Why the huge bill you ask? We would think of 5-10 things we would need or want once we were already far from home. I now make lists. We bring the list, and a pen, so we can add items we need while we are thinking about it.
Last year, we added a new camper, little Miss Haileybug. She loved camping last year and was only six months, so we are excited to see her reaction this year. Bringing a little one isn't as hard as you would imagine. It just requires some more gear. A Pack n' Play is not only great for sleeping in, but to contain her while we are cooking or unpacking/packing.
Our challenge this year, with Mike being furloughed a day a week, is to be thrifty with the grocery bill. Seeing as Pinterest is my new best friend, it was the first place I looked for money saving ideas. Below are a few things we did this year that will definitely cut that precious moola off of our bill.
Money Saving Tip #1
Food from home: We planned a menu for each day, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then we went through to see what we already had from home. Frozen hamburger, steaks and chicken, eggs (in a plastic egg holder bought at WalMart), condiments (which we will talk about later), lunch meat, cheese, bread, butter, spices, etc. My all time favorite this year is "Do-it-yourself shake and pour pancakes", minus the shake part ;)
1. First, you need a large squeeze Ketchup bottle (ours is Heinz of course lol). If you don't have an empty one, empty the contents into another container.
2. Once emptied and cleaned out with soap and water, peel off the labels.
3. Make whatever pancake mix you usually make in a bowl with a spout.
4. Use a funnel to fill the bottle with the batter. If you don't have a funnel, do what I did and make one out of wax paper. Cut a piece in the shape of a square, roll into a cone shape and tape together.
4. Put the lid on, label it pancakes and there you have it! Pancakes ready to squeeze out onto your campfire griddle!
Money Saving Tip #2
This brings me to something I mentioned above; condiments. Use small tupperwear to store ketchup, mustard, relish, mayo, sour cream, etc. We had a small ketchup pouch we bought at Walmart, or we would have used a container. Label them so you don't have to dig so much around the cooler.
Money Saving Tip #3
Bags of ice are so expensive, and when you are going to need to by them all week for your cooler, the last thing you want is to have to buy it just for the trip for the cold foods your bringing from home.
1. Take gallon size Freezer Ziplock bags and fill them half way with water.
2. Squeeze as much air out as you can, then zip shut.
3. Lay flat in the freezer. These take about 24 hours to freeze solid.
4. Use them along the sides of your cooler or to lay on top of foods.
5. We also froze a small pack of mini waters and stuck it in the cooler.
Hope those ideas help save you a little money and keep some of your sanity!
Keep a lookout for more camping tips, ideas and recipes!
