Van Life – Not your REI Packing List

If you’re new to van life or camping, here is a packing list of items beyond your typical gear that are worth taking up space. These are all items I’ve forgotten and sorely missed.

1. Shower shoes – even the cleanest of bathrooms may send you home with a gift of athlete’s foot if you don’t wear them.

2. Wet wipes – campground toilet paper can be rough. And they can be handy if you don’t have access to a shower (or you forgot your shower shoes).

3. Ear plugs – even if you travel solo, you may find yourself sleeping next to train tracks, busy roads, crying babies, or on airplane flight paths.

4. Lip balm – dry lips ruin the mood for any activity. It becomes all you can think about, and you’ll find yourself buying overpriced ChapStick at a gas station.

5. Night guard – if you sleep with one of these, you know exactly what I’m talking about and how it is hard to sleep without it.

6. E-reader with extra books – it sucks to finish a book and realize you don’t have Wi-Fi to download a new one.

7. Winter hat – this is particularly important in the mountains, where summer nights and mornings can be chilly and being warm can make or break your fun.

8. S’more making gear, including sticks – we never think we’ll want them until we’re out, then buy new gear and amass eight bags of open marshmallows by the end of camping season.

9. Children’s clothing and shoes – do an inventory of your kids’ clothes to avoid unexpected shopping. One time we forgot Skye’s coat when we went on a ski trip and lost a day of skiing to shopping. Another time she got into the van barefoot, and we didn’t realize she had no shoes until we were hours from home.

10. Dog leash – it’s fun to buy new dog leashes, but they are expensive in tourist towns.