10 Hacking the Packing Tips for an Outdoor Trip

Packing Tip 1: Use mum’s tupperware

Keep electronics away from food and drink for obvious reasons. But use cheap plastic ‘tupperware’ food boxes for both. It protects the fragile stuff, stops leakages and helps keep everything organised.

Packing Tip 2: Learn to love sandwich bags

A box of self sealing sandwich bags are really useful. At airports use them to put your liquids in to go through check in. On campsites use them to store food so animals don’t smell it.

Packing Tip 3: Baby wipes are not just for babies

Baby wipes are essential. We don’t have a baby but we do have wipes. They’re particularly good for giving the tent a clean in the morning, wiping away fluff, feathers, leaves and crumbs.

Packing Tip 4: Splash out on a waterproof bag

If you want to invest in a bag for family adventure, splash out on a Vaude or another brand that makes tough waterproof sacks that you can bungee to a bike, sling into a canoe or carry on your back.

Packing Tip 5: Pack a binbag as a makeshift waterproof coat

If you get caught out in the rain, a roll of binbags can work as coats.The teenagers will hate you but they’ll stay dry.

Packing tip 6: Use plastic bags as waterproof socks

If you don’t have waterproof socks, and it’s likely to rain all day, line your shoes with supermarket shopping bags. Or for babies use the little clear sandwich bags we mentioned earlier.

Packing tip 7: Reuse those little shampoo bottles

If weight is an issue, save those little shampoo bottle from hotels and fill them with washing up liquid, baby oil etc.

Packing tip 8: Stay cool with a dishcloth

Supermarket dish cloths make great face cloths if the weather is hot and you need cooling down. Don’t use the dishcloths first though!

Packing tip 9: Sharing saves weight

Share bowls and cutlery and stagger dinner.

Packing tip 10: Pass the tea towel

Take one bath towel and share it. Take a tea towel instead of a bath towel for drying the tent before you put it away. Less moisture means less weight.

Teach Your Kids the Art of Packing

It’s all very well becoming a packing ninja yourself but you don’t want to spend the rest of your life packing for the family do you? So here’s one last tip. Teach the kids to do the packing for you. But teach them to do it right.

Want more packing tips?

For more useful packing tips, especially on helping kids to pack light and right, check out this post in which our own packing efficiency engineer looks (with horror) inside his sister’s suitcase and then gives her a lesson in what and how to pack right.

Disclosure Note: This post has been brought to you thanks to support from Holiday Inn Express. The views, opinions and experience (at least in the second video) are entirely our own.