Anybody else have trouble packing for camping

[opnspaces]

This has always affected me. I love camping, I would go full time if I could. But I always have trouble packing.

It's almost 9:30 am and I'm waiting for the kids to get out of school around 3. So far the extent of my prep is on Tuesday I put the sleeping bags in the popup and closed it all up before it rained. I haven't even considered food or shopping and no clothes are packed. Yes I'll get it done, but for some reason I always hate getting ready for the trip.

Does this happen to any of you?

[Freeway_Flyer_0]

Just relaxing after spending about 45 minutes loading up. Fresh food, milk, wine, beer, and snacks. Grand kid gave me her backpack and I tossed that in. Heading out in the AM!!!

[BarabooBob]

We keep most of the dedicated camping stuff in the TT. Most of our cooking stuff is a duplicate for stuff in the house. We do have lists for food that we take along. I LOVE to eat good food and we are both excellent cooks.
Our tow vehicle is my daily driver and I have to unload a lot of my stuff before we pack for a trip. I don't need a couple of chainsaws, a large tool box with every imaginable tool, 300 ft of heavy rope for doing tree work, etc. My truck goes on a serious diet before any trip. My wife even makes me vacuum and wash the truck.

[toedtoes]

CavemanCharlie wrote:

pasusan wrote:
It's not that simple. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. Food is my biggest problem - sometimes forgetting something important. We hardly ever camp anywhere near a store and I don't want to spend my camping time shopping anyway.

Way back when the kids were with us -- I will never forget the time I forgot the marshmallows for the fire...

I do plan meals and make lists, but even with that, last time I forgot butter. I had all the makings for grilled cheese, but no butter. Surprisingly mayo worked - no change in taste. :C

See, I'm just the opposite. Meals for me can be quite simple. A couple of hot dogs over the fire and a potato baked in the coals will suffice. If all else fails I can heat a can of something up on my campers stove. I have friends like you that are into large complicated meals but, that's not for me.

To each their own but, maybe changing your diet/food habits to make them simpler will make getting ready for camping easier for you.

I forget the butter a lot. I stuck on note in the camper so that I remember. That helps me a lot.

I don't consider grilled cheese a large complicated meal.

[CavemanCharlie]

pasusan wrote:
It's not that simple. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. Food is my biggest problem - sometimes forgetting something important. We hardly ever camp anywhere near a store and I don't want to spend my camping time shopping anyway.

Way back when the kids were with us -- I will never forget the time I forgot the marshmallows for the fire...

I do plan meals and make lists, but even with that, last time I forgot butter. I had all the makings for grilled cheese, but no butter. Surprisingly mayo worked - no change in taste. :C

See, I'm just the opposite. Meals for me can be quite simple. A couple of hot dogs over the fire and a potato baked in the coals will suffice. If all else fails I can heat a can of something up on my campers stove. I have friends like you that are into large complicated meals but, that's not for me.

To each their own but, maybe changing your diet/food habits to make them simpler will make getting ready for camping easier for you.

I forget the butter a lot. I stuck on note in the camper so that I remember. That helps me a lot.

[opnspaces]

Wow that's ingenious. I would have had the kids eat just cheese sandwiches and dealt with the complaints. I never would have thought to try mayo. But I guarantee you I will try it now.

[pasusan]

It's not that simple. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. Food is my biggest problem - sometimes forgetting something important. We hardly ever camp anywhere near a store and I don't want to spend my camping time shopping anyway.

Way back when the kids were with us -- I will never forget the time I forgot the marshmallows for the fire...

I do plan meals and make lists, but even with that, last time I forgot butter. I had all the makings for grilled cheese, but no butter. Surprisingly mayo worked - no change in taste. :C

[Grit_dog]

^ Then it’s just a task you don’t like doing so you procrastinate on it.
Carry on.
No magical solution and it’s a simple task.

