This post is written for Camping tips. This more then 35x checklist can be helpful for beginners and also experts. So let’s start to see the camping essentials tips checklist.

Forget the Graham Crackers!

We went camping and forgot the graham crackers for our smores. So we used iced oatmeal & oatmeal chocolate chip cookies instead, and now it has become a tradition when we take the girls camping. They won’t eat them any other way now, and they are great.

Making Long time Friends

When we are camping, we like to fish. A great way to meet the new campsite neighbors is to offer them some fish. This is an excellent way of introducing yourself, and we sometimes end up making long-time friends.

Ice Packs:

Take plastic milk jugs, quart-size works best, and rinse them out. Fill the jugs close to the top, leaving some space for them to thaw while camping. Freeze them, and when ready to leave, pack them in your cooler to keep food cold. They tend to keep longer than bagged ice. Mine lasted for three days, still frozen solid.

Tissue Box Storage:

We save our “empty” full-size tissue boxes. When we go on a trip, we just drop all of our receipts and paperwork in the tissue box. At the end of the trip, we have our papers organized. We also save the “empty” small square tissue boxes. We use them to store plastic grocery bags, or we use them as small wastebaskets in the bathroom and then just throw them away when we leave for home.

Potato Ice Packs

Twice-baked potatoes, which are prepared prior to your trip, wrapped in foil, and then frozen, will keep your cooler cold; they act as ice packs. When you’re ready to eat them, just toss them into the coals of your campfire.

Leave Wood for the Next Campers

A few split pieces of wood & some kindling. My family and I have often arrived near or after dark at our campsite. One thing I always look forward to is the campfire, but it’s hard to find the wood in the dark. What I do now leave a few logs and some kindling for the next campers so that they can have a fire the night they arrive.

Cheese Puff Firestarter:

Use cheese puffs to start your campfire! Yes, it’s true! Just buy a huge bag of cheese puffs at your local grocery store. It can help you start the fastest and hottest campfires. I have used this many times, and it works great!

Meal Checklist

On a camping trip in the past, I noticed that we were missing an ingredient needed for a meal, and then we noticed that we didn’t have another for another meal the next day. I used MS Excel when we returned to make a checklist with checkboxes that have some of our favorite camp meals.

All we need to do is select the meals that we want to eat in advance and add them to the list. We print the list and make sure we have all the ingredients needed. If not, we can use the list to speed up shopping. Lists can be made for some of your gear, clothing, or anything else that you might want to take along with you.

The best part of using excel, for example, is that you can save the lists for future camping trips and have only to make minor adjustments.

Ice for your cooler:

My family and I go camping for a week or more about three times a year. I am always trying to find shortcuts and good ideas. This is one that we made up. I freeze my drinking water in the jugs it comes in. (you may need to pour out a little water to allow for the extra volume when freezing.)

Before my family and I go camping. These go into my cooler as block ice. When it thaws, we have cold drinking water. It does a double function by keeping the food cold and thaws much slower than crushed ice, plus you are carrying your drinking water.

Keep the Tent Clean

We put one of those woven grass mats in front of the tent entrance, when we go in most of the dirt stays outside plus we use the tarp on the tent floor on the inside and out.

Make A List:

Write down a menu of what you will be eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner while camping. This way, you will take only the food you need. You will also remember everything needed to prepare. Lists are also good for clothes too. You will have everything you need without overpacking and save you a lot of room!

Easy Group Camp Cooking:

Often we go camping with other families and making the cooking easier we do a signup sheet beforehand for all the meals, so everyone doesn’t have to cook every day.

Group Camp Cooking

For example, we’re going camping for a week with three other families, so instead of having to cook twice a day for the whole week for just us, we split it up and only have to cook four times for everybody. We also do a cook your own steaks meal on arrival day to avoid cooking a big meal after setting up camp.

The last meal of this trip we usually have a leftover potluck. This system works great for us and frees up a lot of time for everybody!

Camp Night Light

When we go camping with small children, we use a glow stick as a night light. We hang it from the tent poles with a twisty tie. It put out just the right amount of light.

Cardboard Oven:

Put aluminum foil everywhere inside a cardboard box that is 2 foot square along inside walls cut a hole at the bottom of the box. Get charcoal nice and white, then place about 6 of them in the middle of the hole. This will get the inside the box around 350 degrees.

I always use a meat thermometer so I can control the temperature. I cooked frozen pizzas this way. I even baked cakes this way while camping primitive. It freaks people out when you can bake a cake or roast when the thermometer temperature stays around 350 degrees when it starts dropping temperature add couple coals to bring it back up.

