Thinking of going camping this week but tired of your usual camping routine?
How about using these camping hacks to shake it up and make it easier to handle? Making it easier will help you enjoy your time around nature even more.
Here are 50 hacks to help you enjoy your camping trips even more.
1. What’s for breakfast?
Tired of the usual beans, sausages and fish you caught for camping breakfast? What about pancakes? Make the batter at home and place in a baggy. Make sure to seal the open end tight. And when you’re ready to cook, cut off the closed end to make it a piping bag and cook pancakes. If you’re feeling fancy, add fruits to the batter so it’s a complete, delicious meal.
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Flickr/John Mayer
2. Something sweet?
Maybe you do want sausage and beans for breakfast but you always something sweet. Or maybe you want it for dessert after dinner. How about these cinnamon roll-ups? And it’s so easy to make. Use packaged crescent rolls for this recipe. Wrap them around a couple of skewers. Mix sugar and cinnamon powder together and coat the wrapped rolls with it. Cook and rotate over campfire for five minutes. Voila! Cinnamon rolls are ready. Make sure to use the packaged dough for this to work. Raw dough will fall off the skewer.
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Flickr/Hillary
3. Light a fire
This will make lighting campfires easier and faster. Use an empty cardboard egg carton. Make sure it’s all cardboard. Fill each slot with match light charcoal. Once you’re ready to make fire, place this carton on the fire spot and light it with a match. You’ve got fire!
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sew many ways
4. No more mites
Nature can be calming and peaceful but it can also be dangerous with all the little creatures that live in nature. And some of them can be deadly. To make sure you don’t have any mites or small creatures clinging to your pants, use a lint roller to run over them. You’ll be surprised you’ll get a little more than just lint and dirt.
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Off Grid Quest
5. Campfire omelet
More camping breakfast ideas. This time, it’s for a packed omelet. Use a Ziploc baggy for this one. Before you get started, boil water in your pot. Crack two eggs inside the bag, add your favorite fixins, and a touch of salt and pepper. Close the bag and mix it with your fingers. Once water is boiling, place the bag inside. Make sure that you’ve removed all the air from the bag. Cook for about 5-7 minutes. Once it’s done, use a ladle or tong to remove the bag from the pot. Slide the cooked omelet on to your plate. Enjoy!
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YouTube Screenshot
6. Bring more eggs
If you want to bring eggs to your camping trip but keep breaking them, this is a great hack. Place your cracked eggs inside an insulated bottle and freeze it the night before. You’ll be able to keep the eggs safe and refrigerated for 24 hours. Make sure to cook the eggs within 24 hours of removing it from the freezer. If you’re bringing a cooler though, you’ll have a couple more hours before you safely need to cook the eggs. It’s better to use unwashed eggs you get from a local farm than the grocery.
7. Orange candle
Sometimes, you want to have a small light at night to guide you through the dark. But camping lights can be too bright. Maybe this orange candle can work. Cut an orange or grapefruit in half. Eat the contents first making sure that the stem in the middle is still intact. This will serve as your wick. Add oil and light the stem. You’ll have a nice-smelling light while you sleep.
8. Light that fire!
Do you know what hack also helps light fires faster? Dorito chips. Yes, Doritos. Add a few chip with some dried leaves and twigs. Light the chip and watch the leaves and twigs catch the fire and make it grow. Eat the rest of the chips.
Source:
Flickr/Mike Mozart
9. Wash station
It’s so hard to take care of water when you’re camping. You need to have separate water supply for drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing. This will help make that separation. You can use laundry detergent bottles like this (with the spout) as a washing station (for hands, dishes, etc). Now, you won’t have to use your drinking water to wash your hands and dishes.
Source:
Great Wild Outdoors
10. Toothpaste dots
Do this hack. Make toothpaste dots. You can use a foil for this. Let it harden and transfer it to a waterproof bag. When you’re ready to use it, you can pop it between your teeth and brush them as usual.
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Lighter Packs
11. Tic tac spices
Store the spices and herbs you’ll use in empty Tic tac containers. The small openings also help you control the amount you’ll need.
12. Jar of matches
You can bring your own bigger “box” of matches. Use a mason jar and fill it up with matches. Fold out the box and cut it into a circle. Use the screw-on lid to hold the box in place. Be sure to poke a small hole on one side for easy access. You can add an extra box or sandpaper inside in case the scratch lid gets wet or moist.
