Do you wish to reduce the weight of your backpack during camping to fully relish the stunning sunset and scenic view while savoring your favorite drink? If you said ‘yes’, you are in good fortune as we offer some exceptional camping tricks! To enhance your camping experience and make it more convenient, without sacrificing comfort, take a look at these essential camping tips.
Ignite Fire Easily
Did you happen to forget to bring a liquid substance to start your fire? No need to worry or feel confused. Simply create a secure area for igniting the fire by setting up some wooden materials that will sustain it. There are various other ways to start a fire as well.
As an illustration, starting a fire can be achieved with a few corn chips, a bag of fried chips, or a packet of dry noodles. Impressive, isn’t it? However, if you don’t possess any of these items, you can always use a cork from a popped-up bottle and watch the flames begin!
DIY Shower
If you’re spending time outside, you may accumulate numerous shower products in your backpack. When showering becomes necessary, you can transfer your shower essentials into a plastic bag or container and hang it from a tree. You can then create holes at the bottom of the container to allow for proper drainage.
Great job! You have successfully completed your DIY shower. Additionally, you can create another plastic bag with a hole in it, and insert a small pipe. This will enable you to utilize the shower for an extended period without wasting too much water.
Remedy for Stubborn Mosquitoes
When spending time outside, mosquitoes can be quite bothersome. Therefore, incorporating coffee grounds or sage in a campfire can be an effective way to eliminate these undesirable pests.
The aroma of coffee or sage in the smoke can compel mosquitoes to depart, while using tea tree, lavender oil, or peppermint on your skin and garments can repel them.
Farewell to Those Giant Ants
In order to prevent ants from invading your space, it’s crucial to have mint leaves or plants. Simply distribute some leaves or add oil drops in the surrounding area. However, this technique may not be effective if the ants are already on the ground.
No need to be concerned, you can use a mixture of one part lemon juice, three parts water, and half vinegar as a remedy to keep ants at bay while camping. Another effective method is to sprinkle black pepper, cayenne or cinnamon powder on the sitting area to eliminate ants. These camping tips will help you get rid of ants.
Paste Sandpaper on Match Holders
Matches are crucial for camping, but moist conditions may cause the matchbox or strike pad to become damp. To ensure that the matches work when required, this camping trick guarantees their effectiveness.
To create a waterproof match holder, affix the rough sandpaper onto the matchbox using adhesive. Then, attach the matchbox to the inside of a small waterproof container’s lid. This will prevent the matches from becoming wet, and you will have a waterproof match holder.
Use a Sleeping Bag Stuffed With Clothes
A suggestion to replace a cotton-based pillow with clothing while packing a sleeping bag, is being made. Though people may favor carrying pillows during their travels, the space they consume in a bag can be troublesome.
I have a useful tip to share with you! You can maximize space in your bag by filling your pillow with soft clothing. Remember to not tightly ball up socks or roll up sleeves to avoid creating pressure points. Mold your pillow to your liking and save a significant amount of space in your bag.
Place Jugs of Water in Coolers
For your upcoming camping excursion, create ice packs by freezing containers of water. Avoid using small ice packs because they may melt rapidly, leading to damp and saturated food items. Additionally, it is vital to carry an adequate amount of water when camping. However, you should be aware that packing water with excessive weight is wasteful.
This camping trick allows you to use your ice as drinking water and refrigerate your food at the same time.
Melt and Seal Straws for Storage
Many individuals often search for clever camping tips, and here is a suggestion: To keep spices and other small items, cut your straws into smaller lengths and use a candle to melt and seal one end.
To increase the storage capacity of your spices, simply use a longer straw, seal one end, and voila! Now you have a convenient and waterproof assortment of ingredients that can be easily carried with you on your outdoor adventures.
Eggs in a Bottle
Do you consider yourself a food enthusiast? If yes, then you would love this camping trick! Instead of fretting over packing eggs safely without breaking them, deshell your eggs prior to your trip and keep them in a bottle for storage.
Having your favorite food item with you at all times will prevent your trip from becoming more difficult and unmanageable in case of an egg spillage. You can now enjoy your favorite meal anywhere and anytime. You’re welcome, guys!
