10 Camping Hacks you wish you knew earlier!

1. Make mini soap bars with a vegetable peeler

There is nothing worse than placing a used bar of soap in a plastic bag to open it later and find it all sticky and soggy.  Use your vegetable peeler to make single use soap bars to save money and a huge mess!

2. Add bundles of sage to your campfire to keep mosquitos away

Smoke is an ok repellent in itself but if you really want to get rid of those pesky blood suckers add sage to your campfire, it smells good too!

3. Use air activated warmers in your sleeping bag

Sleeping somewhere cold? No problem! Use air activated warmers at the foot of your sleeping back to keep you toasty warm all night long!

4. Dry your shoes with crumpled newspaper

Remove the insoles from your shoes and stuff balled-up newspaper into your shoes. Find a dry place to keep your shoes overnight. If your shoes are really wet, you may want to replace the newspaper after a few hours.  Wake up the morning and voila!  Dry shoes for a new day of exploring.

5. Make your own pillow with a pillowcase & clothes

Space is always a problem when camping. Instead of packing an extra pillow, turn your clothes and a pillowcase into a pillow instead! The pillowcase makes a great replacement for an extra bag of towels or other light items as well.

6. Upgrade your bed with foam tile padding

If you’re looking for some cool campsite setup ideas, I love this one. No matter how young or old you are, sleeping on the hard ground is rough. You wake up in the morning feeling stiff and sore even if you have an air mattress.

One way to combat this issue is by taking some foam tiles and placing them underneath the mattress. Some tips and tricks are more important than others, and I think sleep is one of the most important parts of life. Ensure you don’t lose any on your camping trip.

7. Try a new campfire snack with campfire popcorn

There are few things better than sitting around the campfire with your friends and enjoying a nice camping snack. A great snack to change things up from the tradition smores is popcorn. If you put some kernels in aluminum foil, you can throw the foil ball into the fire and wait for the popping to begin.

8. DIY campground speaker

What’s that?  You forgot your speaker you say?  Music is an essential part of camping, and this easy DIY hack uses a cardboard toilet paper roll and two solo cups. Cut a section out in the middle and put your phone in it. Once you do that, the sound should run through the tube and out the cups, leaving you with an awesome camping speaker.

9. Mason Jar Lamps

Tired of tripping over your guy ropes at night?  Take a bunch of mason jars and paint the inside of them with glow in the dark paint. You can then scatter them about your campsite to light it up at night.

10. Save space by pre cracking your eggs

Did you know a dozen eggs will fit in one water bottle?!  Pre crack your eggs at home and keep them in a water bottle and just pour in to make your scrambled eggs in the morning!