Inspired ideas for packing clothes?

[JenniMoo]

Suitcases seem bulky and take up too much tent room. What do you experienced campers do?

We have a soft squishy bag we got from decathlon. Kind of big barrel shaped, fits loads in but squashes quite small when empty. When on site we decant our clothes into a cupboard unit we take and the bag stores in the car.

We bought one of these Ikea bags for each family member, they're a bit crackly and noisy when we're hunting for something but they work really well obviously until I find a quieter version because camping demands perfection in every way

I wrote everyone's name on the top in permanent marker so we know whose is whose, they line up nicely at one side of the tent next to a popup laundry bin for dirty stuff.

Dammit, you've got me hunting for quieter clothes bags for camping.
Cheers for that

I am going to buy three plastic boxes with lids, one for DH, DS and me. Each of us will have that space to fill with stuff including books, iPads etc. Shoes and wellies don't count as they go in a large bag for life thing, same with towels and coats. Pop up basket thing for dirty stuff. Anything that won't fit in your box has to stay behind- so much less stuff carted needlessly backwards and forwards and nobody crumples up my tops while searching for their pants

Pillow case ...... Good and squishy, so you can easily pack car, even the awkward spaces, and also limits everyone to the amount they can take.

Downside..... If you like will ironed clothes, then this is not for you!!

After a wet weekend rooting in DH's cavernous and ultimately useless mega-holdall, I am dreaming if a Kampa Handy Harry (can't link on phone) but just can't justify the price:( Any alternative suggestions??

I used to use trugs, the squishy ones.

We have those ikea bags too. They're quite roomy so we often end up packing other stuff in there too. They are reasonably waterproof, don't take up too much footprint (rectangle easier to do this IMO than circular unless you have a bell tent) and are a good size for folded clothes. I have a couple of rectangular trugs for shoes/boots when they are not on welly pegs. I find bags easier to pack in cars than plastic boxes, but at least with plastic boxes you can stack them on site, or use as tables etc.

I've got a fab DeWaard canvas bag that has a zip halfway up. So its sort of like a long sailor's kit bag when full but can lose half its length to become a great shopper for days out! I love it and wish I'd bought more at the time!

Just spotted the handy harry here whilst searching for flagpoles. Not sure if it's the cheapest ever,just saw the discount.

Bugger, failed to notice it was OOS.

I use my Morrisons shopping bag

I think the common theme here is that it really helps to seperate each family members clothes. I am rather lo tech and just pack each person's clothes in a different plastic bag, they all go in a large holdall for travelling then I decant them when we get there. Make sure the bags are different then it's easy to remember which bag belongs to whom. Oh and one person's bag is the holdall - usually husband's as his clothes take up the most room.

For short trips we have a bag for life each. If it's just DD and me, we can fit everything into a small holdall. When we were away for a fortnight we took 2 sausage shaped holdalls that squashed down to little or nothing and put the clothes in our Kampa Hollie, which is low enough to be able to tuck to one side of the bell tent but has a hard top to form a useful dressing table type area (here but oos as well I'm afraid: www.amazon.co.uk/Kampa-Hollie-Camp-Cupboard-Larder/dp/B003E21OO2)

Never mind Prof, I've half talked myself into it. Next year. This year will look into ikea bags/bags for life

We lay ironed clothes in hangers flat on the parcel shelf. Then put them on our argos hanging rail when we've pitched the tent. (Yes I am a wanker about clothes but it works for us)

We pack all our clothes and duvet onto those vacuum bags and suck them down with a footpump. At the campsite the clothes all go into wardrobe. At the end of the trip we pack it back in the bags and suck it down again.

We do need better quality bags though- the cheap ones have a nasty habit of developing holes and slowly re-inflating on the journey home.

We had that once frozen :o
We had packed the car like a game of Tetris, only to discover when we got home that the bag with the duvets in had got a hole. It had slowly reinflated and compressed everything else in the boot so that it was impossible to remove. We were reduced to unpacking by pulling out individual wellies until the vacuum was broken :o
Lakeland bags all the way now :)

I gave up on the neat folding of clothing for camping, or in fact any trip away. A friend advised that it was sometimes better to roll each garment.

Since changing to this method, I find I can get more into a smaller space. With that space now at a premium, no bags go into the car that aren't useful while camping too.

Yes to rolling. We have a bag each, nothing fancy, usually just a bag for life type one.

Can those IKEA bags be bought online? No ikea nearby and really want them now. Or does anyone have the measurements of them so I can find something similar?

We just take a backpack each

Think they've discontinued the exact ones, these and these are similar dimensions. Ebay has some nice designs.

Make sure you get the ones with the zips, so much easier to fling them into the roofbox etc when everything's not going to fall out!

Ikea bag measurements are 20 (d) x 40 (w) x 46 (h)

Looks like you can buy Ikea bags on line Singla. I also love these but take an empty one so you can transfer stuff between while you find what you are looking for.

My tent has an integral hanging rail so we take our clothes in hanging storage like this put straight into the car.

I use the blue ikea bags that you use as carriers.....