Camping enables you to reconnect with the still beauty of nature and unwind with family and friends while recharging your batteries. Some people enjoy the “roughing it” aspect of camping, so why not use some homemade ingenuity to simplify your next camping trip?
Here are some of our favorite camping tips to use this weekend. Not only are these camping hacks clever, but they’re also incredibly simple to use. The best part is that a lot of them will help you save time, money, space, and weight.
1. Use a Headlamp and A Jug of Water to Create a Lantern.
All you require is a large water bottle or gallon jug, along with your headlamp. Any translucent bottle will work, but the effect is best when the plastic has a small sheen to it, allowing you to see the water swirling around within while still remaining somewhat transparent.
Once it is dark, fasten the headlamp to the jug’s side with the beam facing the interior. The water jug changes into a cool, luminous sphere that shines everywhere! This works because the water in the jug scatters the light, which is then further diffused by the container’s milky plastic.
Anywhere you need ambient light, this homemade lantern works great. Your night just got a whole lot easier, whether you need to make a campfire, clean off the picnic table, or seek for anything within your tent.
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2. For Easy Lighting and Waterproofing, Glue Sandpaper Into the Top of Your Match Holder
When you go camping, matches are a must-have item, but it seems like they break down far too frequently. They get moist, the case gets damp, or the strike pad becomes smooth as a result of wear and use. By using this camping hack, you can be certain that your matches will be available when you need them.
In order to attach it to the matchbox, get fine-grained sandpaper that ideally has adhesive on one side. In that case, some glue will work. A tiny waterproof container that will carry your matches should have sandpaper attached to the inside of the lid.
The waterproof container will safeguard the sandpaper in addition to providing a sizable, rough surface for striking. No more damp matches, wet strike pads, or worn-out strikers!
3. To Keep Contents Dry, Line Your Bag with A Garbage Bag.
When camping, the weather is crucial, and experienced campers know that you can never be too ready for Mother Nature’s unpredictable moods. There is nothing to worry about once you are warm and dry inside of your tent, unless, of course, you are unable to get warm or dry since your bag and all of its contents were soaked in the rain.
The best cost-benefit ratio is provided by this trick: a single garbage bag in return for warmth and dryness. Simply place all of your goods into your backpack after lining the interior with a trash bag. You can be certain that you will have dry clothes and a dry sleeping bag for your vacation for the price of a garbage bag, which is anywhere between a nickel and a dime.
Avoiding wearing wet clothing is crucial for both your safety and comfort. Take this easy precaution to prevent this problem because wearing wet garments can make you sick very quickly.
4. To Prevent Rust Between Uses of Your Camp Cookware, Use Silica Gel Bags.
Do you know those sachets of silica gel that seem to be in everything? In fact, they are highly beneficial for absorbing moisture, especially in objects that are prone to rust. Because they might just preserve your cookware, we advise purchasing a pack of them or gathering them from any packages you purchase.
In a perfect world, we would completely dry our cookware and keep it in a dry place when not in use. But as the seasons change, basements become damp, and we occasionally dry our dishes quickly before packing them in our bags, silica gel packets become useful.
When not in use, these packets prevent moisture from rusting your cookware. This simple tip will help you completely avoid the disappointing experience of pulling out your favorite dish or skillet only to discover that it has rust spots on it.
5. Use a Sleeping Bag Case Filled with Clothes as Your Pillow to Lighten Your Package
Pillows are very much a question of personal taste. Your preference may be for soft, hard, feather, Tempur-pedic, or light foam.
But there is one thing about pillows that we can be sure you don’t like: how much room they take up when you pack them. Inflatable pillows that roll up into astonishingly small areas have been developed by businesses, although floating around is rarely very comfy. As a result, we frequently end up packing a cushion that takes up the same amount of room as the clothes in our bag.
Take the sleeping bag case and fill it with the softest garments to create the best camping pillow ever. To avoid pressure points, unroll your sleeves and avoid balling up your socks too tightly before shaping the pillow as desired. Simply put on more garments if you want more support. You’ll be pleased with how much room you’ve saved in your backpack.
