Staying organized while camping

[jenjen61]

Hello to all! We'll be camping in our pop-up at Ft. Wilderness toward the end of October. This will be our 4th time there in the campground. Does anyone have any advice to share about how they manage to keep their stuff organized during their time there? There are 6 of us in the family (kids' ages are 7, 12, 17 and 19). Our camper isn't very big and before many days have passed, the dirty clothes (and souvenirs) start to accumulate - all wonderful signs of a good time but it becomes more and more difficult to keep things manageable. Before long, things are missing and can't be found, etc. Seems like we're constantly searching for stuff. There just isn't much room in there! Any suggestions on what works best for managing dirty clothes (lots of clothes...2 teenage girls!), how you store your food, bathroom and beauty supplies (lots of beauty supplies.....2 teenage girls!) We typically don't spend much time at the campsite on days we go to the parks. We start early at the parks and go til closing, so we're pretty exhausted by the time we get back. Don't really relish the thought of doing much laundry while we're there. Any advice on organizing for 10 days in a pop-up would be greatly appreciated!

 

[2goofycampers]

We buy the heavy duty trash bags and as they are filled with dirty laundry store them in our vehicle.

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

Pitch a tent behind the camper and have a couple of the kids sleep out there. That will give you some more room the the PUP.
You may also think about pitching a small tent for bulk storage and use some totes.

 

[VACAMPER]

We also store our dirty clothes in the suburban. I went to the dollar store and bought these great big laundry bags. Girls means lots of shoes. I put a laundry basket outside the camper to throw shoes in.

 

[Us3]

We too use the heavy duty lawn leaf bags for dirty clothes. Disney is the one place where our camper gets very disorganized. We're too busy having fun and way too tired to keep it cleaned up!

Btw, we'll be there at the end of October too!

 

[OneLittleSpark]

As some of the other guys here have said, a small tent can provide that much needed extra storage space. Fill it up with laundry bags, collapsible crates etc. Best to put the stuff that you won't need that regularly in there, such as the dirty clothes, souvenirs you don't need until you get home and any empty bags or suitcases. You can also put non-perishable things that you will need towards the front of the tent, such as shoes, tinned food and cooking equipment. Just try to make sure you get an easy system set up at the beginning of the trip (dirty clothes go straight into this bag, tins are kept in that box, souvenirs go in this corner, etc), preferably with labels, and make sure the family stick to it. Also, all the normal tent-care rules apply, like checking the guy ropes regularly and not leaning anything against the walls.

Bribery can also work wonders for getting kids to do things (I know because it worked on me!!). Maybe give them a small daily allowance, that they only get if their area is tidy. Or if you can't offer monetary bribes that the older kids will go for, some other bribe might work, such as staying up later, getting edible treats, getting to pick the first ride of the day, etc, etc. However you do it, if you make each person responsible for a small area of their own, it won't be a huge job for one person. Also, the whole pre-planned system could work well in the pop-up too.

Hope this helps a bit, and have a great trip!

 

[LarryJ]

Hello to all! We'll be camping in our pop-up at Ft. Wilderness toward the end of October. This will be our 4th time there in the campground. Does anyone have any advice to share about how they manage to keep their stuff organized during their time there? There are 6 of us in the family (kids' ages are 7, 12, 17 and 19). Our camper isn't very big and before many days have passed, the dirty clothes (and souvenirs) start to accumulate - all wonderful signs of a good time but it becomes more and more difficult to keep things manageable. Before long, things are missing and can't be found, etc. Seems like we're constantly searching for stuff. There just isn't much room in there! Any suggestions on what works best for managing dirty clothes (lots of clothes...2 teenage girls!), how you store your food, bathroom and beauty supplies (lots of beauty supplies.....2 teenage girls!) We typically don't spend much time at the campsite on days we go to the parks. We start early at the parks and go til closing, so we're pretty exhausted by the time we get back. Don't really relish the thought of doing much laundry while we're there. Any advice on organizing for 10 days in a pop-up would be greatly appreciated!

I can't add much to the already great suggestions except establish a set of rules such as dirty clothes, personal hygiene items, shoes, etc. are in their proper assigned place (the extra tent is a great idea) before anyone leaves for the day. This will make the late evening returns much easier.