13. Hamper trash
Tired of tying your garbage bags on tree branches or leaving it on the ground where small animals can sneak into? Bring a foldable hamper. They don’t take up space in your bags but when you fold them out, they become wide enough for large trash bags.
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Camping Kitchen
14. Wet shoes problem solved!
Sometimes you want to go out into nature wearing your canvas shoes but sometimes, bad luck befalls you, and your shoes get wet. Well, now you don’t need to worry. Rub wax all over the shoes and blow-dry the entire shoe. Your shoes will not get wet anymore.
15. Pill boxes
Besides Tic tac containers, you can also use pill boxes to store your spices. Be sure to label the containers.
16. Sage burning
Bring some sage on your next camping trip. Light it up and place it at the edge of your campfire. This will repel mosquitoes and bugs.
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Unsplash/Britney Collette
17. All-in-one
When on a camping trip, you always want to be prepared. You’ll always need a lighter and duct tape. And to make sure you don’t lose wither one, stick them together. And put them in a special place in your bag so you always know where it is.
Source:
Awesome Jelly
18. Firestarter
Use petroleum jelly and cotton balls as a firestarter. Grab two fingers worth of petroleum jelly and spread it on the cotton balls. Store in a Ziploc and use when necessary.
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Flickr/Gary and Anna Sattler
19. No can opener?
Maybe you like the canned stuff for camp food. But *gasp* you forgot to bring the can opener or a knife! How will you open the cans? Simple. Find a big and smooth concrete or gravel rock. Rub the top of the can on the concrete until the edges rough up. Then just squeeze the can open.
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YouTube Screenshot
20. Foam floor
Can’t sleep because of the rocks and sticks poking on your back inside the tent? Add foam tiles like this on the floor to minimize those back pains.
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Flickr/Myrtle Beach The Digitel
21. Soap leaves
This is a great camping hack. You get to shower out in the woods without worrying about taking home wet soap. Shave off soap leaves from biodegradable soap. Store them in a container and just grab one leaf at a time so you only use as much as you need. When you go home, you won’t need to worry about bringing home wet soap anymore.
22. Camping scavenger hunt
Want to keep the kids or the group occupied during your camping trip? Organize a scavenger hunt! What do you think?
23. Camp coffee
You can prepare this in advance. Add single servings in individual filters and secure with a dental floss. You can use an Aeropress or a portable French press to make coffee or you can boil it in your pot.
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imgur
24. Sleeping bag too cold?
You’re zipped up all the way inside your sleeping bag but it’s still cold. What to do? Zip up two sleeping bags together and cuddle all night to warm up.
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Flickr/JesseLeeRopper
25. Use that shoe organizer
A shoe organizer organizes more than shoes. You can use it in your camping trip and place everything you need in it. And because it’s clear, you can see immediately where everything is. Just make sure you hang it up somewhere secure.
#Camping#tip 03. A transparent shoe organizer is definitely one of camping’s greatest essentials. pic.twitter.com/LjMtkTGbVL
— Sagacamp (@sagacampshop) August 21, 2017
26. Fancy muffins
Want to go all fancy and bake fresh muffins on your camping trip? All you need are oranges, and your baking ingredients. Just don’t leave it for too long on the hot coals or it’ll come out overbaked. It’ll still be good but just baked too long.
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YouTube Screenshot
27. Bake cinammon rolls, too
You can bake cinnamon rolls, too! Use the packaged cinnamon roll batter for easier baking. Just follow package instructions.
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imgur
28. Wash your hands
You can also have separating hand washing station. You can use an old juice or detergent bottle to hold the water. You can use a nylon stocking to hold the soap so it doesn’t fall on the ground every time you use it. And hang towels for drying your hands. Just make sure your washing station is a bit far from your sleeping station so the water run-off doesn’t reach it.
Source:
Art Wife Needs A Life
29. Liner lids
Keep your drinks away and free from bugs by doing this simple hack. Use cupcake liners (paper or foil) to cover your glass. Poke a hole in the middle for your straw. If kids are using it, you can secure the lids with a rubber band to avoid spillage.
