A Trunk Organized Now is Hours Saved Next Summer!

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Update your trunk list now!

Now is the time to update your trunk list for next summer. Forget to put in sunscreen? Did every other camper have address labels but yours? Were none of those green socks worn? Update your camper’s trunk list now and you will give yourself a break next summer when you get ready to pack again.

First, hopefully you have the list on your computer. If not, now is a good time to start one. As your camper unpacks her trunk, listen to what she wishes she had and look at what was never used. Sure some items like a raincoat may not have been used this summer, but clearly should be included next summer regardless. But if the 100 roll of postage stamps you sent returned home nearly intact, just all gummed up, maybe you only need to send a couple dozen next summer—or just put them on the envelopes in advance.

Update the packing list AND add a note so you’ll remember that you have already updated the list. Wash and neatly fold any camp uniforms and return them to the trunk for storage if they aren’t worn during the winter. But take out of the trunk any lotions including sunscreen, shampoo, soap or anything that could leak or scent the entire contents of the trunk. If you leave the flashlight in the trunk remove the batteries. If you leave envelopes in the trunk be sure not to leave the trunk where it’s humid.

Next June when you open the trunk to pack for summer camp again, you’ll be glad that you left it cleaned out and organized.

Leaving Camp Trunks Shut. Big Mistake. Big. Huge.

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Like two porch dogs, the camp trunks lay quietly, side by side, waiting until their owners would return. I certainly wasn’t in any particular rush to open them and be greeted by an onslaught of laundry. Surely no need to immediately wash 8 pair of navy Soffee shorts, 8 striped Ts, 6 solid Ts, 2 navy blue sweatshirts, 2 beach towels, hmm, beach towels. Should I reconsider? No surely with the sun this summer they couldn’t possibly be damp.

Last summer when my girls camp home from their seven weeks away at camp, I required them to immediately open their trunks and pull everything out. After the rainiest summer I could remember, I knew the contents would be a wonderful breeding ground for mildew. The summer before that, the campers were sent home with “Welcome Your Child Home” letters that included a warning that there had been a substantial outbreak of lice during the final week of camp—charming—their suggestion was to immediately wash and/or freeze the contents of the trunks. So we dutifully emptied the trunk of its contents more or less pouring everything directly into the washing machine.

Then came the summer of 2010—endless days of sunshine, only a minor outbreak of lice, no food stored away in trunks. I thought we could just put the trunks aside for a few days, chill, not stress over unpacking. And we did. Remember Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when she returns to the original store that wouldn’t serve her? Big Mistake. Big. Huge? Well, that was my reaction when I opened the trunks 4 days later. That nagging notion that the towels could indeed be damp? I had neglected to take into account that in such a beautiful summer of sun, of course a dip on the final day of camp would be in order. Where better to put a dripping wet suit and the accompanying towel but in the top of a trunk before shutting the lid? Big Mistake. Big. Huge!