Not ever having girls, only two sons, you might talk it over with DW/DH and if you were to get a tent that you could stand up in you might consider having the two teen age girls keep their clothes or at least those that are foldable in the tent and have them use the CS and tent for personal hygiene and changing clothes. That would free up the trailer for the old folks and younger siblings especially in the mornings. In fact you could almost turn over the tent to the two older girls as sort of their own space with the possible exception that you can throw some dirty clothes in a corner in bags to keep the trailer more organized.

I guess with some planning and rules since you got all those clean clothes and items down there you should be able to manage the dirty end with some planning and rules.

Larry

 

[terri01p]

Ya next year will be our second trip to WDW camping at the fort, the first time we were there was for 10 days and by the time day 5 rolled around we were basically squeezing in and out the front door so no one could see in, it was a total pig pen.

What I'm doing differently this next time I go is : I'm finding a place for just things that we buy, my dd is going with us and she collects disney snow globes so I'm clearing a floor space in the back bedroom on the side of the wall just for this. And clearing one closet.

I'm going to buy a couple of huge trash bags for our dirty cloths and it's going into my back bedroom on the floor so as it builds up it won't be in the way.

I'm going to put a tote by the front door and place all of our shoes into it as we come in, you won't beleive the trouble I had with shoes the last time we went.

All extra cases of pepsi, coke, water goes outside on the picnic table unless it's in the refre.

I'm not taking my extra throw pillows and what-nots they will stay home for added space. Anything that it looks like I won't be using it will stay home.

I don't have a problem with bathroom stuff thank goodness my bathroom is good size. All wet bathing suits or towels go out onto our laundry rack ( does anyone have a trick for keeping it up, it always falls over ? )

All trash goes out, does not stay in the camper, we will have one trash can this trip not 4 like last time.

I'm buying hooks for the walls and hanging anything that I can hang to get it out of the way ( the kind that's heavy duty peel and stick ).

I want to figure out a way to hang my fans because we keep them going at night to block out some of the noise ( anyone ? )

We have bought a key rack and have it by the front door for all keys, wallets, monies, tickets etc. to keep that from spilling all over the camper.

This is just a few of the things I'm going to do. I could go on but if a post get to lengthy people quit reading it ...heehee

 

[brenalexacamp]

we use a laundry basket for dirty clothes- we keep it to the side- put in car when full

we use an over the door shoe holder- clear pockets- stores tea bags, hot choc, coffee filters, dog's bark collar, batteries, hair thingies, laundry soap, trash bags, zippy bags,

we use a rolling cart with like 4 shelves on it- wipes, meds, bug stuff, face cloths, hair stuff, extra pillowcases, candles- all kinds of stuff

When we go on long trips we use 2 large rubbermaid carts- the ones on wheels- there are like 3 slide out drawers on them--each kid had a drawer- and we could slide them to different areas as we needed to
as the drawers become empty- souveniers can fit in

go to your store and look at the storage bins- you nay find some more ideas.

 

[We4mickey]

We use totes with lids for all our clothes. Everyone has their own. You keep your tote on the end of your bed during the day. They get stacked up when your sleeping. We have those pop up hampers for laundry. We can carry it to the laundry when we need to wash. Bathroom supplies are in a bag or backpack for each person. You grab your bag and towel and off to the shower. You are responsible for your own stuff. Souvies are left in the car and out of the way.

 

[Anne's Family]

We are trying the extra tent this trip. We've also got a popup.

Our pup has a trunk in the front with access to the inside, so a laundry basket goes in the trunk where it can be pulled into the camper. All our dirty clothes go in there. (On the trip down, all the linens go in there so they come out when we set up and the basket starts empty.)

Each person in the camper has a Sterlite drawer that all their stuff goes in (except shoes). Four drawers are stacked on a flat surface near our bed and two drawers are on top of the flat surface across from our galley. This has been a lifesaver. We used to just have everyone bring a bag and lay it anywhere. THAT was messy.

We have two Sterlite drawers for pantry stuff we like to keep inside the camper - they sit on top of the clothing drawers across from the galley. The rest of the pantry stuff goes out in the tent since we cook so much outside.

