Camping Supplies List

Megan asked if I would post my camping supplies list.

I gladly offer it, and recommend you use it as a starting base for your own list.

"Big Stuff" kept in our camping supplies area in the garage and packed in the vehicle by John

• Tents (separate sleeping and cooking tents are really nice, especially if you are going somewhere where the bugs are bad, it may rain, or the sun is strong. Cooking in the rain is not fun! Once the kids got old enough, John and I began sleeping in our own small tent and the kids got to sleep by themselves in a larger one)
• Tarp and rope (to hang over a picnic table in case of rain)
• Clothesline and clothes pins
• Camping style chairs
• Sleeping bags (John and I have two that zip together--I'm thankful for the extra heat in the cool mountain air)
• Air mattress (only John and I have one--"if momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy"--and an air mattress helps provide a good night's sleep)
• Pump (to blow up the air mattress(es))
• Gas lantern and mantles (of course, there are also the electric variety, but we always preferred gas. Also: if you use a gas lantern (or two), always take extra mantles; you never know when one will self-destruct and I prefer to not sit in the dark)
• Camp stove
• Gas (white gas, propane, LPG--whatever you need for your particular type of lanterns and stove(s))
• Canteens (for hikes)
• Cooler--filled (by me) with food at the time we set off for our adventure!
• Table cover (heavy vinyl, or plastic-coated cloth)
• Small throw rug (to place in front of tent doorway to keep out dirt)

"Camping Kit"--Stuff I have collected in large plastic tubs, ready for taking along at (almost) a moment's notice.

• Water jug or bag
• Whisk broom (a small handheld to sweep out the tent inside and out as you take it down)
• Plastic dish-washing tub (that doubles as a storage bin/carrying tub for many of the items, here!)
• Dish soap and scrubby
• Pans (Dutch oven, saucepan, skillet--ones I don't mind if they get scorched, smoky, encrusted, or otherwise marred; in other words, a "special" set whose pieces I either bought at garage sales or took from my "regular kitchen" when I decided I needed something better)
• Pot holders
• Paring knife
• Cooking fork
• Spatula
• Paper plates and wicker or rattan plate holders (since dishwashing is tougher than at home, we opt to use paper plates that we feed into the evening fire. My opinion: plates are the toughest to clean)
• Bowls
• Cups
• Flatware ("silverware"; again, as with everything else in this list, these are not my regular set!)
• Matches
• Salt and pepper (I fill small sample-size jam jars)
• Sugar
• Cooking wires (in case you can't find long sticks for marshmallows and hot dogs; you can buy these, but until I found some at a garage sale, we used straightened metal clothes hangers like you get from the cleaners; we first made sure they were "safe" by running them through a campfire flame to burn off any residual special coating the manufacturer may have applied)
• Towels/washcloths
• Dish cloths/drying towel
• Can opener
• Coffee filter & paper liners
• Coffee mugs
• Bar soap inside closeable plastic soap holder (so it doesn't collect too much stray dirt, so it doesn't make a mess of everything else in the kit, and so you can easily take the soap with you to the bathroom)
• Bug spray
• TP--for those emergencies when it can really come in handy!

Bathroom/Hygiene supplies (I put all this stuff in a zip lock bag to easily carry it to the bathroom)

• Shampoo
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrushes
• Comb
• Chapstick
• Lotion
• Sun block
• Nail clippers
• Deodorant
• Cotton swabs ("Q-Tips")
• Acetominophen ("Tylenol")

Other things packed by one person who is assigned to collect them (John or me or one of the children, once they got older):

• Ponchos (to keep off rain; we used to keep these in with all the rest of our camping supplies, but then we began taking so many hikes apart from camping trips, we had to make this a separate packing item)
• Camera and camera supplies (film? batteries? battery charger? memory cards?)
• Big flashlight(s)

Items for which each person is generally responsible

• Clothing--including proper outerware for wherever you are camping: sweatshirts, windbreakers, gloves or mittens, etc. Note that we always packed this stuff in pillow cases! Pillow cases make great storage bags; they take up much less room than suitcases; and you can stuff them into corners of the tent in a way that a suitcase would never "stuff." . . . Please see my original post for how I would train the kids to ensure they had everything they would need.
• Hats (as necessary for those who are particularly prone to sunburn)
• Handkerchiefs
• Personal flashlights
• Pillows inside pillowcases

John urged me to continue this list with some pointers on packing food, but I said this was enough for one post and if anyone is really interested, they can ask.