Over the past weeks we’ve written about the most popular resolutions people make from year to year. From our particular vantage point of Ocean Canyon camping and RVing, we’ve tried to help you lose weight, get fit, get organized, enjoy life more, learn something new and spend more time with important people in your life. If you missed any, you can find them here and on Texoma Shores Resort and Tres Rios Resort Websites.
We’re down to the last couple of resolutions. Today we take on a topic near and dear to everyone: saving money. As you probably know, camping and vacationing in the outdoors – whether at a tent site, in a cabin or in your own trailer or RV – is a simple concept, but it can become quite costly. You camp at Bear’s Den or one of our other Ocean Canyon properties so you don’t have to worry about the expense of reservation and park fees. But for every need you could possibly have in the wilderness, someone’s made a champagne-style gadget to fill it. While we’re not above ingenious, cool new toys – sometimes they’re revolutionary or life-saving – we’re going to dial back on the newfangled a bit. After all, when it comes to saving money, ingenious use of existing items beats a trip to Cabela’s every time.
For example, did you know that:
- Old shower curtains can be re-purposed as great ground tarps?
- You can make matches waterproof by painting them with nail polish or by dipping the tips in paraffin?
- A length of old chain and a metal coat hanger can make an S-curve hook to hang your lantern from a tree branch?
- Some believe that rubbing the inside of an orange peel on your face and arms will keep mosquitoes or other pests away?
Fire starters can be made from simple everyday items? Consider:
- Crumpled paper, alcohol-soaked cotton balls, pencil shavings, sawdust or dryer lint in a toilet tissue tube. (Use the tissue first, please.)
- Rolled old newspaper. Duct tape the bottom of the tube closed. Pour pine shavings (or one of the above items) into the tube, then duct tape shut the top. You knew we couldn’t finish this article without mentioning duct tape, didn’t you?
- Matches can be slid into the “tunnels” of corrugated cardboard. Dip the whole thing in melted paraffin, then break off a few as needed.
For more really cool tips on thrifty camping items, visit http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/17/26-cheap-camping-tips/. These were posted over a decade ago by the Boy Scouts of America. Now those guys know their camping.
For those supplies you really do need to purchase, consider resale places like Craig’s List or eBay, or one of these discount camping supply shops: http://www.sierratradingpost.com; http://www.steepandcheap.com; and https://www.theclymb.com (this one requires membership but it’s free: just fill in a short form and voila! You’re a member).
Saving money is a big topic, so in the week, we’ll be covering three inexpensive and amazingly useful items for camping – and life! We hope to see you soon at Bear’s Den Resort. If you have a money-saving tip to share, we’d love to hear it!