Roll Your Outfits
If you plan on spending several days outdoors, it would be useful to arrange your clothing for each day in advance for efficient access. During summertime outdoor excursions, dirt accumulation is prevalent, so it’s advisable to pack extra clothing in case of unexpected cleaning needs.
One possible paraphrased version could be: To simplify your packing process and avoid rummaging for clothes, try planning your daily outfits in advance and bundling them together in a larger item such as a travel bag or suitcase. This way, you can quickly grab the right clothing combinations without disturbing the rest of your wardrobe.
Colored Tape for Fishing Rods
Using colored tape can help differentiate between fishing rods, which is especially helpful for those who enjoy camping and fishing and have accumulated a large collection of rods at home. There’s no harm in having a variety of fishing options, as it’s a fantastic outdoor activity that can lead to a delicious meal.
It can be quite troublesome to determine which fishing rod to use when you’re short on time. This is where colored tape comes in handy, as it allows you to mark your fishing rods with labels such as ‘light’, ‘medium’, and ‘heavy’.
Create Travel Coffee Bags
If you’re interested in camping, you have the option to create your own portable coffee bags for your travels. For many individuals, the enjoyment of drinking coffee in the morning remains consistent even when not in their own home.
To begin, gather various coffee filters and place them on a flat surface. Then, add a scoop of coffee into each filter and seal the top by tying it with dental floss to prevent the coffee from falling out.
Use Vegetable Peelers to Make Soap Leaves
Individuals who have a strong preference for cleanliness and hygiene don’t have to bring an entire set of soap as it might add unnecessary weight to their bag.
What alternative action is recommended? Bring a vegetable peeler and a single bar of soap with you in order to prepare smaller soap slices that can be stored in a space-saving bag. This approach enables you to maintain cleanliness without adding unnecessary weight to your load.
Menu Planning
Planning the food for a long camping trip can be a challenging and important task, as we all crave tasty meals during this time. Creating a menu that covers all meals would be helpful in this situation. Printable menus can simplify the process of organizing your food when camping.
You can identify the popular food item that everyone likes to eat and group your meal accordingly. This will help you avoid the inconvenience of asking everyone their food preferences and enjoy a delicious meal.
Use Laundry Baskets for Fishing
Using laundry baskets is an excellent way to preserve your fish and also provides a chance to reserve the yummy catch for a later time when you are waiting for other members of your camping group to arrive.
Utilize a laundry basket as your primary equipment for your camping needs without spending too much money. This clever tip will greatly benefit you and your stomach during your camping trip.
Store Charcoal in Egg Cartons
Have you ever considered the size and weight of charcoal bags? It’s likely not a top consideration for most people when preparing for a camping excursion.
Rather than carrying a whole bag, charcoal can be transported in an egg carton. If you have an empty cardboard egg carton, simply place one piece of charcoal in each cavity for your next camping trip. This will provide you with enough charcoal.
Keep Camping Cookware Rust-Free
Silica gel packets help absorb moisture in things with rust. Ideally, we store our cookware in a dry and moisture-free place between uses. However, that’s not always possible when camping. This is where silica gel packets come into action.
These packets keep moisture away. So don’t feel disappointed if you see your favorite skillet or bowl with a rust coating, just do this little trick to get rid of rust from your beautiful culinary set.
Use Pool Floats as Camping Beds
To save more space, you can think of a pool float as a stand-in camping bed for a good night’s sleep. One of the fantastic benefits of using an inflatable pool float is it offers a soft mattress compared to you sleeping on hard flooring.
One more usage of using this pool float is you can use them in layers of foam blankets or mats. These sleeping beds can be deflated and inflated when required. If you want to have a nap in the car, you can add a pool float to the back seats.
Cotton Swabs for Quick Ignition
Many people find it challenging to start a fire when camping in a moist atmosphere or in winter. It can take minutes, or even hours, to start a fire, and sometimes people get frustrated when they make so much effort and get nothing. But don’t be disheartened!
Here’s a quick hack for you – dip corks in antiseptic or cotton swabs in wax, and you can store them in a zip lock or air-tight container to use as easy and brilliant portable fire starters.
Make Your Ride More Adventurous
Another level of camping is riding a bike and listening to rejuvenating music while heading on a camping trip. Bikers sometimes find it difficult when their headset gets loose. The best part is bike repairs are not as challenging as they look.