As for personal items, each person has a "shower bag". Right now, these are just those reusable shopping bags they all the grocery stores are selling for $1 each. Ours are black and came from WalMart. Mine has Disney patches all over it now - I love it. Actually, I put a caribiner clip on each bag and put them on top of the 4 drawers of clothes. They can clip to the laundry bar that's installed on the roof of the camper so they don't fall off onto someone.

Let's see... what else? Each bunk end has a clear plastic shoe holder that goes hangs on a closet door. Everyone in our family wears glasses. We put tissues, alarm clocks, glasses, earplugs, and just about anything else for night time in those holders. They hang off the back bar with velcro ties.

I have another shoe holder that hangs off the curtain rail right next to the door. It holds flashlights, bandaids to grab quickly, pens, paper... all that stuff you go searching for when you need them. This has been a lifesaver as well.

 

[jenjen61]

Thanks so much for all the great suggestions! Can't wait to get there and put some of em to use! Can't wait to get there, period!

 

[Escape Artist]

You're right, it's pretty tight in a popup with a big kids in the family, and keeping things organized is a challenge!

When we camp, I'm the queen of duffle bags. Everybody only gets one, and they're color-coded by person so I immediately know whose is whose. When they're packing, I let them know how many days they need to pack for, before I plan to do the laundry. For a 10 day trip, I only do laundry once, and they need to pack 6 days worth of stuff (in case something happens and laundry gets delayed). Doing laundry only once on a trip isn't that bad to me...even that's a vacation from my normal routine, and we only have to bring half as much stuff. I do the laundry in the evening after the kids have gone to bed, so it's not cutting into my vacation time. The duffles have zip ends that can hold personal bathroom/beauty supplies, and I have a shower basket (with only one brand of shampoo/conditioner!) that whoever needs it is welcome to use.

Everybody has a place to keep their duffle bag (on the bunk ends, by where they sleep). I have separate duffles for dirty laundry and drugstore things, and each person has a little "koala" hang-up bag that they use to store personal stuff (glasses, keys, hearing aids, etc.) in the trailer. The kids get one backpack with toys/books/DS's, and dh and I take our laptop cases. Everything gets zipped into a bag or backpack when they're not using it, so there's not much searching for missing stuff. I hate having to do that!

I keep food in a laundry basket on top of a cabinet across from the galley, and that's pretty much it! The duffles get smaller as stuff gets used up and stay our of the way of the "main" part of the popup, and the laundry basket keeps food in one place and not scattered all over. Souveniers that are small enough can fit in their backpacks and bigger stuff can stay in the car until it's time to go home. We can pack the whole thing up quickly since it's pretty easy to stow the duffles and laundry basket in the car, fold up the trailer and go.

When we camp at FW, we put up our screen room with a couple of chairs. It's the only place we've ever used it! But that makes enough extra space that we haven't bothered bringing an extra tent yet, and it's a really nice place to unwind in the evenings with a glass of wine!

We've only got 3 kids (ages 6-15) so we've got one less person than your family, but I'm pretty strict about them not bringing everything they own. Most of the extras my kids would want to drag along they wouldn't use anyways, and they've really learned the value of packing light. If it doesn't fit in their duffle or backpack, it doesn't get to go. They'll be too busy at the theme parks and campground anyways, and enjoying new stuff they gotten to miss that much extra from home. We spent 16 days on the road travelling from CA to Texas, and didn't bring much more than we would have for a long weekend camping trip. It sure makes it easier not having our van packed to the gills the whole way. As long as we don't bring our dogs, it's not too bad!

Have a great trip!

Sue in Texas

 

[OneLittleSpark]

All wet bathing suits or towels go out onto our laundry rack ( does anyone have a trick for keeping it up, it always falls over?)

If it's one of the zig zag types, that have three or four panels hinged side by side, you can tie the two ends together to make a square or triangle. This will make it more sturdy, and mean it won't go over as soon as someone looks at it. Also, you can tie string to each of the corners and guy it to the ground, with a bowline at the end to put the peg through.

For the type of rack that collapses in on itself, with the panels making diamond shapes from the side, you can guy it from the bottom level first, then from the upper level for more stability. You could also (or instead) drive poles into the ground at the corners, and lash it on, but this would only be needed if the wind was really strong, or the soil very dry (so it wouldn't hold pegs well).

