This article is for all of you outdoorsmen who enjoy spending a week or two out in the woods every year. How many times have you gone camping only to find out that you forgot something really important? You realize that it is sitting right where you left it, at home. What you need is a camping checklist that you can check off as you load all your gear into the car.

You have been told in the past that you should make such a list, but you procrastinated because it has never been a big enough issue.

But eventually, you will forget something really important, like clean underwear which will force you to get better organized for the next time you go camping.

I put together a sample checklist for you to print off. Better yet, why don’t you copy and paste this into your own Word document so you can add to the list before you print it. I keep all of my supplies grouped together depending on what they are used for. I keep all my cooking utensils in one large plastic container. I keep my tent and all related sleeping gear together in another one.

When we load up the car, it is just a matter of loading about five separate containers and just a few loose things.

Essential Camping Items:

* Container with bundle of wood, newspaper and lighter
* Container full of kitchen utensils including a cast iron frying pan, silverware, plates, plastic cups, aluminum foil, spatulas, tongs, paper towels, soap, scrubbers and any other cooking equipment
* Propane stove and 2 reserve propane tanks
* Duffle bag full of clothes for the duration of the trip as well as a shaving kit and all necessary supplies for showering and bathing.

I also include flip flops for public showers.
* Tent container includes tent, tarp for underneath tent, stakes, mallet, air mattress, battery powered pump, bedroll, sleeping bags & pillows.
* Cooler includes eggs, butter and any other food that we want to take that needs to stay chilled. We also fill it with plenty of beer and other drinks. We rarely take a lot of meat because it can make a mess of the cooler and it is usually just as easy to buy that stuff locally wherever we are camping at.
* Fun container includes games, Frisbee, football, gloves, baseball, decks of cards, poker chips or anything else that we want to take for recreation.

*, soap supplies, Fishing gear is self explanatory.
* Goodie bag container has all the munchies, junk food and cookies that we always take with us.

That is my short list of what we always take when camping. Having everything split up into categories makes it easier to account for things. Depending on where you are going camping, you might decide to leave a container at home. If you were staying in a cottage or cabin for instance, you could leave the tent container at home and just bring the sleeping bags and pillows.

If you are staying with relatives, you might not need the container full of kitchen utensils. Hope this list helps you to get organized.