How can I organize camping essentials?

I separate shelter/sleeping equipment , cooking/eating equipment and general supplies like flashlights, radios and first aid kits. If you routinely use sporting equipment while camping, those items (kayak,raft, fishing poles, hiking gear, climbing gear, etc) creates a fourth collection of supplies. After each trip, I make sure everything is cleaned, repaired or replaced if necessary, packed and stored for next time. I also keep a master list to make sure we never find ourselves without a can opener or batteries for the flashlights.

when I first started taking the children tenting, I had a very small car that had to take all of our supplies as well as the children...I used milk crates and tote boxes whenever possible to keep like items together. Food was put into totes and coolers. I tried to ensure that the totes/crates weren't too large (and therefore too heavy) when full. I also repackaged food stuffs into small, square dedicated containers to minimize space wastage and to have a tight seal to keep critters at bay.

Hello Jeanne! Here are a variety of suggestions -- twenty best ideas, actually -- for organizing your camping gear. Check it out at this link:

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/camping-organization/?lp=true

Totes are the key! Keeps everything clean, dry and organized in between uses!

I do what Fischer does. Everything lives in plastic tubs in my garage. Even though we have an RV, I still take tent camping trips and keep everything neat and tidy - you never know when an emergency may arise, like an earthquake. And making master lists are the way to go, at least for me. Things change over time, and an easy way to keep everything up to date. Sometimes I think the dogs have more gear than I do! 😎🐕🐩🐩

So I have to agree. Totes and crates ate the best way to organize and store all camping gear. You can get right clamps at a hardware store to hang fishing poles in a closet when not in use. Or use a utility rack that you would hang a your broom and mop on.