Domestic Tips for Campers

How is housekeeping in your RV or tent any different from housekeeping at home?  Good question.   In many ways, it isn't.  You still need to make the beds, do the dishes, dust, sweep the floors, clean the bathroom, and clean the windows.  Yet each of these tasks is in some way unique in an RV.  Tent campers will find things even more varied.  One big problem is, we like to take a vacation from chores when we're on vacation.  And that is not a good idea.   Putting off routine chores will eventually waste more time catching up than it takes to keep them up to date as you go. And life will be more pleasant if you keep things neat and clean and your gear and equipment will last longer.  A friend of mine said her mother taught her that ''If your beds are made and your dishes are done, your house is clean".  That might be little over-simplified, but it is still a good basic practice in camp as well as at home.

Establish daily and weekly routines.  Routines will help you prevent things from getting out of control.  A few minutes completing your routine each day will keep you organized and free to enjoy your planned activities.  Not all tasks need to be done every day so having a weekly schedule will help keep everything in order.  Your routine at home might serve as a starting point for building your camp schedule.  Things like making beds and doing dishes are inherently daily tasks.  Other cleaning efforts might be done less frequently but should not be ignored.  The main thing is to have some kind of routine so things don't fall through the cracks and go undone until they reach an unacceptable level of disarray and/or dirtiness.

Making the beds.  The bed in the "master bedroom" in many RVs isn't much different than the one at home -- unless it is jammed up against the wall.  If it is, you'll need to master techniques for climbing up on the bed and pulling the bedding into place.   Same holds true for the cab-over beds in campers and Class C motorhomes.   Some people like to use a stick or the awning wand to push bedding into the far corners of these corner beds but I find it is usually easier to just straighten up the sheets and blankets, then kneel on the bed and tuck the bedding neatly under the far edges, then climb off and pull the bedding tight as I go.   Other beds are usually part of a dinette or sofa.  That means you have to get out the bedding and "make the bed" each night, then remove all the bedding and put it away every morning.   Dinette cushions have to be rearranged to create the bed and restored for day time use.  Sofas have to be opened up to their sleep positions and closed again in the morning.  Making the beds when tent camping will mostly consist of hanging out the sleeping bags for a couple of hours, then either rolling them up or putting them back in place.  I prefer to leave them out so they don't lose their "loft" by being squished in a stuff sack.  Letting them hang in the fresh air is always a good idea, weather permitting.   Make up your beds every morning.

Doing the dishes.  Unless you're like my daughter, who is a fanatic about saving water and has a REALLY good dishwasher, you're probably in the habit of rinsing the crud off your dishes before washing them.  Water conservation is very important in an RV, especially when you're boondocking. Instead of pre-rinsing the dishes, wipe them off with a paper towel or a crumpled newspaper.   To avoid a lot of elbow grease to clean greasy, sticky pots and pans, do dump a little water in them while they're still warm, before the crud has time to bake on.  Notice I said "dump", not "run".  You should be saving the water while running the shower to get it warm.  Catch it in a plastic dishpan or even an old bleach jug.  The jug will be less likely to get spilled.   Then use the saved water to rinse your dishes.  Use a good quality dish soap.   Cheap brands won't cut the grease as well and you may have to change water more often , wasting water -- as well as wasting time scrubbing stubborn items.   High quality, concentrated soap will also save space since it usually comes in a smaller bottle and you don't need as much per use.   Doing the dishes while tent camping also requires conservation of water, unless there is a dishwasher station with running water in the camp ground and while you probably won't run out of water there, it is still good camping protocol to conserve water and limit how long you tie up the sink.  Wash your dishes after every meal.   If you clean up after yourself as you prepare your meals, you'll have fewer dishes to do at the end.   Clean dishes will help prevent "the runs".   One really easy way of doing dishes when camping is to use paper plates and cups and plastic utensils which can just be thrown away.

Dust is likely to blow in every time you open the door or to come through windows and roof vents, or just sneak in through cracks.  The "weep holes" at the bottom of windows may let dust in.  The massive dashboards on some big motorhomes are huge dust collectors.  Dust will settle on counters, tables, and cabinets.  I like to use a spray furniture polish on just about every hard surface but the vinyl dashboard.  If you're seriously eco-minded, use a pump rather than a pressurized can.   I use SC-1, the same detailing spray I use on my dirt bikes, on all the vinyl surfaces.  Be sure to vacuum upholstery, carpets, and beds too, since dust settles on them as easily as it does on hard surface -- it just doesn't show up as much!  Dust will soil the fabric and can cause stale odors.  You won't notice the dust in your tent as much, but it will still collect on exposed surfaces and needs to be be taken care of. Y our sleeping bags should get a thorough dusting each morning when you hang them to air out and dry.   Other gear should be dusted off at least once a week or more often in windy/dusty conditions.

