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Browsing Pinterest one day, I saw a post for creating a camping notebook. Bah! Who would be THAT organized for CAMPING?! Camping is the antithesis of organization. What I really wanted was a list for packing before my trip, I didn’t need a whole binder, for goodness’ sake.
Oh, but wait. I love lists and being organized. I love making tiny check marks and filling in blanks. So I pinned the post and forgot about it. Until the following summer. I printed out some packing lists that I’d created, but I still forgot things. And I never could remember what I had packed for each meal, or what ingredients I needed. Pinterest came to mind and I went back to find that post I’d seen the last summer. I discovered that I had a small binder and some of the pockets they suggest using, so I half-heartedly put together a notebook and printed a couple of pre-made lists. And we had the best camping trip ever (as far as not forgetting anything vital!). I was hooked.
Organize your Camping Trips with a Camping Notebook
The initial Pinterest post links to a blog, AllThoseDetails.com. They lay it out pretty clearly, and I found that their ideas generally worked well for us, too. So I’ll start there, and then show some other ideas that have worked for us.
I made a camping notebook with a mini, half-size binder I already had. A quick trip to an office supply store supplied me with tabs.
My binder came with a pocket, which I use for a small notebook and pencil. This is occasionally handy for writing notes or keeping the kids busy.
My first tab is the Camping Checklist, which I downloaded from AllThoseDetails.com.
I printed camping meal plan pages from MeanMommyAcademy.com. This has been the most helpful part of the notebook for me…planning each meal and every single ingredient I need to pack. There’s also a space for activities and I’ve started planning one activity for each day that the kids can do while I’m preparing dinner.
Camping Reservations and Confirmations
My camping notebook also includes a tab for Reservations. Here I put copies of our reservation confirmations for cabins, campsites, etc. This way I have ALL the information handy, like phone numbers for when they give us the wrong gate combinations. I used to keep a calendar here, but I keep our family calendar on my phone, and it seemed redundant. There are, however, printable calendar pages if you choose to have one in your camping notebook.
Once we realized we were really enjoying blogging our adventures, we decided to add campground reviews, too, to help families plan trips. Since these pages were already available, I added a tab for them and started using them a couple of summers ago. This printable is also from AllThoseDetails.com.
I keep a few other odds and ends in my notebook. I have a few pages with relevant phone numbers for emergencies, some blank pages for writing notes (or more often, things I need to replace in our camping gear), and even some graph paper that I’ve never used.
Keep track of things that need purchased, repaired, or replaced.
Our camping notebook is surprisingly handy. My husband likes knowing there’s a plan and that we have all the information in one spot. I love having the menu laid out for each meal. And best of all, I don’t forget anything!
We never leave home without our camping notebook now!
