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25 Brilliant Camping Hacks That’ll Turn You Into A Pro

05.17.20

outdoorish hacks

Few experiences stack up to a great camping trip. Packing up all your stuff, taking a long journey to the outskirts of town, and setting up camp puts hair on your chest. That’s until you have to rough it.

Take advantage of some of these incredible DIY camping hacks to make “roughing it” a little easier for you.

1. Camp Hand Washing Station

Whether you’re camping with kids or with your best friends, you’ll probably need somewhere to wash your hands at some point. There’s never an abundance of places for washing hands when you’re out camping.

Using a laundry detergent container or a large jug, you can whip up a beautiful hand washing station. Diy camping ideas like this one make camping feel a little more like “glamping.” Fill the container with water, and you’re good to go.

2. Pots and Pans Strap

If you’re taking your camping game to the next level, you might want someone to hang your pots and pans. This cool camping idea takes your belt off and wraps it around. Take a few S hooks and hang them over the belt. Once you do that you’ll have a great DIY place to hang your cookware.

As you’re setting up camp, you can have all your friends and family marvel at how brilliant you are.

3. Campers Washing Machine

Washing clothes becomes a difficult task when you’re out in the woods. If you take a household plunger, cut some holes in it, and get yourself a five-gallon pail; you’ve got yourself a washing machine. This great idea makes it easy to wash your clothes by merely adding a little soap to the container.

4. Egg Carton Charcoal Burner

Nothing is more frustrating than trying to get a fire going with charcoal. It seems like you try and try and try, but it never works out how you planned. A great way to get that fire burning is by inserting your pieces of charcoal into an egg carton. (take the eggs out first of course)

The carton acts as your kindling, and once you light the carton, it will start to slowly burn the charcoal turning into a fire for all your cooking needs.

5. Rosemary Seasoning

I don’t know about you, but I love food, and I love cooking great meals. One of the significant downsides of camping is the lack of variety in what you can cook.

I’ve got a suggestion for your camping trip that is easy as pie. Take a big batch of rosemary and set it on the hot coals once they are embering. This step will infuse the flavor of the rosemary in everything you cook on top of it.

6. Biodegradable Tape

Many people fear getting lost when they take a hiking trip away from their camp. Some campsites will have designated camping trails that have markers already installed, but what if your campsite doesn’t? You don’t need to sit around the camp all day; you can go out on a hike anyway.

The best way to ensure that you don’t get lost is through the use of biodegradable tape. Put the tape on tree branches and other landmarks along the way so you can find your way back. The best part is you don’t even have to take the tape off. The tape will break down naturally over time without harming the environment.

7. Camp Commode

Some people avoid camping all together because they are not comfortable with using the bathroom in the woods. Some campsites do not come with plumbing and if you’re camping in the middle of nowhere, forget about it.

In this case, you need an emergency toilet. You need a toilet that you can pick up and take with you if you change locations. By taking a milk carton, a five-gallon bucket, and a toilet seat, you can build yourself a DIY camping toilet that takes care of business when you need to take care of business.

Just don’t forget the toilet paper.

8. Kids 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 wherever you are sleeping. 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.

9. Backpackers Checklist

Download a backpack checklist online to ensure you pack everything you need. The list will provide you with all the camping gear you need to bring, and some even tell you how much water you need to bring so you ensure that everyone has enough to drink during the trip.

10. Everyday Breakfast

We can all admit we’ve tried some crazy things when we’re out camping. I’ve tried cooking frozen pizzas on a rock, and I’ve even tried frying an egg on a hot day. The best way to make eggs out by the campsite is by scrambling them ahead of time and putting them in a plastic bottle.

Now you’ll have a delicious breakfast to go along with your morning coffee.

11. 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.

12. Camp Pancakes

Most people think they are incredibly limited in terms of what they can cook by the fire, but pancakes are another idea often overlooked. You could mix up all your pancake batter and insert it into a plastic bag for storage. When you’re ready to have some pancakes, cut a small slit in the side of the bag, and now you have a piping bag.

When you’re ready to cook them up, you could go for the “old school” fire-heated rock method, but I recommend bringing a pot or pan to your campsite to cook them in.

13. Beeswax Waterproofing

A big issue a lot of campers run into is staying dry. Sometimes you need to cross the water to get to your campsite and other times stepping in water is accidental. If you’re trying to keep your shoes dry, beeswax works well as a waterproofing method.

Take some of the beeswax and rub it all over your shoes and anything else you want to keep dry.

14. Shoe Rack Kitchen Organizer

One of the best camping hacks I’ve ever seen is someone taking a shoe rack and using it to organize all their kitchen utensils. This hack is one of those campsite setup ideas that is useful for all your backwoods chefs.

15. Campground Speaker

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.

16. Dryer Lint Firestarter

Extending the use of the cardboard toilet paper roll, you can also use it to start the campfire. Insert some dryer lint into the tube and watch the fire go up like crazy.

17. Birthday Candle Stakes

If you’re looking for a little mood lighting or the glow of the campfire isn’t enough for you, why not take some birthday candles and create some ambient lighting around camp? You could even use trick birthday candles if you’re in the joking mood.

18. Mason Jar Lamps

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.

19. Water Jug Lamp

Taking a standard jug of water and wrapping a headlamp around it is a great way to repurpose two items to make use of them. You could even use a set of solar lights and a little duct tape if you find yourself without a headlamp.

20. To-Go Coffee Bags

If you need your coffee fix when you’re out in the woods, take some coffee, dental floss, and coffee filters. Pour the coffee into the filters and tie it shut with dental floss. You can now treat your coffee like a tea bag and put it into your hot water for some delicious backwoods instant coffee.

21. Don’t Forget to Pack Microfiber Towels

Camping or not, microfiber towels are useful for everyone. Make sure you bring plenty of these when you’re camping because they soak up a lot of water and you can use them over and over again whenever you need them.

22. Solar Lights

Placing solar lights throughout your campsite is a great safety measure to take, especially if you are camping with kids. These lights will power up during the day so they can run all night without electricity or battery power. Some do come with batteries as a backup if they do not receive enough charge at night. Make sure to pack some.

23. Nesting Ware is the Way

If you’re an RV camping enthusiast, you’ll know what I’m talking about here. Nesting ware is the type of plates and bowls that fit inside one another. You’ll need to save as much space as possible when you’re camping, so you want to have plastic nesting ware with you at all times.

24. Sticks for Tent Stakes

Tent camping hacks are useful to help you build a more secure campsite. If you break a tent stake or lose one, you could always use a stick to hold the tent up. This camping hack is a great way to ensure you always have what you need.

25. Water Purifying Kits

I always recommend bringing along a way to get reusable water. Having a purifying kit or making one yourself guarantees you always have plenty of drinking water which is one of the most important aspects of camping.

Hopefully, you will find some of these camping life hacks useful, and maybe you’ve already tried some of these. Camping is a great activity for the whole family, but it does require you to think outside of the box sometimes. Utilize some of these tips and tricks, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a camping pro!

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