Will camping be too much right before a planned vacation?

[Anonymous]

We leave for a planned vacation the week after school gets out for the summer. Our kids really want to take a family camping trip, and the only days we can make it work this summer would be four days before we leave for our trip; camping would be Friday and Saturday night, and we leave for vacation on Tuesday.

Is this crazy? For some reason I’m imagining chaos packing and making sure we don’t forget things for a long trip while simultaneously doing the same for a tent camping trip. Am I overthinking this?

[Anonymous]

Doesn't sound crazy to me, without knowing the details.

But where would you be camping, where is the big vacation, how long is the big vacation, and how old are your kids?

We once did two nights in Williamsburg, then a night camping in Assateague followed directly by a week in Rehoboth. That was easy, even with young kids.

Different story if you are flying to Japan on the Tuesday with twin 3-year-olds.

[Anonymous]

It calls for a lot of planning and lists and pre-prep. Have you already been camping, or do you need to purchase a tent or anything else?

I find the hardest parts of trip prep are pulling random things from all over the house, acquiring special things, and making sure all the right clothes are clean. When the things you need are tents and camping supplies or beach toys or whatever's unique for your vacation, you can start piles a few weeks in advance because you won't need that stuff at home. I often use laundry baskets to gather things.

You can go through your camping supplies now. Make sure you have working flashlights/batteries, etc., etc. I would approach this by making lists of all those little tasks and delegating a bunch to the husband. Closer to the trips, start the piles. Then when it's actually time to pack, it will be much easier because all of the thinking will have been done already.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you are overthinking it. I have never regretted a vacation or camping trip.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like this can be done logistically, assuming you have the day off before your trip so you can put things away, do the laundry.

You would just need to start packing earlier for one of the trips so you're not organizing and packing for both trips at the same time.

Eg get your camping gear and the food together now. If you have a partner or DH, have them help with T least camping gear. Toothbrush and toothpaste, soap, towels can be packed. Then all you need to worry about are pjs, swimsuit, change of clothes. These might be items for your other trip so this is overlap.

For your other trip, it's mostly packing what you'll wear and toiletries. Could get the toiletries together now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't sound crazy to me, without knowing the details.

But where would you be camping, where is the big vacation, how long is the big vacation, and how old are your kids?

We once did two nights in Williamsburg, then a night camping in Assateague followed directly by a week in Rehoboth. That was easy, even with young kids.

Different story if you are flying to Japan on the Tuesday with twin 3-year-olds.

We are flying out to California to visit family and go on a family cruise. We would be camping at a state park, nothing crazy.

[Anonymous]

For my family it would be fine. For me who is the one worried about having everything we need for both trips it is too close

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It calls for a lot of planning and lists and pre-prep. Have you already been camping, or do you need to purchase a tent or anything else?

I find the hardest parts of trip prep are pulling random things from all over the house, acquiring special things, and making sure all the right clothes are clean. When the things you need are tents and camping supplies or beach toys or whatever's unique for your vacation, you can start piles a few weeks in advance because you won't need that stuff at home. I often use laundry baskets to gather things.

You can go through your camping supplies now. Make sure you have working flashlights/batteries, etc., etc. I would approach this by making lists of all those little tasks and delegating a bunch to the husband. Closer to the trips, start the piles. Then when it's actually time to pack, it will be much easier because all of the thinking will have been done already.

Thanks! We have all of the gear already which help, it’s just all over the house. But this is actually helpful advice, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Do you have to work an intense job Monday and Tuesday before you leave? If that were me, I'd want the weekend to get ready for the vacation. If not, it seems more doable.

Also depends on how high stakes each trip is and how much experience you have getting ready for it.

Backpacking camping in the wilderness where you need to map out places to get water and carry everything you need on your back? That takes a ton of time to plan so you have everything but don't overpack. Camping at a campground where you can buy firewood and run to a store if necessary? Totally low stakes and doable IF you have the basic supplies somewhat organized.

Similarly with the vacation. If it's to a developed country where you can buy almost anything you might forget, less pressure to pack perfectly than something more remote.

Also depends on your family and how well you sleep when camping. I camp a lot but don't always sleep well since everyone in the tent ends up piling on top of me, so I like a chill week when I return. I wouldn't want to cope with jet lag and a museum-heavy vacation on top of a camping hangover, but I'd be cool going to a rental house or resort on the beach where I could relax.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't. But I don't like camping, we only do tent camping and there is too much cleanup after. The chances of me doing something to my back on a camping trip is high too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It calls for a lot of planning and lists and pre-prep. Have you already been camping, or do you need to purchase a tent or anything else?

I find the hardest parts of trip prep are pulling random things from all over the house, acquiring special things, and making sure all the right clothes are clean. When the things you need are tents and camping supplies or beach toys or whatever's unique for your vacation, you can start piles a few weeks in advance because you won't need that stuff at home. I often use laundry baskets to gather things.

You can go through your camping supplies now. Make sure you have working flashlights/batteries, etc., etc. I would approach this by making lists of all those little tasks and delegating a bunch to the husband. Closer to the trips, start the piles. Then when it's actually time to pack, it will be much easier because all of the thinking will have been done already.

I would also try to separate the clothes like wear older clothes camping so no one has to have anything from camping on the vacation so you aren't up a creek so to speak if you don't get the laundry done. I also rarely have my kids pack last minute.

But the key is still lists. I even organize my lists into clothes by person, toiletries or similar that can be packed in advance, things that have to be packed in the morning (but you can limit this by setting aside enough medication for the trips and filling travel shampoo bottles earlier in the week, having two toothbrushes, two deodorants, etc.), stuff I can't forget that I always check for last minute (phone, charger, IDs, etc.).

That way you can work on it little by little as you have ten minutes here and there. The lists also tell the husband what to do. Mine often preps and gathers items and I pack the bags and car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It calls for a lot of planning and lists and pre-prep. Have you already been camping, or do you need to purchase a tent or anything else?

I find the hardest parts of trip prep are pulling random things from all over the house, acquiring special things, and making sure all the right clothes are clean. When the things you need are tents and camping supplies or beach toys or whatever's unique for your vacation, you can start piles a few weeks in advance because you won't need that stuff at home. I often use laundry baskets to gather things.

You can go through your camping supplies now. Make sure you have working flashlights/batteries, etc., etc. I would approach this by making lists of all those little tasks and delegating a bunch to the husband. Closer to the trips, start the piles. Then when it's actually time to pack, it will be much easier because all of the thinking will have been done already.

Thanks! We have all of the gear already which help, it’s just all over the house. But this is actually helpful advice, thanks!

The way I arrived at these tips other than practice is to really investigate myself and my assumptions. Just because I had always run around crazy and stressed and in a bad mood before a trip doesn't mean I have to. Why was I? Because it really does take a lot of time and steps to get ready and I wasn't doing any of them in advance.

Think about what things you were dreading when you wrote your post (write it down even) and then think unemotionally about what would help that chaos not happen whether that's buying more clothes, checking camping gear in advance, or whatever. Then determine if you prefer doing those things or the chaos or not going camping. Which do you value for your family?

That's not to say you will want to check your flashlights now. You may have to force yourself to do it, but it will pay off. 😁

[Anonymous]

Not for me. I don't like doing things back to back like that. But if you're organized and think things through, it can be done, of course.

[Anonymous]

It can be done, but the clean up after tent camping is such a pain. Airing out the tent and the bags and all that, I wouldn't want to deal with that along with getting ready to go somewhere else.

Maybe a 1 night camping trip, and then you have more time before the trip.