Keeping stuff organised - any tips please

[Springersrock]

We’re going on a trip in a few weeks and staying at a different site each night.

Putting the tent up/taking it down is pretty quick but packing the “stuff” away takes forever

I’ve bought some plastic tubs in the hope that if everything has a tub, it can just be slotted into the car each morning - so a tub for bedding, tub for cooking equipment, tub for non fridge food, tub for dog stuff, etc. but is there a better way of doing it?

The tent just ends up awash with stuff and I don’t want to be wasting half the morning packing the car (plus the half an hour looking for the mallet because it’s been put in some random place when putting the tent up in the evening)

We use collapsible/stackable boxes. The box with mallet, electric hook up, spare pegs, torches etc is always on the top. Being conscious of putting things in the right boxes helps.

Wait, you’re packing and pitching every day of your holiday? I hope you have a great time but that sounds awful to me!

I have a similar problem with being organised when camping, my tent is very small as well which doesn’t help. Before going away a couple of weeks ago, I bought two large expandable car boot organisers and filled one with cooking equipment, cutlery, plates and mugs, non perishable food, washing up bowl etc. The other one had clothes, sleeping bag/SIM etc in it. The mallet goes in the tent bag otherwise I’ll forget it. The organisers then get lifted in and out of the car without having to pack/unpack them each time.

Anything extra goes in large bags for life which can be squashed into available space in the car.

Thank you!

Tent itself only takes about 20 minutes to put up so it’s not too much of a big deal.

I’ll have a look at different types of boot storage.

We won’t need everything every night, some of the sites are quite remote so we’ll have to cook in the evenings some nights, others we’ll walk to a local pub or something for dinner so won’t need to unpack everything.

It does my head in that nothing really seems to have a place and ends up scattered everywhere so hopefully storage tubs will keep everything together and we just need to get the tubs out that we need. We’ve just got to be strict with ourselves that we put stuff back in the correct tubs.

Thanks!

How big is your boot? We have a people carrier so a very tall boot and have a set of 3 plastic drawers that just get lifted in and out.

Also I highly recommend a Dymo tape labelled for labelling up the drawers / boxes to encourage everyone else to put stuff back where it lives

Close to the topic...I've just moved from blow up mattress to a camp bed. Didn't think about it before but it gives you great storage underneath to keep the tent tidier.

I think you have to be really disciplined about having a place for everything and always putting it back in its place.

So the mallet always lives in the tent bag with the spare tent pegs and the repair tape. Kitchen stuff always goes back in the kitchen box. Clothes go back into the Bag for Life for each family member. Stoves are put back into the briefcase as soon as they are cool. Torches and first aid kit live in their own drawstring bag.

We have a combination of plastic boxes with lids and car boot organisers.

If you’re moving sites every day don’t worry about setting things out on tables or setting up a kitchen area - just use stuff as you need it and put it away.

Yes, the bastard mallet always lives in the bloody bag or you have to buy a new sodding one at the site even though you already have one at home.
You'll never guess what I discovered 5 days ago...

I wish I knew. My tent is always a pigsty

Sorry. What I do do is keep clothes on the car and have a dirty washing bag and screech at my kids to put stuff in it and we do have kitchen crates and food crates but it is always chaos.

3 plastic lidded boxes:

• electrics; chargers, lights, extension tower, torches.
• kitchen; induction hob, kettle, stacking pans, plates and cutlery
• wet kitchen; collapsible sink, collapsible drainer, washing stuff, water bag, laundry stuff, kitchen roll, bin bags etc. The boxes are handy for extra workspace in the kitchen for

Clothes are in packing cubes, food is in bags for life and coolbox. We have a bag for life for EHU lead.
Everything else goes straight into the car or trailer.

Clear tubs are a great start. I’d also suggest packing smaller “grab bags” inside them for things you use daily, so you’re not digging through a whole box. Keep essentials like the mallet, pegs, and pump in one bright, easy-to-spot bag that always goes back in the same place. A quick tidy-up before bed also makes the morning pack-up much faster.

This is good advice. We have a number of brightly coloured ‘PE bags’ for essentials - one has the torches, spare batteries etc in it; one for first aid kit, mozzie spray, sun cream; one with card games and pass the pigs (camping tradition); and one with tent pegs, mallet and puncture repair kit for air tent.