3 Stress Savers When Prepping For A Camping Trip

After a long winter hibernation, opening the door to Spring’s warm weather releases an instantaneous sense of gained freedom.  Finally I can go outside and not get wet or freeze! It doesn’t take statistics to know that sunshine improves our moods.  Just ask anyone how they are feeling during those first couple of days of nice warm weather!
However, the sunshine happiness euphoria can get interrupted with a creeping anxiety that is perpetuated by the amount of preparation needed for an upcoming camping trip.  Over the years I have tried numerous things to lessen my stress with trip preparation and have come up with some stress savers.  Here are my top three.

1. Reserve ahead of time

I know this sounds too easy, but I honestly believe it decreases stress to know ahead of time you have a campsite when you arrive at your destination.  Also, if you know where you are going  your packing will be more efficient. For instance, you can look up the weather forecast and activities for that region/area and then pack appropriate clothing and gear.
Sometimes getting a reservation at your favourite campground has its challenges. There are a few reasons for that, but the main one is British Columbia has some of the best camping in the world so everyone wants to be here!  We can’t blame them but what we can do is look for other sweet campground gems. A good resource to help find all campgrounds (provincial, private, national and recreation sites) located throughout British Columbia is www.campingrvbc.com/camping .

2. Write Lists

Write a to-do list. Sounds geeky I know, but writing out all the things that need to be done in preparation allows for organization and time management. Some core items that are always on my to-do list are:

Grocery

I write out my menu and then my grocery list is based on how many meals we will need, what type and the ingredients required. I start this process by rifling through my kitchen for the ingredients and if they don’t get crossed off, then they get put on my shopping list.

Packing

I break this down into three lists: clothes, activity and camping gear. My children are in charge of packing their clothes, but we jointly write out their lists .  The clothes on this list are determined by the weather forecast, type of camping  (RV-ing,tenting, etc.) and where we are going, ( beach, mountain, etc.).  The activity list is also done with family, however, the camping gear list is done by me. Both these lists and packing the vehicle are delegated to other family members.

Clean house

This may not make your list, but for me, coming home to  a clean house is like taking your first hot shower after bush camping for 3 days. It feels good soooooo good!   After all, you have unpacking, washing clothes, stowing gear, etc., to do and it’s less overwhelming not to have to tag cleaning house onto the end of your list.

3. KISS- Keep it Small for Space

Whether you are car camping or RVing keeping your gear organized helps reduce frustration and makes your trip far more enjoyable.

KISS tips:

• Pack pots that stack into one another
• Pack small spice containers or one that has compartmentalized spices
• Choose food that can stack into one another, for example pringle chips vs a bag of chips
• Use cooking utensils or equipment that have multifunctional purposes, for instance a plastic milk carton can later be used as a container to make juice out of a concentrate.
• Shrink condiments into smaller containers

If all else fails when prepping for your camping trip, keep your eye on the prize, soon you’ll be cracking a cold one!