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Flickr/Le Living and Co
30. Easy dessert hacks
Want some dessert but don’t want to bake? Try this one. Stick a Starburst candy on a skewer and roast over a campfire. The candy will become extra gooey and caramelized at the same time.
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Flickr/David Lofink
31. Makeshift hanger
There are a lot of trees in camping sites but not all of them have sturdy branches you can use to hang your things. You can do this instead.
32. Campfire s’mores
Want to make s’mores with the young ones but want to keep them safe from the fires, too? Or maybe there’s not enough fire to make s’mores. This is a great way to still make them. Remember to use a tong when removing them from the fire.
33. Car storage
If your camping sites allows for you to have your car nearby and you have an SUV, use the back as your pantry. Use plastic drawers to keep everything organized. And add a net to cover it and keep away the bugs.
34. Dry toilet paper
Want to keep your toilet paper dry and off the dirt? Place it inside an old coffee container and hang it up on a tree. Open a slit on the side for the toilet paper.
35. Banana boat
Here’s another s’mores idea. Make it using bananas so you can sneak in fruits for the kids (or some adults). And it’s still got its skin on so you have a natural plate.
36. Keep the bugs away
Keep the bugs away from your table or your tent with a mosquito net. It’s light and easy to pack and easy to assemble. Just keep it away from any fire.
37. More food ideas
How about some baked apples? Wash your apples and take out the core. Fill up the middle with lots of trail mix. Bake on the hot coal.
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imgur
38. Walking tacos
Tacos are delicious but they’re such a mess to eat. This is a great way to keep eating taco without the mess. Take a bag of Fritos or Doritos and crush it into bite-sized pieces. Add taco meat, chopped vegetables, salsa, and taco sauce. Mix it up and use a spoon to eat it. This is perfect for the kids, too.
Source:
The Girl Who Ate Everything
39. Crescent hotdogs
Those packaged crescent rolls can be used more than for cinnamon rolls. You can also use them as hotdog buns. Those little packages are so versatile!
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Flickr/William F. Yurasko
40. Portable lamp
Want to make sure you don’t have to fumble in the dark because your lamp ran out of batteries? Use solar lamps instead. Just place them in strategic places around your tent site so you’ll have lights all around.
41. Apple pie in a can
Can you believe you can also bake an apple pie in a can? Make your crust at home and then just assemble the pie while at the site. If you’re worried about the can, you can probably also bake this with tinfoil or with the orange halves.
42. Mood lighting
Camping with your significant other? Want to set some mood lighting while you sleep? Use battery-powered fairy lights.
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Flickr/fenwench
43. Swedish torch
This is a clever way to create fire. Remember, this needs adult supervision. You do need a chainsaw for this one. But once you’ve got this set up, you’ll have safe fire going for hours.
44. Instant light
If you don’t have a solar lamp or your batteries have ran out, do this trick. Fill a clear bottle with water and strap your head lamp onto it. You’ve got instant light.
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45. Campfire pizza
Would you believe you can make your own pizza at camp, too? Just be sure to prepare your ingredients before you leave your house. Then just assemble when at camp. Feel free to go big or simple with your toppings.
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YouTube Screenshot
46. Popcorn in a can
Add corn kernels and vegetable oil in an empty soda can. Be sure to rinse out the can thoroughly. Transfer to fire and wait for it to pop. Shake the can every now and then with a tong. When it’s done, cut the can in the middle and serve.
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YouTube Screenshot
47. Pack your cooler tight
There is a science to packing a cooler to protect the food inside. First, pre-chill your cooler the night before. Make sure that everything that will go into the cooler are either in the chiller or freezer hours before you pack them in the cooler. Best to use blocks of ice at the bottom so it doesn’t melt fast. And then add tube ice after adding a layer of food. You can also use frozen plastic bottles. Fill the bottles with water and freeze them. When the ice has melted, don’t drain the water. The cool water will keep your food still cool inside.
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YouTube Screenshot
48. Insulation bag
Do you want to give your cooler even more ways to cool? Cover it with an insulation bag. If you can’t find a bag big enough, you can DIY one.
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YouTube Screenshot
49. Stuck zipper?
Is your zipper stuck? Rub a candle on the edges to get them unstuck.
50. Pool noodle peg
Pool noodles aren’t just for pools. Cut them in half and cover tent pegs with them. The neon colors help campers see it in the dark and stop from tripping over them.
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