7 Genius Camping Hacks to Keep Your Outdoor Fun From Getting Ruined

If you have an outdoor adventure planned, you NEED these genius camping hacks to make sure your fun isn’t ruined. There’s nothing quite like getting away from it all and go camping. Camping gives you with the chance to breath in some fresh air and engages in some fun activities like hiking and swimming. Unfortunately, with all that outdoor fun also comes outdoor menaces: bugs, heat, the potential for injuries. Nothing ruins a camping trip faster than getting eaten alive by insects or losing the entire weekend’s meal rations to a bear! Check out these camping hacks that will keep your trip from going up in the bonfire smoke!

Related: Camping Three Ways: A City Girl Learns to Camp!

Genius Camping Hacks You Need

Mosquito repellent from nature

Who doesn’t love bonfires? The problem is that most of the time, mosquitoes interfere with our ability to enjoy the fire. To repel mosquitoes, add some sage to your fire and the scent will keep mosquitoes at bay.

Instant tick remover

If you or someone in your family gets a tick on them, squeeze some dish soap on a cotton ball, place it on the tick and hold in place for 25 seconds. This will cause the tick to stick to the cotton ball.

Pack eggs the easy way

You want some tasty scrambled eggs for breakfast but don’t want the hassle or mess of lugging around a cartoon of eggs right? Just crack your eggs into a water bottle, storing up to 8 eggs. This will save you time from having to crack them, and you don’t need a bowl or a whisk. Check out more ideas for camping food! Not a meat eater? Try our vegetarian camping meals.

Sandpaper= match lighter

Yes, sandpaper can be used to light matches with ease. How you ask? Just glue a square of sandpaper to a small container lid, store the matches inside the container and you have an instant match lighter.

Related: Must Have Items for Camping

Corn chips=kindling

Part of camping is having a cozy bonfire. However, this may not always be an easy task since starting the fire can be difficult at times. If you have corn chips, then you have an easy way to start a fire.

DIY lantern idea

Need some light but don’t have a lantern available? All you need is an empty and clean tuna fish can and a votive candle. Then, just place the candle in the can and voila, you have light.

Ziplock Bags

If you’re camping with toddlers, bring Ziplock bags or other airtight containers for storing dirty diapers and clothes. Nothing draws bugs (or stinks up the tent!) faster than a nasty diaper.

These camping hacks will make your trip go a lot smoother, so even the skeptics among your family will enjoy the trip. If you have young children and want to do a trial run, check out our ideas for taking a “real” camping trip in your back yard! Of course, if you want to get really away, you can’t do much better than camping in Yellowstone in the US or these National Parks in Canada!