Essential Camping Gear for a Weekend Away

02/25/2022 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

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So, you’re ready to get the heck out of Dodge and enjoy a weekend away in the outdoors. You are excited about your mini getaway and want to make sure that everything goes according to plan. What will you do if it rains or the bears come out? This article goes over the essential camping gear you need for your weekend away. Read on to learn what to take with you for the ultimate camping experience.

Camping Wardrobe and Accessories

As a rule of thumb, bring more than you think you’ll need. That extra pair of clothes might just save you from run-ins with sticky pine trees, poison ivy, and unexpected downpours. If nothing but s’mores goop ends up on your shirt, this is still an excellent reason to bring an extra pair of clothes.

For your clothing items, stick with short and long-sleeved shirts, a couple of pairs of pants and shorts, hiking boots, socks, flip-flops, a warm winter jacket, a windbreaker jacket or vest, a pair of sunglasses, and a hoodie in case you get chilly at night.

Outdoor hats for men are also great to avoid scalp sunburn. Bring your earplugs or noise-canceling headphones as well if you think the crickets will keep you up.

Your Campsite Essentials

For an effective campsite, you need to take with you all the essentials for shelter, warmth, and light, so you can get outdoors and get moving without interference.

Bring all different kinds of lighting with you, including your lighter, lanterns, flashlights, string lights, and a charged smartphone (to access flashlight mode), as well as sleeping bags, sleeping pads, pillows, and most importantly, your tent WITH footprint and stakes.

You’ll also need high quality OTF knives to open up packaging, and you’ll end up putting them to more than a few uses.

Don’t forget to bring extra batteries, firewood, and an axe to chop wood for additional security. Don’t forget your toiletries and first aid kit when critical moments strike.

You can also never have enough bug spray, sunscreen, or toilet paper with you while camping. To pack lightly, choose biodegradable soap, quick-dry towels, and travel-size bottles of hand sanitizer.

Camping Tools and Gadgets

In addition to your axe and can opener, bring one solid pocketknife with you and a bottle opener. You’re going to want something to crack open a cold drink after a hot day. Bring all your fishing gear with you and extra ice to keep your catch cold in the cooler.

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Camping Kitchen Gear

Depending on what’s available at your campsite, you may or may not need to keep certain kitchen essentials with you. Learn about the accommodations at your camp ahead of time, so you know what to take with you.

At the very least, bring a portable coffee maker, cast-iron cooking pans, cooking utensils, grill and charcoal, and odor-trapping food containers to keep wildlife away.

If you can put your leftovers in a cooler or store them in campsite lockers, you are in a safer position to avoid attracting wildlife. Don’t leave your food out. Bring trash bags and recycling bags with you as well.

You should also decide what the water situation is so you can ensure you’ll have enough water while you’re camping. Bring water jugs if you don’t have access to potable water on-site.

Camper recipes like hot dogs and beans, fire-baked potatoes, and ready-to-eat meals are always options. Still, if you bring a can opener with you, you can make tuna sandwiches, camper’s stew, and other goodies from ingredients that sit in your pantry.

What The Doctor Ordered

A camping weekend getaway is just what the doctor ordered. Remember to bring the above essentials with you for the ultimate camping experience!

Going Green, Lifestyle, Parenting, Tips

Sustainable Habits To Teach Your Kids

02/24/2022 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Sustainability is the future, not just of humanity but of the planet. As a species, we need to learn rapidly how to cut down our wasteful consumption and disposal of resources and items.

The responsibility falls back onto parents to educate themselves and become role models for their children. More often than not, teaching good habits from a young age can ensure that the adults of tomorrow will be better equipped to protect the environment. Indeed, today’s grown-up generations are still in the process of making sense of sustainable strategies, which means:

Unlearning habits we’ve learned from our parents
Changing our routines and favorite go-to products
Investing in environmentally-friendly solutions that may cost more
Evaluating your household environmental footprint
Finding the right contacts and support system

So what can you do in your household to help your children prepare for sustainable living?

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#1. Actively focus on sustainable grocery shopping

Up to 40% of the U.S. food supply ends up in the bin. Food waste is one of the most commonly overlooked sustainability issues of our time. Indeed, food production comes at an environmental cost related to production processes, transport, and packaging. The choices made during the production process can have long-term sustainable repercussions through mass harvesting, storage and packaging solutions, and operation strategies.

Additionally, waste can occur at any point during the production or after the purchase. As a household, you can help educate your children on the importance of grocery shopping in the sustainability crisis. Learning to select items that are sustainably produced can help in the longer term. Besides, keeping a straight mindset to reduce waste, aka reduce overbuying, will also cut down your footprint.

#2. Teach them about recycling processes

There is more life to the items you don’t want anymore. The days n you could throw anything in the bin are long gone. Nowadays, every household must be able to separate waste into meaningful piles:

recyclable
biodegradable
other

Some items must be handled by specialist centers, such as metal recycling places, to ensure they can be safely reutilized. Others, on the other hand, can be repurposed directly at home. A compost bin, for instance, is the perfect solution for organic waste. You can use compost to shield your plants in winter and nourish the soil.

It’s worth researching options when it comes to items that are not easy to recycle. Electronics can be used for parts; that’s why companies such as Apple and Samsung are keen to process old devices.

#3. Seek sustainable suppliers

Sustainability is the process of reducing resource waste. When it comes to energy, furniture, or water, sustainable suppliers reduce waste in two ways:

They introduce production or management structures that are environmentally conscious
They invest in long-term transformation processes for the planet

A sustainable energy supplier, for example, can deliver green and renewable energy and keep their company’s carbon footprint low or neutral. Finding suppliers you can trust is no easy task, and households must research and compare suppliers to choose the best option for their needs. However, showing how it’s done and why it matters can make a huge difference for your children.

