Organising Camping Supplies

To follow on from my Camping Checklist post, I thought I would discuss how I organise our camping gear.  We have some boxes dedicated to housing our camping gear.  We have kitchen utensils that stay packed in these boxes, items we have acquired over the years.  Lots of the items were my Granny's, such as pots and pans, knives, cutlery, etc.  We also have lots of items we purchased cheaply over the years, such as a strainer, measuring cup, cutting boards, can opener, etc.

It is so much quicker to pack for a trip when everything is ready to go, rather than rummaging through the kitchen cupboards and hoping to remember everything that needs to get brought along, then packing it into containers to take, then putting it all away at the end of the trip.  It also means that it doesn't matter if something gets broken or lost, as it was only cheap to start with.  I would be devastated if anything happened to my Tupperware frypan or my Stanley Rogers cutlery, so they stay safely at home in their drawers!!  We also have consumables packed in a box too - paper towels, snap lock bags, aluminium foil, detergent, sponges, dishbrush, paper plates, etc.  I usually replenish these with new packets after we get back from a trip, so that we know we have plenty in our stash for next time.

We just leave these boxes packed all the time, and when we are ready to go camping, we simply take them out check them over and off we go!  They are also handy to have for boating trips or picnics too, when you know that you are going to be cooking something yummy for lunch, and you need utensils and disposables to cook it on the run :)

I am going to investigate some stackable plastic drawers to possibly replace these tubs, as I think they might be easier to access, plus space-saving if I can find ones to fit neatly underneath our camping table.  The only thing I need to be sure of, is that they will pack as easily into the car for transportation, and also that they will seal nicely for storage at home in the shed when not in use.  I like the look of these ones at Officeworks, which you can see here, and also these Oates ones that you can see here.  I will keep you posted on how I go...

In any instance, it doesn't matter what you have to store your gear, life is just so much easier when you are organised.  By having all of these bits and pieces ready to go, I was able to pack absolutely everything we needed for a week-long camping trip in only a few short hours, and still cook dinner that night and enjoy a good night's sleep before the long 6 hour drive that we had ahead of us the next day.