Time-saving tip for baked potatoes

Whenever we go camping, one of our evening meals is always steak, baked potatoes, and a veggie. To make things go faster, I always precook the potatoes at home in the microwave. I then wrap them in heavy-duty foil and put them in a ziplock bag for travel in the cooler.

You simply reheat them on the grill or on the coals with the steak. This makes dinner go faster when you’ve lost track of time. I always make extra for fried potatoes for breakfast, as well.

Rake around

We always rake (in a circle) around the fire pit/campfire area as the very last thing we do before departure. It leaves a nice, manicured look. We have had several camp hosts compliment us on how good the site looks.

Outdoor paper towel holder

Use a large plastic hanger, the traditional triangular shape, cut through the center at the bottom, spring open, and insert paper towel roll. Hang from a tree limb or other readily available place near the table and cooking area. Convenient, inexpensive, and not apt to hit the ground.

Want to leave it hang for the trips duration, simple take a plastic grocery bag and run the hanger top through a small hole in the bottom of the bag and when you are done using it for the day, pull the bag down over the towel to keep it clean and dry.(may want to put a piece of tape around the hole to keep it small and leak proof.)

Instead of one, buy two of the rectangular plastic table cloths for the park service picnic tables, lay them back to back and put four grommets down each side. Use short bungee cords from one side to the other and no more blowing table cloth and double the life by reversing it regularly.

Write a note

This one is easy. All you need is a mobile note app like Google Keep Notes. Install it and connect with your Gmail BCZ of it can auto-sync your data!

When your trip ends, and you are packed and ready to go, take a short note on this app.

You can tell your experience and share it with your other friends.

Organic Bugspray:

Forget poisonous sprays that bring on Asthma attacks and worse! Brew up a batch of this every few weeks and put it in a spray bottle. You can get it in your eyes and breathe it and spray it on the dog or little ones with reckless abandon!

-1 cup fresh/dried Feverfew

-1 cup fresh/dried Catnip

-1 cup fresh/dried Wormwood

Bring 8 cups water to full rolling boil & pour over herbs. Allow steeping for 30 minutes. Press, strain & repeat in the same container. Enjoy.

Use Shredded Paper To Start The Fire

We have long tried to figure out exactly what to do with the paper that we have shredded. We don’t want our statements or any other private documents to fall into the wrong hands.

Last winter, we used grocery bags and filled them up with our shredded documents. We filled up the bags, tied them up, and brought them camping.

Wind Chimes:

Keep a small set of wind chimes in the camper. When you set up camp, place the chimes outside near your bedroom window. Crack your window; if the wind gets up during the night, the chimes will wake you so you can take action BEFORE the awning gets damaged.

Fast, easy tent clean up when leaving.

After many years of Tent camping, we have always put a tarp under the tent to help protect it. However, now we have learned not only to put an older tarp under it, but to keep a nice tarp for the inside of the tent. The one we have is close to the size of the tent.

This serves as a protectant for the floor and, most importantly, is fast to clean when packing up. All of the dirt comes out with it. This means no sweeping (if any)When packing up. It also gives the feeling of the wall to wall carpet while camping. Why didn’t someone tell me this year ago?

Soap to Wash Hands:

Use an old pair of pantyhose or knee highs and bar of soap-cut off the hose about 1 and a half feet-put a bar of soap in the foot of hose and then tie it onto the outside faucet-let it hangs down about 6 inches-always got clean bar of soap to wash hands without worrying about dropping soap on the ground. It works well with children.

Meeting Your Neighbors

One way to break the ice with neighbors just arriving at the campsites is to offer assistance when these people are backing into their sites. More often than not it’s a traveling elderly couple. Some of these rigs are incredibly difficult to back up, and some sites are more difficult than others.

And if it’s not an elderly couple, it’s usually someone my family’s age and we strike up conversations about kids, baseball, boating, camping, etc. It’s the best way to meet your new neighbors!

Keep the Bugs Away

Keep your mason jars or jelly jars. Put tea lights of citronella scent throughout your campsite. It looks beautiful and keeps the bugs away. Just place the tea light inside the jar and light.

Keeping the Campsite Clean

The last thing we do when packing up on the final day of our trip is this: I always pay my children one penny for each piece of trash they pick up. You would be amazed at how clean you can leave your campsite in a matter of minutes. Our motto is ‘Always leave the site cleaner than when you arrived.’ For $2-$3 bucks, the campground us usually spotless including cigarette butts, bottle caps, broken straws, etc.

