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Camping...big family, small van, no space -- tips on packing stuff?


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We just got back from a camping trip. Six of us in an Odyssey = little room! We were stuffed to the brim. My "kitchen box" wasn't as organized as I would have liked and I thought that there could be a better way.

 

Campers -- do you have any great tips on keeping things organized, yet whittled down to just the bare necessities?

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Well, I might not be the best to answer...but here are my thoughts anyway. ;)

 

We are a family of 6 with a Freestar. Every year, we camp for a week in the wilds of Canada. (Though you'll notice that this year there are 7 of us-last year and previous years, there were only 6. Adding #7 should make for an interesting time.)

 

When planning out our menu, I try to bring easy meals. Like pasta. It doesn't take up much room and doesn't require the cooler space. I do try to bring foods that don't require cooler space. Granted, I was being a little silly when I said "wilds". We do have access to ice, so I can replenish once or twice in the week. I plan out one pot meals, too. That way, I am only packing one pot.

 

We have a picnic table at our camp site, so we don't bring camp chairs for all the kids. They don't spend much time sitting anyway. They're always off playing. Our tents are really small, too.

 

And, to be perfectly honest, we have since upgraded to a rooftop carrier and a trailer hitch with a basket. That helped us tremendously. I got Rubbermaid totes (our trailer can fit three across) for our gear. It worked great. We had clothes/diapers/formula in one and kitchen stuff in the other. Then inside the van we had space for our cooler, tents and the rooftop carrier for bedding and mattresses. I could probably pare down my stuff more, but I am not much of a camper and I want to be comfy. ;)

 

As for clothes, I bring enough for half the week. We wear our outfits twice. Gross, maybe, but hey...we're camping, right? I do bring soap and clothes line for emergency washes.

 

We are also packed to the hilt and I try every year to convince Chris that we can camp just as well with a pop up trailer. So far, he's not biting. :glare:

 

I have no idea how much this is really going to help. :lol: We'll be leaving in two weeks, so I'm going to be dragging everything out soon. I'm sure I'll think of more things I do as I begin the yearly pack.

Edited by RebeccaS
clarifying
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The only thing I can really think of is that I put our meals into zipper bags and layer them into a tote, based on the order we are going to eat them. I put the oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon, pre measured for one meal into a zipper bag. I will put various other meals layered the same way. If we are going to be gone M-F I put Mondays meals on top, and Friday on the bottom. If a meal includes sturdy produce like potatoes, they go into an old grocery bag, and are layered in too.

 

The reason I like this method is that I can eliminate waste as we go through the week. I don't have empty plastic containers taking up room and I don't have to dig for ingredient, disrupting a well packed box for a simple ingredient.

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Don't use suitcases. Use square-ish laundry baskets, plastic totes, duffel bags or other travel/luggage bags. For the laundry baskets or totes, fill them to the limit with anything else you need a nook or cranny for (you'd have to make sure they'd fit in your vehicle, of course--we have an Odyssey, but there's just 4 of us, so we fold the back seats down).

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For food, if you buy it from the store, repackage it. Generally, avoid canned foods. They takes too much room. Look for dehydrated foods. I like to pack individual dehydrated soup packets for the hungry so I don't need to pack a lot of the main course, just in case. If you can, dehydrate your food. I've just found a decent web site for thishttp://www.budget101.com/dehydrated_foods.htm A good book for dehydrated recipes, along with many others, is The Hungry Hiker's Book of Good Cooking. Repackage oils, seasonings and other bulk items into smaller bottles and zip lock baggies. Pack dense foods instead of "fluffy" foods, such as spaghetti instead of macaroni and oatmeal instead of cold cereal. Get pots that nest inside each other, and use pots as wash basins and shaving basins. At the vary least, flatten a roll of paper towels. I've also found paper towels pretorn in a box. That takes less room, or you can pre tear them yourself, but that generally doesn't pack as tight.

 

For bath towels, wash cloths, dish towels, etc use the tiny man-made fabric towels used by backpackers, or as replacement chamois for car enthusists, etc. They soak up a lot of moisture and dry quickly. You can find them at REI.com as backpacker towels.

 

For showers, take turns so you don't need as many shower shoes, aka flip flops. Also try to reduce the # of toilet kits. Use Dr. Bonner's soap for shampoo, showers and dishwashing liquid.

 

For sleeping pads, go with thin, deflating backpacker pads, at least for the younger ones (under 30-40). These are available in 3/4 lengths. No cots are needed. Duffle bags, stuffled with clothing, doubles as pillows.

 

Rather than take a large screen house, you can substitute a tarp or ponchos for rain or wind protection. It doesn't work for bug protection.

 

For toys, inside take a deck of cards. Outside look for a collapasable kite, frisbee or squeezable ball.

 

Also go into a good backpacking store, like REI, and look for ideas. Backpackers are masters of packing with small bulk and light weight. And they also bring toys at times. :D

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I don't have any advice, just laughing. My dh is packing our Windstar for a camping trip. Tents, sleeping bags, fishing poles, clothes, food, etc. plus 6 people. Dh just told everyone to go away and leave him alone while he tried again for the third time to fit it all in. And we have a Thule on top - it's packed to the brim.

 

I'll have to read the advice.

 

Janet

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I forgot, compression bags for sleeping bags (primarily) and sometimes clothes. See REI ad other backpacking stores. (Ishki, get some for your dh now. :D )

 

Also collapsable water containers. I've also seen collapsable bowls, but I haven't tried them.

 

Can you tell that I'm going stir crazy because we can't go camping this summer? :001_smile:

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I borrowed my mom and her truck:auto:. It seats 6 and has the back to fit all the stuff. We were even able to take the bikes.

 

We're still wrestling with the stuff dilemma if we all go along. When we borrowed mom's truck, we also took mom but dh stayed home cause of work.

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We have loved ours, it is a 96 and has 125,000 miles on it. How old is yours and how many miles does it have? We will eventually replace it...thinking about an entourage...any tips?

 

Our Windstar is a '98 with 94,000 miles on it. We aren't ready to replace it yet, but when we do we might get something a little smaller since our family size is decreasing. Overall, it's a been a good car except for the power door locks which are possessed. :)

 

Janet

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We have loved ours, it is a 96 and has 125,000 miles on it. How old is yours and how many miles does it have? We will eventually replace it...thinking about an entourage...any tips?

 

We have a 2000 Windstar. It has about 110,000 miles on it. Although it has been a good van, I liked the Aerostar we had previously better. It had almost twice the room of the Windstar.

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