I have been meaning to write this post for months. Honestly. I had so much fun with the Glamping Essentials post I did last fall, that I knew I wanted to make it a regular feature. Unfortunately, life got in the way, so this post is long overdue! Better late than never, right? 😉
I get asked quite a bit about the logistics of packing up the camper and the kids and trekking across the country every summer. What tips and tricks do we have to make packing up and camping with the family easier? I always remind readers that our camper is pretty organized. We keep much of our camping stuff in the camper year round. You can read about how we organize our PUP here. There are a few things, though, that make life on the road easier, and one thing I’d never leave home without is our shower totes.
Traveling with the camper takes a toll after awhile, and there is nothing like a hot shower to make you feel rejuvenated. We don’t have a shower in our camper, so we always book campgrounds that have decent bathroom and laundry facilities. That means carting all of our toiletries down to the bathroom when we need to clean up. Having a dedicated tote in the camper for each person really makes things easy. The kids can grab their totes and towels and head to the showers without having to dig through bins (or ask Mom) to find their stuff. For me, that’s essential!
Each tote is big enough to hold a change of clothes, a pair of shower shoes, a roll of quarters, and our awesome shower lanyards–which is my next glamping essential. I made these lanyards (you can find the tutorial here) for each family member, and they have made shower trips so. much. easier. The kids have a mesh sponge, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash all within easy reach–and nothing has to touch the shower floor–another essential for Mom. 😛 These are super easy to make, but if you don’t have the time or inclination, Showerline makes a great shower caddy that is very similar. You can find that here.
Recently, I swapped out our cheap dollar store bottles for these awesome silicone bottles I found on Amazon. They are pricier, but they hold about twice the amount of liquid, so I have to refill them less. They are also much easier for little hands to squeeze. My youngest was having trouble getting the last bits of shampoo out of her dollar store bottles, but she has no troubles with these little guys. They also have their own labels on the neck of the bottle, so I don’t have to label bottles anymore. I love that!
Another must-have for us are these Steripod toothbrush sanitizers. We buy ours on Amazon, but I’ve seen them at Walmart and Target as well. They are ideal for keeping toothbrushes clean both in the camper and at the campground restrooms. Because our toothbrushes are covered, we can toss them in the shower totes when we head down to the bathroom–and Steripods come in several colors, so each person knows which toothbrush belongs to him at a glance.
These are just a few of the little things that make our long road trips easier. Cleaning up at the campground is so much more hassle-free with these few essentials, and now I’d like to share a few of them with you!
I’ve put together a little package of my favorite “Glamping Essentials” from this post for one lucky reader. All you have to do is sign up for our newsletter, if you haven’t already. Extra entries will be awarded if you follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. It’s that simple! Use the Promosimple widget below to enter the contest–and remember, only confirmed subscribers are eligible to enter, so don’t forget to verify your email address. We’ll pick one lucky reader at random on 4/25/16. Good luck! 😀
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Happy Camping!
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Happy Camping!
Love all the great tips and tricks you share. We are pup newbies and can’t wait to go on our first trip. Thanks for the opportunity to enter this great giveaway!
We are glampers who love glamping!
I love the lanyards! I’ve also been looking for the room essentials totes at Target but have not had any luck! Maybe I’ll see them closer to the end of the summer?
I always see them when they start to put out the dorm room stuff–so maybe check in July/August! 🙂
Thanks!
Does anybody have an idea where i could find 2 plastic body panels for a 1989 coleman shenandoah?? Desperate, this one has huge cracks and holes. Thank you!!
You might have a hard time locating those body panels. Maybe check a scrap yard or Craigslist. Sometimes people will part out the older campers that are beyond repair. Are the cracks too big to repair using the MEK/ABS repair method, Kim?
I have been looking forward to your next gjveaway, so when I saw this today I was so excited. The weather has finally turned here in Central NY so I pulled the camper onto the patio and opened her up. She faired pretty well over the winter (no critters moved in) and all she needs is a little clean up and we’ll be ready to camp. Unfortunately our first outing won’t be until Memorial Day weekend but that gives me some time to get everything put back in and do a little more sprucing up!
We just picked up our first PUP and we’re so excited! Thanks so much for all the photos, ideas and tips 🙂 I’m waiting on my gallon of 303 from Amazon. I’ll forward some pics once our ‘renos’ are complete!
I can’t wait to see it, Meg! 😉
Larissa-
Thank you so much for all of your posts! We bought our Coleman Carmel a year and a half ago and have used so many of your tips to help us along our pop up journey.
We especially love the shower lanyards! I made one for each family member, except for my two little ones I added a retractable badge clip to hold their loofah. They wear the lanyard in the shower and the loofah can stretch on the retractable cord of the badge clip to reach their toes without worry they will drop it on the floor. It’s worked fantastically!
What a great idea, Shannon! I love it! 🙂
Those lanyards are a MUST with kids!
HI Larissa,
I see that you used tension rods and the white wire shelves to store stuff on in the pop up. I can see by a small pic you have on glamping essentials that you have a metal piece that has little holes in it also with the tension rod to hold up that shelf. How are the tension rod and the metal piece with holes attached to eachother? Do you have an article or tutorial on this or can you provide me with more info please?
We are buying our first camper from friends parents, a pop up, in a week or two and are gathering many wonderful glamping ideas from you!
I just ordered memory foam, bedding, foam mats, got wood flooring….etc. gearing up to glamp!
Our first trip will be to Lake Erie in July! My kids are 3 and 8. I am so excited to make memories with them.
Thank you for sharing your ideas!
We sure do, Rachel. You can find the tutorial for the tension rod shelving here:
TENSION ROD SHELVING TUTORIAL
A large medicine syringe makes loading the bottles a snap! Found some conditioner bottles at Dollar General. If you pull the plunger out of the syringe, you can pour the refill into the tube. Stick the end of the syringe in the end of the bottle, and push in the plunger. It fills in seconds, no more messing with small funnels that take forever to drain.
Where do you store your camping chairs and outside “stuff” when on the road/in transit? I live the drawer system but that space between our cabinet and kitchen holds our spare tire and chairs. Trying to be more orfsnized and love the drawers!