Sweeping the floors isn't much different from doing it at home.   Hard surfaces can be quickly swept with a broom, carpets should be vacuumed often.  By nature, most camping areas are somewhat rustic and you'll track in a lot of dirt and sand.   Left on hard surfaces it will destroy the luster.  Left in carpet it will soil the fabric and begin to cut the threads as you walk on it.   Some big RVs have central vacuum systems.  A nice compact canister vacuum is sufficient and perhaps ideal for most RVs that don't have central vacuums.  Uprights are heavy and take up a lot of room.  I've tried using manual "carpet sweepers" and they are handy for quick cleanups but do not get the grit up out of the fibers.  With some light dome tents you can pick them up and shake them to get rid of loose dirt and debris.  For heavier tents or ones that are anchored to the ground, you'll need to sweep them out often. Keep a rug or an old burlap bag near the entrance to your tent or RV to clean your feet to reduce how much crud you track inside.  You can buy short "camp" brooms or simple cut down the handle on an old broom from home.   A bench brush, like you use on your workbench is small and is pretty good for sweeping out tents.

Cleaning the bathroom may be even more necessary in an RV than at home because of the close quarters.  Any unpleasant odors that may develop will be quickly noticeable throughout the RV.  The biggest difference between your RV fixtures and those at home is that most RV fixtures are made of plastic so you don't want to use harsh cleansers.  Choose one of the "soft scrub" cleansers or buy the special RV cleansers at the RV store.  Using a shower spray can help control mildew in the shower. So will simply squeegeeing or drying the shower after the last use each day.   Tent campers may have to deal with public bathrooms or, in remote locations, provide their own primitive latrine facilities. Maintaining a sanitary situation is critical to good health and a safe environment. 

Cleaning the windows of your RV may actually be easier than cleaning the windows at home. Because such a large percentage of the wall space is glass, dirty windows will be obvious and embarrassing.  Any good glass cleaner should w ork just fine.  I usually keep some special "no streak" glass cleaner on board for cleaning the mirrors. It is a little costlier than ordinary glass cleaner, but it saves time keeping the mirrors looking good.  Tent windows don't usually require much cleaning, but you may still need to wipe the dust off screens now and then.   If your tent is equipped with plastic windows, be careful to use only cleaners and procedures recommended by the manufacturer to avoid damaging them.  Wiping dry dust off plastic windows can cause minute scratches that will eventually "frost" the once clear plastic.  Even screened windows in tents will benefit from an occasional dusting.

Pick up and put away is always a good practice at home and even more important in your RV or tent and around camp.  The limited space in your RV means just a few things left out of place begin to impact usability as well as appearance.  And remember, clutter begets clutter, so, if you don't let the first piece of stuff lying around, you're less likely to accumulate more.  Same thing applies to tent camping.   Keep your stuff together and well organized, both in your tent and all around your camp. Follow the old adage: "A place for everything and everything in its place."  A handy trick for corralling small items in a tent is to keep them in hanging bags.  Some tents even have small storage pockets built  it.

Cleaning supplies for camping.   If you are in an RV you can stock it with cleaning supplies in your kitchen and bathroom about like you would at home.  You may need to substitute a "soft scrub" cleanser to protect your plastic or fiberglass fixtures and over time you may find specialty cleaners you like for use in your RV.   Anti-fog mirror cleaner and "Black Streak Remover" are things I've picked up.  For tent camping, most of your cleaning tasks will focus on kitchen items so you'll need dish soap, Scotchbrite, SOS pads and dish towels.   Depending on how long you are out you may also need laundry detergent.  For either RV or tent camping you can just bring along the stuff you use at home, but sometimes the "giant economy size" containers that make sense at home are not convenient in camp.  Small, unopened containers will take up less room and are less likely to spill.   Fortunately you can probably stock up on just about everything you need at your local dollar store.   Get name brands when you can, but don't be afraid to try their "house" brands.   My wife has found many of the house brands from Dollar Tree to be equal to or better than the name brands.  I suggest you do try them out before you head out on an extended outing and are dependent on them.  You don't want to be out in the boondocks when you discover someone in the family is allergic to the new laundry detergent or that the dish soap doesn't cut it.   Having inexpensive products to use may encourage you to use them while you might be a bit stingy and might have a tendency to limit using pricey products. 

If you can't get small sizes, consider getting travel size containers to use instead of filling up you RV cabinets or camp bins with big bottles of cleaning supplies.   You can often find empty travel size bottles at your local dollar store. 

Clean it up!