#4. Invest in renewable solutions

Many American households worry about changing their energy supply. Indeed, the typical solar panel installation can cost between $25,000 and $30,000, which is a non-negligible sum for a household.

However, you can apply for solar panel loans and funding solutions to make your investment more manageable.

Cost is the most common obstacle American families face when they wish to build an eco-friendly household. Therefore, it can be helpful to show children that running an environmentally-conscious household is about making long-term investments that will support your wealth and the planet in the future.

#5. Favor walking over driving

The start of the pandemic has been a revelation for climate change. As most households didn’t drive for several weeks or months, the levels of pollution decreased dramatically in town.

Unfortunately, as offices have reopened their doors, most people use their cars for commuting. But it’s not too late to change your commuting habits. For short-distance trips under 2 miles, you could encourage your family to walk. It is always a fantastic strategy to reduce excessive grocery shopping!

For commutes below 5 miles, you might find that a bicycle can prove an environmentally-friendly method that keeps you fast on the road.

Even though more and more people are considering investing in electric vehicles, it’s essential to teach your child about effective resource management. Reducing cars on the road can preserve local wildlife and protect the environment.

In conclusion, parents need to show children different household solutions to build a green living. Contrary to common belief, living green doesn’t mean sacrificing comfort or budget. It’s all about making smart decisions to reduce unnecessary waste and favor renewable solutions.

Going Green, Going Healthy, Health, Life, Parenting, Tips

How Your Family can Reduce Waste at Home

02/22/2022 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

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Every parent wants to instill positive values in their kids during childhood. Helping your children to grow up in a way that allows them to understand the value of money and the need to reduce waste is an excellent way to prepare them for adulthood and living independently.

Limiting waste at home will help kids understand how to save money and play a part in protecting the planet. Demonstrating these values to your kids through your own actions is the best possible way to ensure that they understand the role they can play in using their money and the earth’s resources in the most responsible manner. Here are some examples of opportunities that you can use to reduce waste at your home, saving yourself money and protecting the planet while also being a strong role model to your kids:

Groceries: Reduce Food Waste

Food waste is a significant problem and one that is an issue throughout many of the world’s wealthiest countries. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately 30 to 40 percent of the nation’s food supply goes to waste. This is a significant figure and equates to billions of dollars of food that is discarded without being eaten. There are various reasons that food waste occurs, some of which happen at the production stage, but consumers are also responsible for a large portion of wasted food. So, taking action to reduce the amount of food that your household wastes is crucial and a great way to prevent wasting money spent on groceries.

If you are keen to begin reducing your food waste, there are a few ways you can make this happen. Firstly, check the use-by dates on everything you buy to ensure that you have time to use it before it expires. Secondly, you may find it helpful to start meal planning. Meal planning enables you to shop specifically for the groceries you need and minimize waste. Finally, it is beneficial to find ways to use leftovers while they are still safe to eat to ensure they do not get thrown away. Reducing your food waste may seem like a small act. Still, it can actually make a significant difference to the cost of your grocery shopping while also helping to tackle a much broader issue.

Clothing: Buy Less, But Buy Better

Nowadays, fast fashion has become the go-to choice for many people looking to keep up with the latest trends without spending much money. But, fast fashion comes at a price. Spending money on clothes that are not designed to last can mean that you buy lots and don’t manage to get much wear from each item before it goes out of fashion or breaks. Purchasing cheap clothing in this way means that your closet becomes full of poor-quality garments that you no longer wear and need to be replaced frequently when their quality fails. Shopping for clothing like this is bad news for your finances, and the planet, plus adds clutter to your home. Taking an alternative approach and buying functional, stylish clothing that is designed to last will mean that you get better value for money and years of wear while preserving valuable closet space. Buying clothing from brands such as Over Under Clothing will ensure that you get the best quality and can enjoy many years of comfortable wear.

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Electricity: Conserve Power to Pay Less

As every homeowner knows, powering a home is an expensive task. Running gadgets, appliances, along with cooling and heating systems, can mean that your electricity bills escalate quickly. Making an effort to actively reduce your household’s energy consumption is an effective way to lower your home’s running costs and its carbon footprint. Reducing electricity use is also something the entire family can get involved with and take responsibility to manage.

When trying to reduce your home’s energy consumption, you may find it helpful to start with the smaller changes first. Simply changing all of your light bulbs to Energy Star alternatives can make a significant impact on the cost of illuminating your home, and further savings can be made if everyone remembers to switch off lights when leaving each room. As well as switching off lights, it is also helpful to turn off appliances (where safe to do so) when they are not in use, rather than leaving them on standby. Additional energy-saving benefits can be gained from having your HVAC system regularly serviced to ensure that it is working efficiently and not having to work too hard to heat and cool your home. These changes may seem small, but the cumulative effects throughout the year can make a marked difference to your electricity consumption.

Water: Actively Conserve Water

Conserving the amount of water that your family uses may seem challenging at first; after all, everyone needs to be able to wash and drink. However, making a conscious effort to reduce water consumption can be achieved without your family needing to forego their basic needs. Harvesting rainwater to keep your plants hydrated is one way to save a lot of water and prevent drinking water from being used outdoors. Further water-saving measures can be implemented inside the house to reduce water waste. Getting leaks and dripping faucets fixed as soon as you notice them is a great place to start.

Other water-saving activities include switching your toilet flush and shower head for varieties designed to use less water. Taking showers rather than filling up the tub can also be an effective way to reduce water use, especially if you time your showers to make them just a few minutes long each time. One great way to save water is turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth. A vast amount of water is wasted every day by people keeping the tap running while they brush their teeth, and doing this twice a day only increases the amount of water that is wasted. So, this simple act can help to prevent a lot of waste.