according to each person’s favorite so it’s easy to identify bags in the clothes tub. (We use a tub system to organize all of our camping gear and love it! More on that in an upcoming article.)
- STEP 5: Pack each person’s mesh bag with all of their old clothing items. This is the only time you’ll pack camping clothes for the season!
- STEP 6: In one of the adult bags, throw in a large mesh laundry bag. At the end of each day, each family member throws their dirty clothes in the laundry bag. Once home from camping, this laundry bag gets thrown in the washing machine.
- STEP 7: Restock! Once done washing and drying, reload everyone’s clothes into their respective bags. Boom, you’re ready for your next camping trip!
When it comes to Family Camping Tips and Hacks, this one is definitely a winner. This camping clothes system saves me so time and mental space! Another reason I love it is because it’s a great way to get one last bang out of clothes that you were likely getting ready to donate. I don’t know about you, but when we camp we’re not going for fancy or stylish, so worn out/almost too small clothes that are gonna get filthy anyway are fine with us!
I hope you found this family camping hack helpful! Cheers to deciding ONCE with our camping clothes system so you can spend more time on what matters most in life–making memories with your family!! Happy Camping!
Psst...in addition to all the packing, make sure you have the right mindset before you head off on that family camping trip. Family adventures can get messy...and I don't just mean the mud and sand. I'm talking meltdowns, tantrums, and thrown-off-bedtime-routines messy. Having the right mindset before you set off on an adventure makes all the difference. Boost your adventure mindset here. Adventure on, Mom!