Fantastic Fire-Starter

Meltdown every bit and piece of old candles you have, even the really good smelling ones. Next, take lint from the dryer and spread them on to an old cookie sheet. Pour the melted wax on the lint. When it dries out, cut or slice into square pieces to be used as fire starters for your next campfire. They burn for hours!

Amazing Bee Sting Remedy

This is an amazing remedy for bee stings that I have used many times. Using common powdered meat tenderizer, mix in the palm of your hand with water to make a paste. Apply liberally to the area of the sting as soon as possible. Amazingly the relief is almost instant!

Keep a Camping Log

We like to keep a camping log on every camping trip. We start out with recording the time and mileage when we start our trip and when we arrive at the site.

I usually include a description of the campsite and what we liked or disliked about it. I do pencil drawings of something of interest. This helps when we decide to go on our next camping trip!

Cook Your Meals Ahead

Prepare your camping meals in advance or use those leftovers for those weekend outings. Make your meals in advance, seal them – using a “Food Saver” vacuum sealer and freeze them. Your frozen meals will last up to four to six months.

I will buy specialty cuts of meats when they are on sale, marinate them, seal them, freeze them and enjoy tender flavorful steaks, chops, teriyaki chicken and green onion, pepper and mushroom burgers camping. Soups are also great, but the favorite is my smoked pork butt and baked beans.

I have smoked approx forty pounds of ribs and pork butt already this winter. Cutting my portions for camping, I then seal and freeze them. I bring a pot of water to a boil and drop the whole sealer bag into the water, let cook for about twenty to thirty minutes and the meat is tender, flavorful and moist.

Freezing your meals also cuts down on ice needed in your coolers and the meals laying flat, stacks nicely, plus you don’t have much of a mess. The sealer also works great for protecting your first aid kits and clothing if you’re into canoeing or kayaking like we are.

Camping near a beach?

We never camp, especially if there is a beach involved, without a huge container of “baby cornstarch powder”. We sprinkle it on the mat outside and inside the tent to remove sand from the bottoms of our feet so it doesn’t make it into the sleeping bags. We also keep some in the car in order to keep sand from taking over the floor.

Rainy Day Activities

We have been camping with our son, now 15 since he was about 2. Most of our trips are with other family members who also have children. Since the weather is sometimes unpredictable and we prefer campgrounds that are a little more remote, (Our favorites are Sampson on Seneca Lake, NY and Long Point on Chaumont Bay, NY) I keep a small cupboard with rainy day activities.

I watch for sales at a craft store for canvas tote bags, t-shirts, fabric paints, craft kits, beads, etc. Kids and adults alike enjoy the finished products. We let the kids go crazy with the shirts, they end up wild; fluorescent paints are great at campgrounds at night.

One year I bought small glass containers and we decorated with fabric paint, buttons, and wooden decorations marked them as “camping coin” and the kids use them for money to play video games at the campground activity room. The craft cupboard in our camper is a hit with all kids passing by!

S’More Tip

We all love S’mores. I like to wrap them up for the kids individually in foil and then cook them on the campfire for just a bit until the chocolate and marshmallow melt. The kids still melt marshmallows, this just saves from having a sticky mess on the table in the dark or having your s’more break while trying to eat them.

Camping With Kids

Plan a backyard campout before you go for the first time with your children. Teach your children how to set up a tent in the backyard Try some simple outdoor cooking like s’mores and hot dogs Stay overnight in your backyard to get them prepared for the campground Give lessons on how to use a lantern, cooler, and other types of equipment Prepare some late-night snacks for the tent or campfire.

Bond with your children in the great outdoors Gets them familiar with the outdoors in order to eliminate any fears Teach them about safety and to respect nature Camp chores are fun for kids.

Camping With Kids

They love collecting firewood, filling water containers and hammering in tent pegs Have contests for gathering the most kindling, best camp cooking, most organized tent, fastest clean – up, etc Visit the park nature center and learn about local wildlife Take an evening walk and listen to the sounds and look up at the stars

Stay Organized

Here’s a tip I picked up from my tree-planter daughter: Pack all your camping gear in big, sturdy plastic totes (Rubbermaid are by far the strongest.) At the end of the season, I clean and repack all my gear and stash it in the tote. On the lid, I stick a ziplock bag with a detailed list of all the contents written clearly on a card inside.

I can see what’s inside at a glance–and I know it’s clean and ready to go. It’s a good way to ensure I don’t forget anything, and if I want to go camping on impulse I just grab the tote, pick up my tent and go.

