Stuff to make tent/surroundings prettier

[flyingkangaroos]

We're always really messy when we camp, and our camp stuff is practical not pretty. I don't want to change lots of stuff, but I wondered what you'd do to make things seem a bit less squalid! 5 of us (kids all under 10).

• clothes transport/storage - at the moment we have those big holdall bags, and everything gets crumpled/turned out all over the floor/they're big so can't be used to fill up little space in the boot. Any good ideas for a prettier, more practical answer?

• kids need mattresses to sleep on (youngest has outgrown his; others have leaks etc.). I'd like to get them all in one compartment, but the two who are there, altho they have tonnes of space, roll all over each other. Their room is also always a tip. Any ideas of a way to keep them ON their own mattresses, and to keep their stuff a bit tidier?

• we need an awning/tarp/kitchen shelter/windbreak of some kind - pretty ones?

• we ideally need some sort of stand for the stove, w some food/plate space under it.

• some sort of twinkly lighting for the evening would be lovely, but is low on the list!

Could you get the children camp beds rather than mattresses on the floor? They sort of sag in the middle which makes it harder to roll off than a lilo on the floor. Then you also have the storage space under the beds so the mess can be shoved underneath where you can't see it!

Are you camping next to the car or are you a walk away from it? If you're next to the car you could sort the storage so most of it never leaves the boot. Either a big hinged lidded basket with compartments for everyone or several hard-shelled suitcases. I find soft bags the messiest as you can't see where anything is.

I've never managed pretty camping though so I'm hoping someone else will have better ideas!

I bought one of those hanging storage things last year to take camping. It doesn't hang up in the tent (nothing to suspend it from) but it does stand upright if placed on it's back and concertina-d out.
Not explaining it well..it's like this

Also, we have solar fairy lights from Ikea. They get taken every year!

We are going camping for the first time in a couple of weeks so watching with interest.

We have borrowed a collapsible camping wardrobe that is shelved so hoping that will help stop things getting strewn everywhere

I like the idea of the ikea lights though so may have to plan a visit.

The front "door" of our tent can be held open so hoping my that gives us enough space to cook.

Found these on ebay

Look at this on eBay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/192033470663

Another leader in Cubs uses Ikea blue bags when family camping for clothes - everyone has a bag, they're open on top for easy use, but can be easily scrunched away at the end to fit into nooks and crannies. (I suspect he has a couple of duffles for a bulk clothes on packing, and the blue bags only have "last bits" gathered up). Would some kind of more open bag work well? I know Ikea ones aren't pretty and quite big. Both that leader and I though make use of large Ziploc bags to pack individual days of clothes (one full outfit per bag) before we leave home, including spares - so they stay dry and are easy to pull out for smaller people. Also, keep 1 bag for "wet and dirty" things that will not be used again (after jumping in muddy puddles!), and possibly another for "wet but clean" if there is likely to be rain but opportunities to dry things to reuse.

I only have a table to "kitchen" on and eat off - no proper kitchen unit. The gas ring either sits on a picnic bench (if present) or on the metal table. I use ikea plastic tubs with lids to hold my kitchen equipment in and another for food. I have a 22l one with a liftout insert for the utensils, washup stuff, coffee pot (vital!), bin bags etc; and then 2 larger ones (same size so they can stack) for plates, glasses, pots etc; and for food. But not the largest ones available - just large enough.

Could a spare rolled up blanket/throw - which can double as spare covering if needed - between mattresses, help to keep people in their own space?

We have camp beds - they're a pain to put together but are comfy and you can keep a lot of stuff underneath, and they're much narrower than air mattresses so you have more floor space.

We take holdalls for clothes but have a variety of sizes so the small ones do cram in small spaces, and even the bigger ones slide under camp beds well.

Kitchen stuff and food travels in plastic crates with lids, so they can stack if needed, or be used as side tables, or seats.

The stove goes on a folding kitchen stand thing with 2 shelves beneath (might be this one?)

We DH assembled (from plastic pipe I think ) two poles with guylines that hold up the front door of the tent for extra shelters / shade.

But we camp rustic and practical rather than pretty - no fairy lights or bunting, lots of fire and penknives.

(NB: inspired by scout camp, we do hold the occasional 'tent inspection' of the DC's living quarters before eg trips to the sweet shop!)

As a Guide leader I camp rustically as well, but I have to say that I have been converted to a set of solar fairy lights above my kitchen table. They give just enough glow at night for preparing the pre-bed hot drinks without destroying night vision, and don't even run out of battery power just when I forgot to pack replacements...

I like the tent inspection idea!! Especially if there can be a pay-off for neat and tidy spaces afterwards (and a 20 minute period of relative peace for parents while DCs go in and make the chaos magically turn into something resembling normality.....)

If we're away for longer than a weekend I make them decant their clothes into one of these folding ottoman so that the living area of the tent looks reasonably neat and has extra seating. We also have one for shoes by the tent door.

the camp bed idea sounds sensible, but more STUFF.

Does anyone use anything like Ready Beds for older kids? I'm really attracted to the idea of something that stops them rolling around!

Our tent is none too big for 5 of us (it's a 6 man) and I think that's a big part of the problem.

I think it'd be good to find a better way to store our kitchen stuff and then free up the folding crates we have for clothes/kids' gubbins.

Omg FOLDABLE OTTOMAN. That's going in my basket. Genius!

This is an interesting article re beds: www.campingwithstyle.co.uk/complete-guide-camping-beds-sleeping-comfort-canvas/

I'm seriously considering a fishing bed. I hate our air mattress. I really want a camper van but this may be an interim compromise

I've always been a bit about fairy lights. But, I was on a site a few weeks ago and had trouble finding my tent in the big dark field that my torch couldn't shine across. I got a cheap solar light. Works excellently.

Google "Camping Kitchen Unit". That seems to be the term for cooker holder shelf things.

A PP suggested plastic crates and I come on every camping thread I see to recommend just the same thing.

As you can see, they aren't pretty, but they help to keep the place tidy. We keep all our kitchen kit in a huge one between camping trips, pick out what we won't need just before we go camping and shove the box in the car, and use it when camping to keep anything that needs to be dry, store anything that the wildlife might eat, and as an extra seat/prep surface.

As for clothes, I've always just put everyones' kit in a separate plastic bag inside a holdall, but I do like @MarklahMarklah's suggestion.

For our kitchen stuff, plates, cutlery etc we use a plastic drawer unit. I pack it up ready at home and it can then be lifted from car straight into the tent. Also useful as kettle can stand on it in the tent and we can access the drawers easily when on route.

For clothes we have a stacking lidded box each. All towels, pillow and sleeping bag go in each persons box too and once taken out at camp site it is easy to manange the clothes during the holiday.

Take a dirty laundry bag so the clean clothes bags get emptied as the holiday progresses, and the bags don't have clean and dirty in them at the same time.