Camping Tips from a First Timer

So we may be brand spanking new to this camping thing, but we learned a lot on our first trip out, so I figured I could pass on some of my newbie wisdom.

1) Bring quality chairs..... I picked up two cheap bag chairs from a sporting good store thinking we'd leave them in the camper. Well one broke the second night and they were just not comfortable.  We were quite envious of our friends' rocking bag chairs and 0-gravity lounge chairs, so we will be reassessing our chair situation for the next time - with these perhaps?!?. But my bag table with cup holders was a hit!

2)........and bring extras.  We had several folks come hang out since we were close to home and none of them brought any chairs so people had to sit on coolers or stand a lot of the time.

You never know who might steal your chair!

3) Go ahead and buy a full-sized garbage can up front....I thought we could get by with a small under-the-counter wastebasket but after making dinner the first night I realized I was mistaken and I bought one the following morning.  We plan on storing it in the bathroom when the slides are in.

4) Don't forget a fly swatter!  Trust me on this one...You need one. Throw it in the cart.

5) While you're at it go ahead and throw that 9' x 12' RV Mat from Walmart in the cart (or a bigger one). They're a little pricey but completely worth it to keep most of the dirt from getting tracked inside.

6) Coordinate meals with your travel partners. My family has always done this when we all travel together, and it's always been a lifesaver. We did this on our camping trip: 3 families + 3 nights = everyone makes dinner once. It was the best thing we could have done.  Instead of everyone having to stock their itty bitty fridges with multiple dinners, we all had just one, leaving space for lunch and breakfast food. Plus it was really nice only having to worry about getting dinner ready one night!

Our campsites came with combination grill/fire pits

7) Speaking of refrigerators.....they're tiny so pack them wisely.  And if you're going to take a gallon of milk make sure the lid gets screwed back on tightly.  Ours did not and I was pouring milk out of the produce bins when we got home...not cool.  And while we're on the subject of food....

8) Divide the number of bags of chips you take in half. Don't bring them just to have something to snack on, especially if you don't typically snack on chips, because everyone is going to being a few bags of "just in case" chips and you'll end up with 2 bags of chips for each person, and all but 3 bags will be open by the time you get home leaving you with lots of open bags of chips.

9) Have something to store your dirty/stinky/sweaty clothes in.  We did not and the second day could not figure out why the camper had a mildew-ey smell that would not go away even though we sprayed air freshener multiple times.  Finally Eric realized it was coming from his pile of dirty clothes sitting on our dresser...I know, gross.  He double-bagged them and the smell went away.  I took them home the next morning and washed them (thank you nearby campsite!), but we're going to have to find a solution for gross dirty clothes on longer trips aside from bagging them up and storing them under the camper until we get home because I would probably need a gas mask to wash them at that point.  Suggestions are welcome.

Watch dog

10) And last but not least enjoy yourself! If you want to go explore, go explore. If you want to sit in a lounge chair and read, sit in a lounge chair and read. If you want to go fishing at midnight, go fishing at midnight.  I think you get my point.  Enjoy being outside and enjoy the slower pace that goes along with a simpler way of life. And I hope you have an awesome groups of weirdos to hang with (another perk of camping close to home)!