15 Must Haves to go Camping.

   I was raised with camping since I was a toddler. My family and I camped many places in a pop up trailer to eventually changing to a camper. As an adult, over the last several years, my family and I have camped in tents, which is very different from campers/trailers.

Click here for tent ideas from Amazon

As I grew up and became an adult, I became responsible for the packing and making sure nothing was forgotten. From trial and error, I learned to make a list of things needed so that I wouldn’t forget anything. That is item #1. Make a list of items to pack. I even saved my list on the computer to use over and over as a base, tweeking it as the kids grew and removing things like diapers. This helped to prevent forgetting things and to help keep me organized.

The second item is lawn chairs. One of our camping trips, we forgot the chairs so the only place we could sit was at the picnic table, which became extremely uncomfortable. Our backs spoke to us on that trip. Click here for chairs for camping.

The third item is a cooler. The size is determined by your plans, where you’re going and what your sleeping in. If your in a camper with a refrigerator, then a smaller one may suffice. If you are sleeping in tents, then you might need a larger one, since that would end up being your make shift refrigerator. Click here for a large cooler option.

There are even larger ones. They vary in sizes. If you are using a camper, a large one may be a good option for drinks where melting ice will not make any food soggy and leaves more space in the camper frig for food. A smaller one is good for taking on picnics and/or taking to the shore for lunch, snacks and drinks. Click here for a small cooler option.

We cannot forget the fourth item, otherwise you’ll be yelping ouch and scratching. You guessed it, bug spray for those nasty mosquitoes. I always said that I wished Noah had left them off the ark. Not only is bug spray good to help prevent the discomfort of itching, but its good (depending on where you are) to prevent catching lyme disease from a wayward mosquito. Click here for a bug spray deal Other options that may assist on preventing unnecessary bites are screen houses, bug lights or citronella candles. Click here for screen house option , bug light , and/ or candle. Despite all that, you still may need anti-itch cream. Click here for anti-itch cream. All these suggestions and that was only under the fourth must have.

Now for the fifth must have. A roll of quarters. You might ask what for. There are actually more than one use for these. Usually, even if you are camping at a place without electricity and/or running water, there are buildings with bathrooms and showers. Using the showers, may require using quarters for so many minutes of running water. Sometimes it is not convenient to make change to get the needed quarters. Parking would be another use for these quarters. It is sometimes easier to feed a meter quarters than using bills and one may prefer not to use their credit/debit card.

An obvious must have are your toiletries, which consist of items such as tooth paste, tooth brush, soap and shampoo, to name a few. This is where your number one must have, (a list of items to pack) comes in handy. Without listing all needed toiletries, I would end up forgetting something. As you pack all of your items, and not until then, you cross them off the list. If you cross them off prematurely, that guarantees they could be forgotten. One could get distracted from crossing off the item to walking over to where you placed the packed items.

Our 7th must have would be one’s PJ’s or pajamas. One could sleep in there regular clothes if need be, but its so much more comfortable to use one’s sleepwear. Click for a parjama suggestion

Sneakers or hiking shoes make up our 8th must have. This is important if you plan on doing a lot of walking, especially on trails or doing some hiking. Flip flops or sandals can become extremely uncomfortable in these situations. Also sneakers with socks may add a little more protection when crossing the path of little critters especially in the woods. Click for a sneaker or hiking shoe ideas.

The 9th must have, one would notice if forgotten, what one friend of mine likes to refer to them as unmentionables. Yes, underwear! One does not want to wear the same old stinking, smelly underwear, which is what they will become after awhile. Click here for Underwear and one may want to add socks to this part of the packing list, a needed item especially in the evening to help protect the ankles from bug bites or to wear with one’s sneakers.

The 10th item would have to be matches. There are many uses for these, especially for non-smokers who wouldn’t have a lighter on hand. Matches could be used for lighting a campfire, citronella candle and propane stove, to name a few. I find stick matches more convenient than the book of matches due to the stick matches not bending as easily when you are trying to light them. Strike here for matches. Of course, lighters are always an additional option. These are used hand and hand with the 11th must have, which is lighter fluid. Sometimes its impossible to get a fire going or coal lit for grilling without it. Click here for lighter fluid.

Grilling is a method of cooking that just about everyone enjoys when camping. A good source for grilling are the pits that campgrounds may come with which require charcoal, lighter fluid, matches and/or lighters. However if one wants to get to grilling quicker, then the twelveth must have is a portable grill that is used with mini propane tanks which is our thirteenth item, because without these your grill is useless. If space is not an issue or if your stay is longer, then you might just use a regular size grill.

For the cooler summer nights the 14th item will come in handy. To ward off that chill, a jacket or sweatshirt is needed. These items may not be thought of during hot summer day light hours, but depending on your whereabouts, temperatures may drop enough for this need. Click here for a sweatshirt or jacket option

The last 15th but definitely not least must have is a camera which comes in many forms. For me, this is a definite necessity because of being an artist and photographer. Many a times during my travels, we can be walking or driving somewhere, and before my eyes, I’ll spot the perfect shot that could possibly be painted into a beautiful work of art. But even for the average person, capturing memories with family will be cherished later on in life. One of the options, that come in various types, is a digital camera that can also be purchased in a bundle deal. A good thing to keep in mind is that cellphones can also have some really great camera capability included. A camera in any form brings on an assortment of other needs such as chargers, batteries and possibly memory cards.

As you might have figured out, when making a list of things to pack, it will usually have way more than 15 items. These 15 plus items listed above are things that, if were forgotten, would be noticed. One will have various articles of clothing not mentioned above, that are needed, but when you have them on your list, do not cross them off until they are all packed. For example, if 5 tops, 2 pairs of pants and 3 shorts are needed, don’t cross off the tops til you have all 5 packed.

One cannot forget food. You might think that food would be obvious to bring. That wouldn’t normally be an issue, but its the extra needed items. For example, you could be planning hot dogs and/or hamburgers and even remember the buns but forget the condiments. That’s another reason the first must have in this article, which is the list of things to bring, comes in handy. There have been many times, if a needed item was not on the list, it would have been forgotten. Sometimes visualizing prepping the food, while you are making up the list, enables you to write up a more complete list.

So as you can see this is not an exhaustive list. Any of the items listed for you to check out are only to give you ideas. Feel free to further explore Amazon for more extensive options. I am an affiliate marketer for Amazon at no extra cost to you.