Stay Organized

Here’s a tip I picked up from my tree-planter daughter: Pack all your camping gear in big, sturdy plastic totes (Rubbermaid are by far the strongest.) At the end of the season, I clean and repack all my gear and stash it in the tote. On the lid, I stick a ziplock bag with a detailed list of all the contents written clearly on a card inside.

I can see what’s inside at a glance–and I know it’s clean and ready to go. It’s a good way to ensure I don’t forget anything, and if I want to go camping on impulse I just grab the tote, pick up my tent and go.

Keep ice from melting so fast

Ice can get expensive, especially on a fishing/camping trip. We learned a trick a long time ago from an old guy we met. We were on a long fishing/camping trip and had caught a lot of trout. It was very hot and we were going through ice like it was going out of style.

This nice old guy saw us purchasing about 10 bags and asked why we were getting so many. We told him and he said, “Oh, I guess only us old folks know the trick”. He took a cup, that filled it with ice and took out some salt. He poured the salt over the ice and before our eyes we saw all the cubes become one. We were impressed.

He went with us to our fish coolers and had us take everything out. We then layered ice with fish and salted each layer. It created one big ice cube with fish inside. I don’t think we had to buy ice for that cooler for the rest of the trip….simply amazing!

Camping trips close to home – How to reserve a great site:

Camping is one of the most affordable travel options for consumers, and short camping trips can be a great way to relax with the family. As the popularity of camping is increasing, many people are considering visiting a local park, but are unsure of packing and driving to a park for just a short getaway.

The reality is that many parks are located within just an hour or two driving distance of your community. These beautiful local Parks and campgrounds will help you unwind after a long week at the office, and further provide a unique opportunity to truly connect with your family.

Tips to getting a great site: Reserve your site for a weekday, such as Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. If you can plan to take a few days off, you will have a much better chance of finding that perfect site when you book a weekday camping trip. Plan and reserve in advance.

Many people plan their vacation time far in advance. When you plan and reserve your camping trips in advance, you will have a much better selection of campsites, and will not have to worry about not finding a campsite in the busy season.

Finding a local park The Internet provides the easiest way to search and book a campsite, as you can simply enter your location and review all of the parks in your area. A great resource for finding and booking a reservation is ReserveAmerica.

ReserveAmerica, the #1 access point for outdoor recreation, has over 100,000 campsites and cabins to choose from. One great feature on the web site is the “My Reservations” tool, where you can review your current and past reservations, as well as search, plan and book more exciting outdoor trips. Packing is not a problem Planning is the key to getting your vehicle loaded and ready, so you can spend your time relaxing and enjoying the beautiful park surroundings.

Most camping equipment is compact and very durable, giving you more space in your trunk or roof rack. Using a checklist is important to ensure you don’t forget any items you will need at your campsite.

ReserveAmerica provides a (Camping Checklist) that you can print and take on your trip. Review the list of items before you hit the open road, and you will have an exciting weekend in the great outdoors! Let’s Go Camping!

Keep your tent and camping gear mold-free:

Ever pack your tent away in the basement or attic after a camping trip even when still wet or damp?

Well, you will most likely find a rather unpleasant odor the next time you take it out for a camping adventure.

Below are some tips to help prevent this from happening.

Always set – up your tent to dry when you return home.

If it was raining / damp while you were camping, always set – up your tent in your backyard or other areas to completely dry out.

It may be raining or damp when you are packing your vehicle to return home, and you must let your gear dry out to remain in good condition for future trips.

Use appropriate storage units to store your gear – protect your gear!

When stowing your camping gear away, ensure that you use storage units that will help protect them from damage.

Using plastic bags over camp chairs and tables will help prevent damage, and there are also some helpful products that you can purchase, such as Space Bags. Space Bags can store bedding, cushions, clothing, gear, and emergency supplies in a vacuum-sealed bag.

Use a simple solution to clean and remove mold.

If you do have mold or mildew on your tent or gear, use a simple solution to handle the problem. Start by brushing off any collected mold or mildew when outdoors to not have it within your house. Then, just clean thoroughly with this simple homemade solution.

Cleaning solution:

1 cup of lemon juice

1 cup of salt

1 gallon of warm waters.

When you have to clean out your tent or other gear with this solution, ensure that you leave it out to dry completely. When dry, your gear should be clean and free of unpleasant odors. If not, repeat the process or use a fungicide for extreme situations.

I hope these Camping tips and checklist can be helpful for you. If you found any help from this post then just share this post on your social profiles and leave a comment below. We are waiting for your comment.