6. Bring Bread Tag Clothespins to Use as Clothespins
One of the most underrated goods in existence is bread tags. They carefully close bread sacks but are rarely used for anything else before being discarded. We, therefore, dare you to use them as clothespins on your upcoming camping vacation the next time you finish a loaf of bread.
It might take up a lot of space inside a bag to pack enough clothespins for a family’s washing, so this is one of our top camping hacks for families. Bread tags are inexpensive and take up very little room in your suitcase.
So set aside a small dish and begin gathering the bread tags. Your garments will soon be dried and kept firmly attached to the line as they work in the sunshine.
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7. Use a Rock Covered in Tarp to Make a Makeshift Grommet by Tiering a Line Around It.
When you need them the most, tarp grommets quickly and frequently wear out. A seemingly small ring is put under enormous strain, frequently causing the tarp cloth to rip apart.
It’s important to keep in mind this camping tip if the grommets on your tarp are worn out. Place a little, roundish stone the size of a golf ball in the spot where you would normally put a grommet.
Make an “O” with your finger and thumb on the tarp’s underside, then push the rock through the O with the tarp underneath it. With your finger and thumb, pinch off the tarp, and then firmly knot a line around it.
Another advantage is that because the tension from the line is being dispersed across a broader area of the tarp, this temporary grommet will hold much better than a conventional one.
8. In Your Cooler, Use Gallon Water Jugs as Ice Packs.
On a camping trip, it can be challenging to pack ice. It immediately melts and transforms into a watery mess, so any food packaging that isn’t made of plastic will quickly get wet and squishy.
Gallon jugs of water can be frozen and placed in your cooler as an alternative to adding ice. These jugs include space for expansion during freezing, so they won’t crack when frozen. You won’t need to carry any additional water because you’ll have drinking water available when the ice melts and turns into water. possess a lesser area? Even with individual bottles, this works!
Water is critically necessary for a camping trip, but it is also very heavy, so keep that in mind when packing. Therefore, bring more water than you’ll need for drinking, but avoid bringing water that will go to waste, like ice that will quickly melt and become unusable. This trick addresses both issues at once by turning your ice into extra drinking water after it has kept your food cold.
9. To Help Repel Mosquitoes, Burn Sage in Your Camp Fire
The presence of mosquitoes might ruin a wonderful camping trip. It’s a terrific camping skill to be able to repel them without dousing yourself in potentially harmful amounts of bug spray.
Next time you go camping, pack a few bundles of sage. Burn a little sage with your fire once the sun has gone and the campfire is burning. Alternately, for a more enduring effect, light the sage on fire and allow it to smolder and smoke near the campfire’s edge. Sage smoke naturally repels mosquitoes, so you’ll notice a significant decrease in their presence around you.
Although they may be present at any time of day, mosquitoes are usually most active at dawn and dusk. It’s best to be ready at those times with some burning sage.
10. If You Can’t Find Small Sticks, Corn Chips and Doritos Make Excellent Kindling.
Sometimes it’s just difficult to find good kindling, so we’re left looking at those poor, unworthy items in our camping supply as potential ignition sources. The good news is that you can start a fire beautifully with just a few Doritos.
You might be perplexed as to how a meal like Doritos could catch fire when lighted. It turns out that this snack is a perfect candidate for combustion and will start a fire with ease thanks to all the starches, chemicals, oils, and tastes that make up it.
While Doritos are suggested, any varieties of corn chips would work in a pinch. These chips contain flammable corn oil that burns steadily and enables you to create a fire.
11. Melting and Sealing Straw Sections Can Be Used to Store Spices and Other Small Ingredients
This one requires a little more planning than just dropping some unfortunate Doritos into your backpack, but it saves a tonne of space and makes packing and unpacking for camping vacations a breeze.
The scarcity of condiments and spices in the woods frequently restricts our ability to prepare food. Curry powder, chili powder, and rosemary don’t really come in travel pouches, so we usually have to make do with salt and pepper bottles.
In order to use this hack, you need to cut plastic straws into tiny segments, melt one end with a candle, and then fill the straw piece with your preferred spice. Simply cut a longer length of straw if you want more of the substance. Once you’ve sealed the other end, you’ll have a waterproof, incredibly portable collection of spices at your disposal in the wilderness.