The biggest help we did was we bought a few clear storage containers – one always holds our food supplies (utensils, bowls, plates, cups, foil, salt/pepper, tablecloth, etc) plus paper for starting the camp fires, a candle lighter, matches, etc. We have another that we store our lanterns, flashlights, tent stakes, tarps, etc in. And the others we use for our towels, blankets, etc in case it rains on our way to the campground (We have an open-bed truck so it happens sometimes). Before it took us forever to find all of our gear and pack… now we just grab a few containers, pack our bags and towel and blankets, and hit the road.

This last year we added an air mattress to our gear and it BY FAR improved my camping experience. I never wanted to be one of those people that complained about being ‘too old’ to sleep on the floor… but it felt like no matter what we did I was always cold and uncomfortable. The air mattress fixed that, and I actually woke up feeling refreshed instead of tired. This coming year I’m going to pick up a plain outdoor porch mat to put in front of our tent entrance to help with mud issues (not so much a problem in the spring but definitely a problem in the fall around here)

We pack our cooler with some things from the house, but we buy our freezer food stuff (we do chicken cut up with veggies like potatoes and carrots and onions in a foil pack) from the town we’re camping in. It’s just easier than worrying about the cooler not staying the right temperature to prevent food spoilage on those things. We have a picnic backpack that I bring with us to throw some sandwich stuff in for our lunches as we’re usually out hiking during lunch so we have stuff on-the-go.

1. Jetboil. If you’re backpacking, its compact and simple. If you’re car camping, its still great to have boiling water with minimal hassle.
2. Exped air pad. After numerous nights of freezing on a thermarest (I know, ironic), I gave an ‘air mattress’ a go. Exped makes some quality pads. Mine is an insulated air mattress, which means you get the cushion of air with the insulation akin to a sleeping pad. Plus, mine is huge (long, wide, thick) without being too bulky to pack.
3. Camp chair. Crazy creeks are my favorite, but non-ideal if you’re camping somewhere wet … then its worth it to have something that keeps you off the ground.
4. Puffy jacket. I’m always cold. Always. So an enormous green down jacket that packs into a little tiny stuff sack is my favorite camping companion.