[DSteiner51]

ScottG wrote:
Yes! This is one of the reasons we got an RV. It's packed with everything except change of clothes and a few food items. Otherwise, absolutley everything from toiletries to condiments are always in it.
We can "pack" in less than 30 minutes.

Same here. Takes 30 minutes if I poke. By keeping "stuff" in the camper camping is relaxing from start to finish.

[opnspaces]

Grit dog wrote:

opnspaces wrote:
This has always affected me. I love camping, I would go full time if I could. But I always have trouble packing.

It's almost 9:30 am and I'm waiting for the kids to get out of school around 3. So far the extent of my prep is on Tuesday I put the sleeping bags in the popup and closed it all up before it rained. I haven't even considered food or shopping and no clothes are packed. Yes I'll get it done, but for some reason I always hate getting ready for the trip.

Does this happen to any of you?

Is this the only activity or task that your procrastination has an effect on, or do you have trouble motivating yourself to do other tasks or chores too?
Yes, some people are less motivated and less proactive than others. I'm sure you're not alone in this.
But since you appear to be indirectly asking for either confirmation that your behavior is justifiable or help to figure out your lack of motivation, you at least recognize there is an issue.
Good luck resolving it, for sure.

Thanks Grit, I appreciate the kind words. No it's not all things in life, just something that comes up for camping. So I was curious if others were in the same boat. We had a great trip and I posted a picture up in the Folding Trailers section. Here's a link, though the forum has such little traffic it really won't be hard to find. 🙂
Link

[Edd505]

ScottG wrote:
Yes! This is one of the reasons we got an RV. It's packed with everything except change of clothes and a few food items. Otherwise, absolutley everything from toiletries to condiments are always in it.
We can "pack" in less than 30 minutes.

Even RV cloths are in, grab meds & fresh fruits, veggies, and perishables from the home fridge. RV is parked with the fridge always on, but we live where we can RV year round.

[CavemanCharlie]

I just leave most everything in the camper, canned goods, spices, etc.. After I am done camping I refill the water tank and take the dirty laundry in the house. When I want to go out I just grab my backpack throw a change of clothes in it and go. As for food, I'm never that far from a town where I can get some supplies.

[Jayco-noslide]

Wife has it down pat but it still is one of the most difficult parts of RVing. We have a list to print off breaking down what we need to pack and check off; in the MH, in the refrig, in the towed vehicle. Many items stay in so just check them off. Food is the biggest problem for us. We cook pretty much as at home and each have our favorite foods that we know we can't get on the road. Can't take everything so have to make choices but don't spend time choosing each time. Real free spirits just throw in a few thing and figure they'll buy the rest. But they probably eat whatever is there and we can't do that.

[Grit_dog]

opnspaces wrote:
This has always affected me. I love camping, I would go full time if I could. But I always have trouble packing.

It's almost 9:30 am and I'm waiting for the kids to get out of school around 3. So far the extent of my prep is on Tuesday I put the sleeping bags in the popup and closed it all up before it rained. I haven't even considered food or shopping and no clothes are packed. Yes I'll get it done, but for some reason I always hate getting ready for the trip.

Does this happen to any of you?

Is this the only activity or task that your procrastination has an effect on, or do you have trouble motivating yourself to do other tasks or chores too?
Yes, some people are less motivated and less proactive than others. I'm sure you're not alone in this.
But since you appear to be indirectly asking for either confirmation that your behavior is justifiable or help to figure out your lack of motivation, you at least recognize there is an issue.
Good luck resolving it, for sure.

[Grit_dog]

brant_c wrote:
I have an awesome wife and three wonderful girls.

It doesn't matter how much I prep. I could prep a month out and there is still four hours of $%^& to put in the !@#$%^& camper the day of the trip!

Haha, preach it bro!
My definition of "make sure we are 100% ready to leave when I get home from work" is definitely different than my wife's although it's getting better. This applies to any trip, not just camping, lol. And yes there's typically 6 hands and 3 brains that should be available for the task!

[ppine]

No. I do not make many lists. I just grab some stuff and go.