One of the most fun aspects of camping is that you don’t have modern conveniences to distract you from engaging with nature. But, sometimes, we rely on modern conveniences for hygiene, safety, or quality of life. So below we are going to go over 25 camping “hacks” that will let you enjoy camping while also enjoying some of those modern conveniences while in the woods.
#1 Slingshot your Lantern up High
Maybe one of the most fun ideas on this list comes from Reddit. Simply bring a slingshot with some fishing line attached to shoot over a large tree limb. Then, as it falls down, attach the lantern and use a pulley system to lift it high into the trees. It makes an overhead light so you can see your entire campsite.
#2 Fold down your seats for car camping
The second time my wife and I went camping in the Tahoe National Forest, we had a bear walk right beside our tent in the middle of the night. Needless to say, we felt uncomfortable for the rest of the trip. If you ever feel like you can’t sleep in your tent, remember you can always fold or remove your rear seats and just sleep in your car!
#3 Turf Doormat
Getting any kind of doormat for your tent is recommended, as it allows you to keep your tent clean when getting in the tent and getting out. But getting a patch of fake turf is even better, as it catches all kinds of materials a lot better than your traditional doormat and isn’t very expensive.
#4 Put down a wool blanket to keep you warm
If you’re ever camping in the dead of winter, you should put a wool blanket down on the floor of your tent. This keeps the floor warm on your feet, and prevents the cold ground from seeping into your space. It is especially helpful in snow.
#5 Keep hot water bottles in your sleeping bag
Another great tip to stay warm on a cool night is to boil water right before bed. Then, place them in a hot water bottle like this and put them in the feet of your sleeping bag. Humans body temperature is regulated most highly by your feet, so you will be surprised how much warmer it keeps you all night long!
#6 Frozen milk jugs instead of ice
Ice from the gas station or grocery store will melt after a day or two in most cases unless you can buy block ice. If you don’t have anywhere near you that sells it, or maybe you just want to save a few bucks, keep some milk jugs and fill them with water a day before camping. Place them in your freezer and you have ice blocks that will last twice as long!
#7 Organize your camping materials in hard-shell tubs
I’m usually not a lover of plastic, but it is cheap and durable material to keep all your camping supplies in. We keep one for cooking, one for essentials, and another for everything else. It makes an easy way to just grab 3 tubs and go camping without getting everything together every time we want to camp.
#8 Collapsible rubber tubs for dishwashing
One of the things you should keep in those plastic tubs are collapsible rubber tubs or pans for dishwashing. One of the things that takes up the most room in your average camping setup is a pan for dishwashing. Getting the collapsible versions will save you tons of room!
#9 Buy a cooling neck gaiter for hot days
Hot days when you’re campiing can be miserable, so making sure you have something to both protect you from the sun and keep your body temperature low is necessary. I like this neck gaiters that you can buy on Amazon. You can douse them in water and they will provide protection, keep you cool, and last most of the day.
#10 Sous-vide meals ahead of time
If you have a sous-vide machine at home, then you might want to think about making your meals ahead of time. A sous-vide machine simply cooks things in water to an exact internal temperature. This makes it very easy to control certain meals so they can be prepped just where you want them and then finished last minute at the campsite with minimal time invested.
#11 Keep your eggs in a bottle so they don't break
It’s so hard to bring eggs camping because you have no way to pack them securely enough they won’t break without taking way too much space. So instead, just break them all before you go and place them in a water bottle. They’ll keep in the cooler and you can just drop in your eggs to a skillet and cook them easily!
#12 Pre-cut and wash your veggies
Nothing is more annoying than trying to cut up vegetables when it’s hot, there are bugs, and you don’t have good space to work. So it definitely pays off to pre-cut what you can and bring it with you in tupperware that stacks neatly in your cooler. This works really well for things like garlic, onions, peppers, and carrots.
#13 Unique Spice Containers
If you’re camping you won’t have the array of spices and seasonings you might in your pantry. But if you want to have a few more options with minimal space, consider putting your spices in a pill container box like this. It’s meant for 7 days of pills, but can be used for 7 spices instead!
#14 Prep Tinfoil Dinners
Cooking over a campfire is one of my favorite parts of camping. A good way to keep all your food from getting scorched, falling into the fire, and easy to eat is to keep it all in an aluminum foil pouch. You can just place it on the grate and wait until it’s cooked, remove it to let it cool and dig in! No plates needed.
#15 Baby wipes for everything
If you’re a clean freak, you probably need to pack some baby wipes when you go camping. They’re easy to clean up so many different messes, they’re much more useful and easy to pack than paper towels.
#16 Vacuum seal your clothes
When you’re a heavy packer, vacuum sealing your clothes can be really helpful to maximize available space in your bags. A few bags and a hand pump is relatively inexpensive and can be used anytime you move clothes. See this Amazon branded one.
#17 Invest in a combo lighter/flashlight
One of the best tools you can invest in for camping is a lighter/flashlight combination tool. These are two things you’ll just always need when camping, so I don’t mind investing a little bit for a good solution that should last a lifetime. Something like this.
#18 Made a camping checklist
If you’re lazy like me, you can purchase a pre-made packing checklist. Or, make your own to make sure you don’t forget anything! Keeping a list that you always are able to check off will help make sure you don’t have any marital arguments at the campsite about who was supposed to remember to bring the extra batteries…
#19 Test your tent in the backyard
If you haven’t used your tent before, you always want to do a test run. This helps make sure that you actually have all the necessary parts to set up the tent, and gives you a run-through so you aren’t struggling with it in your campsite with everyone watching. Plus, a date night in your backyard can be romantic. Or your kids might love a night camping at the house!
#20 Keep dryer lint for firestarters
You’re always going to need more firestarters when you camp, so keeping lint from your dryer in a ziploc bag is a great way to make sure you have some material that will get your fire going.
#21 Soak cotton balls in petroleum jelly for an even better firestarter
But an even better option is to soak some cotton balls in petroleum jelly. They will light quickly and easily, plus last a really long time making sure your logs catch fire.
#22 Buy a closet organizer for your tent
For those who love to organize even in the wilderness, a closet organizer that can hang from your tent is a great idea. You can use it to store all sorts of items that you keep in your tent – from flashlights to clothes.
#23 Make a handwashing station
Anyone with kids knows that hands get dirty quickly at a campsite. Setting up a handwashing station with a water jug with an easy to use dispenser is a great way to encourage handwashing throughout your camping adventure. See this one from Coleman.
#24 Keep a glowstick on your pet for tracking
Nothing is worse than a lost pet at a campground. Sometimes the extra people, loud noises, and availability to roam will make a dog run off when they’re usually very well behaved. Just in case, keep a glowstick on your pet so you can see them if they leave your campsite after the sun goes down.
#25 Use silica gel to prevent rust overwinter
We aren’t always great at completely drying off our pots, pans, and other camping materials that get packed up for months at a time. To make sure that your items don’t rust, buy some silica gel packs to throw in your camping storage!