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I think we can all agree that camping is pretty awesome, even when things don’t go completely as planned.
But if you plan ahead and use some camping hacks to improve the quality of your trip, you’ll likely find that when you get back from your trip, you have a lot more fun memories to look back on.
With that in mind, here are some essential camping hacks that will make you say, “Why didn’t I think of that?!”
Bring Dryer Lint With You
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The last time I went camping I brought firewood and matches, but I forgot my fire starting bricks.
And while I was able to get the fire going, it certainly took longer than if I’d remembered the dang fire starters. However, there’s a camping hack that will help you get your fire going quickly without buying any fire starting materials at all.
All you have to do is stuff dryer lint into an old toilet paper roll and put the contraption in a sealed bag. Then, when it’s time to get the fire going, get your lint-and-toilet paper fire starter out, light it up, and add kindling and wood on top of it. You’ll have a fire in no time!
Camping Hacks: Cook With Aluminum Foil
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I love cooking over a campfire, especially when the meals don’t require much work on my part.
Growing up, we’d put hamburger patties and vegetables like corn and green beans into an aluminum foil packet, throw it on the fire, and sit around the fire and listen to them sizzle until they were ready to eat.
This simple dinner is so easy to make – really the only other things you need are the spices you like (just salt and pepper is great!) and some sort of liquid like ketchup or BBQ sauce and you’ve got a tasty meal.
You can cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner in aluminum foil over the fire, so it’s a great camping hack for quick meals that aren’t messy!
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Rig Up a Clothesline
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Whether your clothes get wet on purpose or by accident, having a clothesline is a camping hack that will help you get them dried out faster and without taking up precious space inside your tent or RV.
When rigging up a clothesline, though, be sure it’s in a spot that you won’t run into it. Likewise, keep your clothes toward the center of the line and away from trees – you don’t want to add a coating of tree sap on top of your clothes being wet!
You can buy handy camping clotheslines, but a simple rope tied around two trees will do the trick as well.
Camping Hacks: Pay Attention to the Positioning of Your Tent or RV
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At this point in my life I usually wake up at the crack of dawn, but that doesn’t mean that I want the sun shining right in my face from moment one.
So, when I find a campsite, I examine the surroundings to be sure that my camper will be shaded as the sun rises. Sure, I’ll be awake anyway, but I still do it.
In some cases, the spots I find offer shade in the morning but not in the afternoon or evening. And that’s okay with me as I’m usually out hiking or fishing and not in camp. But if you want to go the opposite route – have shade in the afternoon or evening as opposed to the morning – go right ahead and do it! It’s an easy camping hack that will make camp life a little more comfortable for you depending on when you want to have shade.
So, next time you head out for a camping trip, just remember these easy camping hacks so you can enjoy yourself even more in the great outdoors.