How to Prepare a Cooking and Clean-up Kit for Camping

Camping is a wonderful time to relax and enjoy being in the outdoors. It’s a great family bonding time to do things together without all the distractions we’re used to around the home. When you’re camping you want to be organized to make sure you have everything you’ll need for your outing. One area you’ll want a list for is your cooking and clean-up equipment. To make any meal preparation easy it's good to have a cooking and clean-up kit as part of your camping gear. You want to ensure your campsite has the essentials for cooking your campout meals. Time around the campfire during meal preparation and cooking is a real family bonding experience. Here are some tips to help you organize your camp kitchen. A couple of large plastic boxes with fold-over lids from the local Walmart will do nicely to store your cooking and clean-up accessories. After a camping adventure, we replenish what we use and then store out cooking/clean-up it in the garage. All we need to do for our next camping trip is to get our boxes and check to make sure everything on our list is included.

This is what to pack in one box:
Pots and pans that fit inside of each other to save space
A non-stick frying pan
A metal and a plastic spatula/flipper
Cutting board, knife and fork
Can opener
A mixing wisk
Aluminum foil
Eating Utensils - the hard plastic washable kind and of course lots of disposable ones
Lots of cups - the hard plastic washable kind and disposable ones too
Matches and a couple camping lighters
Paper towels and plastic bags (for leftovers and to wrap food in)
Spices (salt, pepper, garlic salt, etc.)
Instant coffee and hot chocolate
Some spare food - like a couple of packages of Macaroni and Cheese and a can of Ravioli, just in case you run out of food or for emergencies
Plates and bowls (hard plastic and paper)

Pack these items in the second box:
Camping gear for cooking over a fire:
Old newspaper
Kindling or fire starters
Campfire tripod or grill to place over the fire
Barbecue cleaning equipment

To keep your campsite clean and your cooking materials sanitary, these clean-up items are essential:
2 buckets (that fit inside each other) or 2 plastic tubs (that fit inside each other) for washing and rinsing dishes
Dish Rags and towels
Scouring pads
Disposable wipes
Detergent
Plastic storage bags
Trash bags

These are many of the camping gear essential items you might need for your Campsite Cooking and Clean-up Kit. There will be additional items you may wish to have. Fee free to expand on this list, but try to keep your list to essential items only. Keep your list updated and know where you keep it, so you can find it when it’s time to pack for your next camping trip.

Remember lists are very important for camping, especially a list of your essential items for your camp kitchen. You don’t want to forget anything that could be a show stopper – like forgetting the spatula for your morning pancakes.

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