Instead of taking along a great big bottle of dish soap, or spending getting that special "biodegradeable" soap, I get a bottle of Dr Bronners. Just a couple drops does the job quite nicely... and you can use it in the shower and anywhere else.

First off thank you Kattelyn for a great post. Lots of good ideas I will be adding to mine.

The main thing I did to make sure I didn't forget anything, create a large rubber maid box for camping supplies. All my cooking supplies and anything else needed for meals or camping in general (lantern w/extra mantels, string, cord, rope, camping pots/pans, utensils, soap/dish soap, towels/paper towels, aluminum foil, matches, steel wool, coat hangers, grill, S$P, spices, flashlight, leather gloves, hatchet, saw, etc.) goes in the box. You get the picture.

My large duffle holds all my sleeping gear. Tent, mat, carpet (for exterior of tent entrance), sleeping bags, and pillow.

I also make out a menu before leaving. I use tortillas instead of bread (they don't get smashed like a loaf of bread). I also create meals where leftovers can be used in the following meal.

Example: Tortillas for fajitas, then fajitas become breakfast burritos in the morning, just add eggs. Hot dogs in tortillas make a nice alternative to buns. Extra hot dogs with pork/beans make for a nice supper. The next morning I will make ham/cheese omelets with tortillas where you use all your fixins for the fajitas as ingredients for the omelet. Lunch being lunchmeat on a tortilla with chips. I will do one nice meal, usually supper, where I fix grilled steaks, pork chops,or chicken with a baked potatoe and can of veggies. This increases the size of the cooler needed.

When I'm ready to go camping, I just grab the rubber maid tote, my duffel bag, coolers and hit the grocery store with my menu. Can be on the road in less than an hour.

The best thing I bought for camping was a cooler that plugs into the cigarette lighter. Then the other cooler can be used strictly for ice.

Those plug in coolers will drain your battery and leave you stuck if you dont crank up the engine once in a while. I rigged up an extra battery in a truck that was wired through a gadget that allowed the motor to charge up the main battery first then switched to the auxilary battery. (Wish I could remember the name but memory doesn't work like it used to)