• Does packing make you feel overwhelmed?
  • Are you stuck at home with a huge pile of camping kit in your spare room?
  • Is it too stressful packing for a short trip?

Then planning a weekend ‘mini-camp’, where you leave some of your larger kits behind for a simple, might be the perfect stress-free get away you need.

 Even if you’re a die-hard glamper you are not only able to save space in your car, but also save time on packing. This will also save yourself the hard work of having to life heavy items and playing car tetris. You’ll will still be able to be comfortable, warm, dry, fed and happy. This will also be a lot less stressful 

What not to take:

You will first have to try leaving some things behind. We have identified a definitive list of the absolute non-essentials. This even includes the big, bulky, annoying-to-pack-and-store items because they won’t add much joy to your experience.You will soon realize that you can still have a fun and safe experience without all the extra bells and whistles.

1. Cooler:

This might be the most controversial thing to sacrifice.  Not it should be noted that if you are planning a wild camping trip where you’ll need to bring all your food with you then you will probably need a cooler. However, for many campers, there are shops that are never too far away. Packing a cooler requires many hours spent planning meals, shopping for food, packing and eventually struggling to keep cold in a sunny field. These are hours of your life that you will never get back. Then once you are at the camp site, you will either need to pay for an electrical hookup if you have an electric cool box in, or you will be wrestling with melting ice packs to stop all of your food from gradually getting warm and soggy. When you pack light, you are able to keep your options open and be able to choose the food that suits you when you need it.

 Camping Tip: You can bring the first meal, a few snacks and then breakfast. After that you can just buy fresh daily at the camp shop or a nearby supermarket as you need it. It is not necessary to plan your meals days in advance. Especially when you never really know what the weather is going to be.

By packing light with food you keep your options open and gain a few hours of your life back.

2. Extra bedding:

Bags of duvets and real pillows can take up a lot of space in the car. They will also require lots of time to clean when you return home. Now you will obviously need things to sleep with. So here is an alternative: each person will have an insulated self-inflating mattress, a pair of full-length thermal underwear, a decent sleeping bag, and a hat if its chilly weather. This is worth the try. If you change just one thing after reading this blog, do this and let us know.

3. Big chairs

Don’t let the armchair-style fold out chairs seduce you at the camping stores. These kinds of chairs may be comfy, but are total space-fillers.

4. Large tent

Downsizing your tent can save you space and. time. You could purchase a smaller tent, or borrow on, for a quick mini-camp. You will not only save yourself space in the car, but also some time setting up and taking down the tent. So sit back, enjoy the ease, and speed of a simple set-up.

5. Large Toys:

Unless you are a family that enjoys outdoor sports and that is the center of your trip fun. Then these toys are not essential, and can be an easy space saver. It is time to leave the bikes, baseballs, swingball and scooters at home. Unfortunately these kinds of toys are typically a 5-minute wonder and will spend most of the time lying around the campsite where they will be ignored and stepped over for a majority or the trip. This will help elimate some annoying tent clutter. Nature is an amazing playground, and your kids will be fine without them. If your family does feel the need to bring these kinds of large toys with them, then you might limit them to one choice. 

While you might think these tips are crazy, we recommend giving them a try. The point of leaving this stuff at home is to not only reduce your packing time, but also remove the stress and hard work of car tetris This can definitely  give yourself more time and freedom to relax, which is the point of a camping trip. We want you to have a relaxing mini-camping trip when you come to Acorn  Campsites.