With the kind of airer that has two side panels hinged at the top, and a flap-out panel on either side, try to put the heaviest items as close to the centre as possible, and load it evenly on each side, so it stays steady. Guying it down from the top sections would help too (just have someone holding it so you don't pull it over when putting your first guy line on!).

Hmm.... did anyone guess that I'm part of the Guiding movement? Oh well, Be Prepared and all that!

 

[Escape Artist]

Hmm.... did anyone guess that I'm part of the Guiding movement? Oh well, Be Prepared and all that!

Doesn't surprise me a bit! With all that "guy wiring" your lines, I was thinking you'd be a great resource for my troops!

It makes me smile when I see scouting/guiding references on the DIS camping boards. As a family, we'd only "cabin camped" at a National Park before Scouting got into our lives thru our children...I'll always be grateful to the Scouting programs that we got more into camping and ended up buying our popup. I might never have tried FW campground, found the camping boards or met all of you!

Sue in Texas
...who quit Girl Scouts after Juniors since we didn't have a Cadette troop in our little town, but my big daughter earned her Silver Award this Spring!

 

[ntsammy5]

I once threatened to hang the girl's dirty underwear on a clothes line in clear site, if all the dirty clothes weren't put away-- it was never ever a problem after that!

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Doesn't surprise me a bit! With all that "guy wiring" your lines, I was thinking you'd be a great resource for my troops!

It makes me smile when I see scouting/guiding references on the DIS camping boards. As a family, we'd only "cabin camped" at a National Park before Scouting got into our lives thru our children...I'll always be grateful to the Scouting programs that we got more into camping and ended up buying our popup. I might never have tried FW campground, found the camping boards or met all of you!

Sue in Texas
...who quit Girl Scouts after Juniors since we didn't have a Cadette troop in our little town, but my big daughter earned her Silver Award this Spring!

Yes, there are a lot of us about, aren't there? I've been in Guiding since I was about 5, so it's written through me like a stick of rock. I'm not attached to a group at the moment, as I couldn't reliably commit the time due to Uni work, but I'll be finding a Company to join as a Leader as soon as I can! Sadly, I've yet to camp in WDW, but I sure as anything plan to someday! I just need to convince the fella that he wants to do it too, which could be an interesting challenge (let's just say, he's not really an 'outdoor type')

I once threatened to hang the girl's dirty underwear on a clothes line in clear site, if all the dirty clothes weren't put away-- it was never ever a problem after that!

That's evil!!..... but incredibly funny too! Nice idea!

 

[Millermouseketeers]

We just got back from 15 days at the fort in a pup. Our kids are 15, 12 and 10. I do alot of what was already said. I have bins for clothes that we store under the couch. I have them take out a few days of clothes and keep in the bin, then store suit case in the van. Each person has a shower caddy, small plastic baskets from wal-mart work great. I stock them each with shampoo, toothpaste, etc. from the travel section in Wal-mart.
We have an add a room so store perishable food there. Sometimes we set up a tent and put an extra fridge and other things in there.
Like others said, all shoes go outside the door. Dirty laundry goes in Wal-mart bags! I have dollar store stackable bins for cookies, candy and whatever else I can get off the counters. These bins help alot for room. I use small dollar baskets for loose items like keys.
We use a clothes line for suits and towels. Have a great time!

 

[luvmyfam444]

my advice is probably the same as others...but I'll mention it anyway.

WE take a foldup hamper with us - it is full of snackfoods/breakfast foods when we go down & then we take out the food & store it in the trunk of the van & that hamper then holds our dirty clothes.

As far as tolitries I'd buy each of the girls there own hanging tolitery bag that must hang somewhere or be folded back up (Walmart carries them for $15).

YOu could buy 1 of those hanging stuffed animal organizers to hold all kinds of things - it could hold shoes or the weeks worth of clothes...

Or then there's the regular shoe organizers(plastic) that could hold all kinds of things in the pockets (not just shoes) it could hold shampoo & makeup if everyone can work out of the 1 thingy...

GOod luck!

 

[PrincessNana]

When my girls were teenagers and we camped for one or two weeks at a time in our pop up, we took an extra tent that was used as their closet/dressing area. It saved alot of headaches for all of us. Have fun!!