Here’s the solution for you – flip your headset cap if your headset gets loose on your bike. If it’s attached at the bottom, you can undo the screw and flip your headset cap upside down to get things tight and back on track.
Make Your Camping Cookouts Easy
For making your cookouts easy, marinate your meat in sealed bags and freeze them for effortless storage and cooking. For easy heating, you can make breakfast burritos and sandwiches covered in aluminum foil. Also, you can use aluminum foil for cooking vegetables, cheese, and macaroni.
Mix pancake batter in an old ketchup squeeze bottle and then squeeze them on a hot grill. If you’re a coffee lover, you can make cold brew concentrate instantly by mixing it with boiled water. The next morning, you can enjoy sipping a hot cup of exquisite coffee.
When There’s Rainfall
Want to protect your tent from rain? A tarp is a one-stop solution and an all-purpose tool when it comes to camping. It offers shelter from the rain and shade from the sun.
So don’t forget to bring an extra tarp for wrapping your tent, preventing it from touching the ground, and helping to keep the inner side of your tent dry. You can also keep items dry by keeping them in dry sacks.
Cold Weather
The worst thing about winter camping is when your toes get cold. Keep your toes all toasty and warm with sock liners. You can wear these sock liners over your socks when going to sleep or walking a trail.
Moreover, you can put a hand warmer in your sock rather than using it just for your hands. Also, tuck it into your sleeping bag before going to bed. Once you want to sleep, you’ll find your sleeping bag all cozy and like a warm cocoon that you’ll love to burrow in.
Camping With Your Pets
Are you a pet lover? Of course, you are! While going camping, you may worry about your furry friend. Ensure your pet’s leash is easy and accessible to find by hanging the leash from a hook. You can easily find these hooks in most DIY stores, and they can be effortlessly screwed into a branch or tree.
If you have a hammock lineup or clothesline, you can even hook it there. Your pups can freely roam around and still stay contained within your campsite via ziplines. You can create your own by using spring clasps and nylon ropes.
Organize Your Camping Essentials
Arrange your items systematically using a shoe rack with transparent pockets so you can easily see where you’ve placed your things. You can store things like sunscreen, bug spray, and flashlights.
You can even roll it like a towel and tie it with a string to keep everything together. With rope or clothesline, you can organize your camping essentials and hang your stuff using a carabiner.
Camping With Kids
Make a separate shower lanyard for keeping your shower kit all organized and ensuring it won’t touch the ground. Make these shower lanyards using hanging squeeze bottles which you can reuse afterwards.
If you have a restless tot who likes to run around, place a bear bell on their shoes so you can hear their movement when they’re not close to you.
Wear Sunglasses With a Twist
If you’re a fishing enthusiast, you’ve probably experienced your sunglasses slipping from your hands and falling into the water. Are you thinking of using lanyards to protect your sunglasses? But what when they fall off too?
Here comes the savior – take an old cork; drill a large hole for your lanyard right in the middle. Attach the cork to your sunglasses’ lanyard, and your glasses will never sink in the water again!
Calm Itchy Bites
Spending time in nature can become troublesome when you realize bugs are biting you! Many of us have found ways to prevent our skin from bug bites or prevent them from getting into our tents.
Still, these annoying bugs will often find a way to enter your tent, and you risk getting bitten by these terrible bugs, which can sometimes ruin your camping experience. Luckily, a stick of deodorant can lessen your itchiness. Just rub it on the bite and you’re good to go!
Use Plastic Sleds to Move Bulky Items
Plastic sleds are the best for moving things around. You can use them to transfer things from one place to another without worrying about lifting heavy items.
These plastic sleds can save a lot of effort and time. Load things you need onto the sled and keep it safely in a place with short bungee cable ties. That way, you can slide your heavy stuff along the ground and save hundred of trips between your campsite and car.
Use Cabbage Leaves to Save Meat
Cooking over a campfire is an unmatched experience for those who love culinary adventures. Plenty of people love bringing food with them on a camping trip because they don’t want to worry about cooking.
Not everyone is an expert in such cooking techniques, as it takes a bit of practice. So to stop your meat from burning, you can wrap cabbage leaves around it and enjoy your delicious meal!
