My Camping Tips

  I think most of my readers know that we love to go camping as a family.

Here's some of my hot tips for camping ...

Random Camping Tip #1: Containerise! 

It keeps sand, bugs and animals out.

I keep our cutlery and small utensils in a Tupperware Oyster box.

Random Camping Tip #2: Vacuum Pack

 I seal all our meals using a Sunbeam food vacuum seal system. These are great for making sure no meat juices leak out and they food stay fresh for longer. Meats when vacuum sealed last a lot longer than they would in a glad bag. Before we had our Engels we had a tropical box to keep our food in so vacuum sealing food would mean it could easily float around in half melted ice and not be ruined.

Random Camping Tip #3: Make a list or two or lots!! 

When camping I always make a list! Our needs are constantly changing due to the girls growing up so list making is a must. Molly is so used to this she started her own what to take camping list.

 

Random Camping Tip #4: Save on Space

 I'm always looking at space saving ideas. I store our coffee and sugar in little decor containers I used to use for freezing baby food. I also buy the smallest size of spreads and condiments and refill when needed.

Salt and Pepper is stored in a Tupperware container that is a freebie at most demonstrations.

Random Camping Tip #5: Make the most of free sample packs
Sample sizes of products are fantastic for camping although I find them a lot harder to come by these days. I keep our dishwashing liquid in an old Dawn sample I got in the mail years ago. 

 

I don't do washing if we are bush or beach camping but I like to keep a sample sachet handy in case of any accidents or sickness. 

Random Camping Tip #6: Pack child friendly

At Christmas when we went camping I packed normal plastic plates for the kiss but never again! These IKEA plates are much better as the lip on the side prevents most accidental spills. No-one likes sand on their toast!

I'm still safety aware when we are camping with the kids so I take sharp knives that have covers. The yop one is an old Wiltshire stay sharp knife I've had for an extremely long time and the green one is a fairly recent Tupperware purchase. 

  

Random Camping Tip #7: Look out for bargain camping supplies

Camping is a really cheap holiday option but can be expensive to set up if you buy everything straight away and brand new. It has taken us about 8 years to accumulate what we have. I look out for specials all the time and garage sales are fabulous. There are people who buy everything thinkning they will love camping only to find they hate it so lots of bargains can be found by people selling their stuff on gumtree too.

These are the sorts of bargains you can find on random camping supllies:

I bought these collapsible Tupperware bowls (go-flex) from a friend that had a kitchen clear oput and found she had too many.

I spotted this two pack of chopping boards on special at Woolworths.

Random Camping Tip #8: Have a back-up meal

Let's face it you are camping and in some camping places you can't exactly pop to the local take-away place if you accidentlyu burn or drop dinner!

Our back-up meal consists of two tins of canned spaghetti.

Random Camping Tip #9: Pack quiet stuff for the kids

Don't take a stack load of toys for kids but pack a few quiet activities to whip out when they are tired from all that outdoor adventure. Last time we went camping the only 'toys' I took for the kids were buckets and spades.

Random Camping Tip #10: Pack some family games or cards for the adults.

Night time can get too peaceful sometimes so play a game of cards together. Sometimes you eally can run out of things to talk about!

 Random Camping Tip #11: Make everything easily accessible

I kept all the kids and my toilets in this old Avon hanging toiletry bag. I hang in the tent and if we are staying in a caravan park it's easy to carry to the toilet/shower block and hangs on the back of the shower door. Space to put your stuff is so limited in those shower cubicles and hanging it up high means there is less chance it gets wet.

 

 Random Camping Tip #12: Invest in cheap black bedding

 We used to take our bedding from home and it always got stained from dirty feet. I like that black sheets don't show the dirt but shows the beach sand so I know when the bed needs a good shake out.

Random Camping Tip #13: Pack car air fresheners trees

If you camping on a site with long drop toilets take a couple of trees or similiar with you. Just hang them up and they do a great job at masking the not so nice smell.

Random Camping Tip #14: Baby wipes

Do I need to explain? Fantastic for clean-ups (not just the kids), great for wiping down the table, stove etc. When you are camping with limited water you don't want to needing to rinse out a dish cloth all the time.

Random Camping Tip #15: Do not under any circumstance forget the coffee cups. 

Well okay maybe it's just me that wouldn't cope with that! I love my non-spill Tupperware ones.

 So I'm at the end but trust me I'm sure I have lots more random camping tips to share in the future.

Happy Camping People!

Poster Candy Love

Poster Candy

 My house is a never ending project. I can honestly say that in my eyes one room in our house is completely finished. I really want work on that this year. One of the major points of focus for me this year is the walls. I simply do not have enough photos, pictures, art on my walls. They are all looking a little blank to me. I do have to make a confession though .... there are lots of empty frames waiting for me to fill and find a space for. A couple of years ago I purchased these Ribba frames from Ikea to go in our bedroom. They matched our furniture and I was going to put them up above our bedhead. Then I changed my mind and now we have a different bedroom suite. The frames sat in the bottom of my walk-in-robe for a few years until Poster Candy came along.

 

I'd seen a friend on Instagram hang several of these amazing photo collages of her Instagram shots on her walls. She shared that they were from Poster Candy and she raved about them! I fell in lust after them right then! When I took the plunge to use Poster Candy  I was seriously impressed at how easy and quick it was to use. I like that all the available sizes fit into standard Ikea frames which keeps the overall cost low. 

I was worried at first that I wouldn't have enough photos as I really hadn't been using Instagram for that long ... or had I? I don't think I'd realised how much I was hooked on Instagram. I think I was in denial from my addiction.

 

  So did I have enough photos? Haha um definitely yes!!! I created one of all the shots of my two beautiful little monkeys and one of general photos since I started using Instagram. I love looking at them as it's such an amazing trip down memory lane in just one poster.

  

You find Poster Candy right here.

 Sizes available include 30cm x 40cm (RRP $19.95), 40cm x 50cm (RRP $24.95), 50cm x 50cm (RRP $29.95), 

50cm x 70cm (RRP $34.95) and 70cm x 100cm (RRP $49.95), plus $9.95 Australia-wide shipping.

Are you an Instagram addict too? Or are you still in denial?

 Disclosure: Poster Candy supplied me with the posters but the frames were mine. I was not paid for this review.  All opinions are mine.  

 

Blog Everyday in May Challenge: An apology

An Apology

So this challenge was about issuing a public apology and I thought this was a great opportunity to apologise for some seriously terrible actions on my part......

I hereby apologise that if you rock up to my house completely unexpectedly and unannounced you may find me in my pyjamas! They might even be my brand new penguin flannelettes that Molly picked out all by herself for me on Mother's Day. She was so excited about giving them to me and so proud of herself that she picked out such cute pyjamas for her mummy :)

And if you are one of my neighbours who seemed to find this quite shocking on the occasion she found me in my Pyjamas be careful who you go gossipping to in the street about this. The other neighbour might find it absolutely hilarious that you were so mortified by this as she too likes to hang out in her pj's on the weekends all morning long and sometimes all day! In fact we've been known to have lovely chats to each in the middle of the street while both still in our pj's.

So ... I'm sorry I love pj days

Are you a Pyjamas lover too?