Pack These in Your Trunk

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As a camp counselor there are a few items I consistently notice are missing from camper’s trunks when they arrive at camp.  Whether your child is going away for a week or seven weeks, the following essentials will likely be as valuable to you as to your child’s camping experience.

Laundry Bag: Your young child, whether daughter or son, is unlikely to care whether she or he wears the same underwear, socks and shorts every day.  And without a laundry bag, one of two events will likely occur. Either she is neat and every night she will return her clothes to her trunk and pull them out again the next day resulting in returning home with a trunk full of clean, unworn clothes which makes laundry a breeze, but may not be the outcome you desired.  

Alternatively, she is the not too meticulous with her belongings and her clothing will be scattered across the cabin floor and under her cot where she may pick it up to put it back on in the morning or the errant sock or shirt will drift into the cabin trash or another trunk as it gets pushed beneath her neighbors bunk.  Again, you won’t have much laundry to do upon her return home, but then again you won’t have many of her clothes either. 

A laundry bag is indispensible in helping to avoid both of these outcomes.  Hang it up near her cot, and hopefully most of her dirty clothing will find its way into the bag rather than back into her trunk or under her neighbor’s cot.  A laundry bag is certainly no guarantee that she will find clean socks each morning or return with most of her clothing, but it will certainly raise the odds.

No laundry bag on hand?  Threading a shoelace through the hem of an old pillowcase can make a simple one.

Pre-addressed and stamped envelopes: This is a second item that may be more valuable for you than for your child.  Even a child with clear handwriting can run out of time addressing the neatly penned letter he just wrote during rest hour.  Once the bugle blows your camper is more likely to run down to the lake for a dip than to stop and address and stamp a letter.  And even if he does try to quickly address the envelope, it’s pretty easy to leave off the zip code when in a hurry, or forget that postage to Grandma in Alberta is more than Uncle Herb in Arkansas. 

Closed-Toed Water Shoes: Many camps disallow flip-flops as they lead to lots of stub toes and lost toenails when running around camp.  Yet having footwear to quickly throw on when your camper is heading to the pool is essential to maximize her time in the water.  So along with a sturdy pair of sneakers, find some closed-toed water shoes that also have some type of heel strap.  

While you don’t have to spend a great deal to purchase footwear, remember that ill-fitting water shoes—especially plastic shoes—can quickly lead to blisters and cuts as they are worn without socks.  Find a pair that is comfortable and quick to slip on.

Water Bottle: Whether he is heading out on a hike or just likes to have water by his bunk at night, a water bottle is exceedingly convenient.  Most reusable water bottles aren’t the easiest to keep clean, so you might want to take a few minutes showing him how to rinse it out between uses and remind him to pour out old water before refilling it fresh.