Summer is in full swing and that means that a lot of us are enjoying (or about to enjoy) some well-deserved time off from work. We’re packing or bags, making our home vacation proof and handling the last few bit and bobs before leaving everything behind for a little bit. While some of us opt for a comfortable all-in holiday or a city trip to one of the most popular summer destinations, others are doing things differently. Camping may not be to everyone’s taste, but if you do enjoy it, it certainly is a budget friendly way of going on holiday.
However, even if you actually enjoy putting up your tent and rolling out your sleeping bag and mattress, chances are there’s still one thing you haven’t figured out just yet. Whether you’re setting up camp at a festival or in the middle of the wide wilderness, keeping your tent looking tidy and clean is a challenge only a few of us have mastered so far. All the others are faced with an enormous mess after just one night and with no idea how to handle it. Luckily for you, we were quite curious as well about tips on how to keep that tent tidy and so we went looking for the best tricks we could find. So, with love from us to you: how to keep your tent clean this summer.
1. Pack wisely
As always, everything starts with the right preparations. Maybe you think packing all your stuff into your enormous backpack without any order or logic is a good idea, but it certainly isn’t. Sure, it will save you some time beforehand, but once you’re there in your tent looking for your toothbrush only to realize it’s at the bottom of your bag, you’ll get very frustrated with yourself.
Therefore, try to pack all your stuff into little packing cubes or tote bags and label them. That way, things will stay organised even once you’ve unpacked everything and you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for much quicker. Put the stuff you’ll need immediately upon arrival at the top of you backpack, you’ll be thankful later.
2. Choose your tent carefully
Once again, it’s all about being well-prepared. Unless you’re going hiking and you need to carry your tent around on your back each and every day – in which case you want to opt for the smallest, lightest option possible – try to choose a tent model with a vestibule. As the name suggests, this is the perfect place to store all the stuff you don’t actually need when you’re sleeping. Shoes, clothes, toiletries, even cooking gear: keep it all separate from your sleeping gear.
3. Pick the right spot
Given, you don’t always have much choice when setting up your tent. When you’re on a camping site or at a festival, you pretty much set up camp where they tell you to. Yet, if you’re a bit more flexible, if you’ve got the choice, try to pick the right spot to set up your tent. A tree right next to it can for example be pretty handy when it comes to staying organised. You can attach some stuff to its branches for example (of course, show some respect and clean up afterwards) or it can double as a handy seating spot. Trees, they’re real life-savers, even when you’re camping.
4. Unpack
Leaving everything in your backpack isn’t a good idea if you want to stay organised. Once you’ve installed your tent, try to find the courage to unpack everything and give it a spot in your vestibule. If everything is packed into separate bags, you don’t have to take everything out of course. Just line up the bags and know what’s where.
5. Handle your garbage
You might not always think of it while packing your bags but garbage bags are an essential part of your camping gear. Put them somewhere in your vestibule or attach them to a tree outside and put all garbage immediately in there. Don’t let things roam inside your tent. Don’t be lazy. By throwing everything away immediately, your tent will stay clean much longer and you won’t be harassed by unwanted insects or such. A dustpan and brush can be handy as well if you want to clean up little bits of grass or other stuff that has somehow made its way inside your tent.
