The other day, my kids and I decided it was a good day to sort through the camping gear. I try to go through our gear at some point during the winter to make sure everything is ready for Spring. Every time I take my family camping, we bring this camp cupboard along with another rubbermaid container.
Between these two containers, we have more than what we need to camp with 6-8 people. Our camp cupboard has been in service for more than 25 years. I don't know who made it as it was given to us by some friends. It's unique design makes it the most efficient camp cupboard I've ever used. It's large enough to fit utensils, plate settings for my family of 6, pots, pans, and kitchen accessories. Even after all that is packed in there, it still has enough room for dry food and canned goods.
Last year I neglected to sort through the gear before our first camping trip. Since I store our cupboard in a shed during the winter, we discovered a little surprise when we first opened the cupboard at our camp site. I'll let my son, tell you about it in his own words:
We were on our first camping trip and my mom yelled, "Uh oh!" when she opened the camping cupboard. I went to see what was wrong and I saw a family of mice! So, we asked mom to set them free. It was really cool. Mom even took a picture.
So you see, it's important to go through your gear BEFORE you actually need it. Also, it's good to go through your gear so that you have a couple months to purchase needed items and replenish used goods. This prevents that oh-so-familiar mad rush the days before the first camping trip - when you realize you need tons of stuff. You end up spending more than you wanted to and adding extra stress that you don't need. This can just cause you to be so frustrated with camping that you never want to go again.
My point in all of this? Good camping starts with good preparation.
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