Use Foam Floor Tiles
Make your camping trip more comfortable by using foam floor tiles as your tent floor. You won’t find these foamy floors anywhere on a campsite, and thus, it’s advisable to carry them with you when you’re leaving your home.
These foam tiles are soft and will give you a bed-like feeling as if you’re sleeping in your bed at home.
Use a Jug of Water for Light
You might come across a visibility problem if you’re camping at dawn or night. It can become difficult for campers to travel during the night and to see clearly while in their tents.
You can solve this problem by simply pointing your headlamp towards a jug of water which will turn out to be an instant source of light and act like a lantern. It’ll light up your entire tent with ambient light.
Try Tin-Can Sandwich Bread
You often starve for food during camping. To avoid this, make tin-can sandwich bread as an option for portable eats. This tin-can sandwich bread will fill your empty stomach and provide you with instant energy.
It tastes fantastic and doesn’t acquire much space when you carry it with you in a bag.
Carry a Tick Deterrent
This is the most critical camping hack that everyone should keep in mind. Always carry a tick deterrent with you while going camping, especially in the woods.
There are many insects in the woods whose bite can harm your body. Therefore, always carry a tick deterrent and apply it to the cuffs of pants, jeans, shoes, and socks to eliminate itching and redness.
Carry Seat Hammocks for Car Camping
Always carry seat hammocks whenever you’re going out car camping. A car hammock’s rectangular fabric has super adjustable side straps and corners which you can hook and wrap to the vehicle.
Once you’re done setting up the hammock, close the car doors, jump into your hammock and enjoy the ride in a comfortable car hammock!
Heat Your Sleeping Bag Using a Hot Water Bottle
Are you suffering from cold feet at night? If you are, fill a bottle with hot water and put it in your sleeping bag to keep your feet warm. Always bring Nalgene bottles whenever you’re camping outside. These are indestructible and can sustain hot water for long hours without melting!
If you have kids, remove the hot water bottle before they go to sleep. If you don’t want to sleep with a water bottle, pack the sleeping bags’ bottom with dry clothes. They’ll absorb the moisture at the bottom of the bag and keep your feet warm.
Bring Microfiber Towels
Microfiber towels are super soft and light in weight. These towels are super absorbent and dry easily, as you won’t get much time to dry your clothes whenever you’re on an outdoor camping trip. People prefer carrying these towels while camping because they’re light and require less space in a bag.
These towels work best on stains, grease, and smudged dirt when the towel is wet. The towel works extraordinarily well when you rinse and squeeze it out, as it requires absorbency to pick up a thick layer of dirt.
Face Cloth Soap Pouch
Camping and hygiene don’t always mix. Now, this hack for soap pouches makes it possible to maintain hygiene during outdoor camping trips.
Make dozens of pouches with one towel. Cut them using scissors, and sew them into small pouches so you can easily store a soap bar. Make one for each family member and carry them with you while going camping in order to maintain hygiene.
DIY Handwash Station
Outdoor camping brings you fun and joy but can sometimes deteriorate your health if you don’t maintain proper hygiene. Thus, it’s important to take care of your hygiene so that you can enjoy your camping trip. If we talk about hygiene maintenance, how can we forget that soap and water go hand in hand?
Having a hand wash station right before your base camp is suitable for sanitary purposes and will also save your sanity. Washing your hands before and after meals, and when returning from camping, is important.
Toothpaste Dots
Make single-use-sized toothpaste dots on a non-stick baking paper sheet or a paper plate and let them set. Either dissolve it with water or chew them for some time, so it becomes a squeaky clean fix to brush your teeth.
That’ll be a space-saver if you have a lot of things in your backpack. Maintaining hygiene is an integral part of our life. We shouldn’t forget it, even during camping days.
Backwoods Repair Gear
Those who spend a lot of time outdoors camping, including backpacking, canoeing, and fishing, should keep a repair kit. The kit varies according to the type of trip, but there are a few items you should always carry for outdoor camping.
Some of them include paracord, duct tape, multi-tool, and zip ties. A piece of aluminum tube can be a trip-saver, as it can slide over a broken tent pole. A lightweight magnifying glass will allow you to see what you’re doing while repairing something. And thin wire is the most crucial and valuable thing you can carry.
